11 Movie References That You (Probably) Missed

Filmmakers love to hide subtle movie references inside their works. These Easter eggs can be foreshadowing moments, nods to iconic Hollywood pieces, or hints at later projects. Whatever the case is, it’s always fun to find these small details and drag them out to the light.
So here are 11 movie references that almost everybody misses at first viewing. Think you have the keenness to spot them all?

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Source: A24/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In one of the universes, Evelyn becomes a famous movie star. We get to see a montage of clips from her life. However, this montage also contains real-life footage of Michelle Yeoh, the actress who plays Evelyn. One of those clips is the premiere of her famous film Crazy Rich Asians.

2. Wednesday

Source: Netflix/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

The answer to the encrypted message that Wednesday manages to unravel is “snap twice.” When the girl follows the instruction and snaps her fingers twice, a secret passageway is revealed, leading to the secret library. The double snap is a nod to earlier series in the franchise, The Addams Family. In their iconic opening sequence, the characters snap their fingers twice while looking the audience dead in the eye.

3. House of the Dragon

Source: HBO/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In the House of the Dragon first episode, Viserys predicted that a Targaryen must ascend to the throne to unite the kingdom when humanity is threatened. This is basically the plot of Game of Thrones Season 8.
When Viserys told his daughter Rhaenyra about this prophecy, he begged her to keep it secret, saying “Promise me this, Rhaenyra. Promise me.” In Game of Thrones, Lyanna Stark also said the same phrase to Ned when asking him to protect her son Jon Snow, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen.

4. Hocus Pocus 2

Source: Walt Disney Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In Hocus Pocus 2, Mary refers to a car as a “very small bus.” There was a moment in the first movie when the sisters first saw modern vehicles and took a ride on a bus. Mary probably thought every car is a bus.

5. Thor: Love and Thunder

Source: Marvel/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

During Jane and Thor’s conversation about how long it’s been since they’ve seen each other, Jane said it has been three or four years. Thor corrected her, saying it was eight years, seven months, and six days. Jane was turned into dust by Thanos’ snap while Thor survived, which explained why she missed five years.

6. The White Lotus

Source: HBO/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Tanya wears a floral dress in the final episode of Season 2. Her dress was the same one that the mannequin wore in a close-up shot back in Episode 3. However, keen audiences have noticed that the mannequin was depicting Michael Corleone’s wife in a famous scene from The Godfather. Tanya’s fate also went down quite similar to Michael’s wife.

7. The Batman

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Selina Kyle prefers affectionate pet names over real names. However, not all of her pet names have the same attitude. She calls people she doesn’t trust “honey.” But for the ones who she really cares about, she calls them “baby.”

8. Enola Holmes

Source: Netflix/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Enola’s mother doesn’t have much screen time, so the filmmakers make sure every second counts by hiding hints in her outfits. In this scene, her coat has pansies embroidered on it. In the Victorian language of flowers, pansies represent love and sympathy for another person’s pain. This outfit shows the feelings that Enola’s mother has for her daughter, which makes her character seem less cold.

9. Elvis

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

During the montage where Elvis comes to see his mother, a picture of a real-life baby Elvis can be seen on the table. It was the same photo on his album cover.

10. Downton Abbey: A New Era

Source: Universal Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Characters in Downton Abbey: A New Era often mistake Lady Bagshaw and Mr. Carson for a married couple. They are actually not wrong. The actors who play the couple on screen have been married since 1983. No wonder why their relationship feels so realistic.

11. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Source: New Line Cinema/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In Episode 6, Bronwyn gave her son Theo a speech about finding the light and the shadow will not find him. This is a reference to Samwise Gamgee’s at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Did you spot all these movie references at your first viewing? If so, then you must have quite sharp eyes. For more cool Easter eggs, check out our previous post here. Legend said that only keen audiences notice these hidden messages in movie costumes. Think you can be one of them?