Hidden Movie Easter Eggs That Fans Missed Completely

All art, no matter how innovative or experimental, stands on the shoulders of giants. Like knowledge, art requires a long line of references from work that came before it to make manifest. The world of film is no different. Even the best films make quiet allusions to movies that came before them. The medium also allows for visual cues and clues, but plenty of hidden movie easter eggs are missed by fans completely.

The term "easter egg" comes from eggs in various shots of the cult class film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." While some movie easter eggs pay homage to other films and pieces of media, some provide direct clues to the way the narrative is headed. Easter eggs are there for the most ardent viewer, yet many fans fail to find the diamonds in the rough. As such, let's explore 10 hidden movie easter eggs that are often overlooked.

It's hard to underestimate the cultural and artistic impact of a movie like Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather." It introduced the American audience to the idea of the Italian mafia and cemented its status rather quickly as one of the greatest films ever made. For good reason, too, the movie is chock-full of great performances, complex themes, and even subtle illusions of foreshadowing.

While some movie easter eggs pay homage to other films or media, "The Godfather" features clues to its own plot. Every time an orange is seen on screen, it points to something bad. Indeed, every shot of an orange or oranges precedes a character's death or a betrayal.

Something of a technological and artistic achievement for its time, "Tron" uses then state-of-the-art graphics and digital innovation to portray the virtual adventure of a programmer and game developer who gets transported into a video game. It's a visual treat and a rollicking good time. It also features a subtle nod to a real-life videogame.

In the screenshot above taken from the film, our titular hero interacts with a computer screen. If you look closely, you can see a game of Pac-Man happening. This is a subtle nod to one of the most popular and enduring video games of all time.

When "Scream" reached the box office in 1996, it became a smash hit and cemented director Wes Craven's status as the king of horror films. Centered around a high school class stalked by a masked killer, the film makes constant, if subtle, nods to other films in the horror genre.

Those nods aren't just lines of dialogue, either: it's most dynamic easter egg shows up via a cameo. After the movie's small town becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, an obnoxious reporter appears to ask intrusive questions. She's played by Linda Blair, who most famously played the role of the possessed girl in "The Exorcist." An homage to one of the great films of the genre, it also helps align "Scream" with other horror classics.

As the ultimate purveyors of pop cultural clash, the Marvel Cinematic Universe uses its films to make constant allusions, tributes, and homages to other famed pieces of media. While this often results in connections with other Marvel movies, "Captain America: Winter Soldier" pays tribute to a very different kind of movie.

The easter egg involves another role played by Samuel Jackson, who plays Colonel Nick Fury in "Captain America: Winter Soldier." In one scene depicting the character's headstone, a closer look shows that the slab reads "The path of the righteous man… Ezekiel 25:17." This is a direct reference to Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction," also played by Samuel Jackson.

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was first lambasted, then enjoyed. Now it's arguably the first film to fit the definition of a cult classic, spawning tribute groups across the world who watch the film on repeat and dialogue with it as it happens. It's scandalous, schlocky, and absurd, but quite entertaining.

Funnily enough, the film's easter egg involves literal easter eggs. As the story goes, the cast and crew had an easter egg hunt on set while filming the movie. Not all of the eggs were found, however, meaning you can find them hidden in certain scenes if you look closely. A happy accident, as this blunder gave birth to the term "easter egg" concerning hidden clues in media.

Pixar Studios loves including easter eggs in its films. A prime example of this tendency is in its celebrated film "Toy Story," which follows a group of toys who come alive before facing the existential questions of identity and living. Interestingly enough, it makes subtle allusions to a much darker film.

Indeed, "Toy Story" makes direct, if quiet, references to Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece "The Shining." Not only does "Toy Story" feature the number of the doomed hotel room more than once (237), but it also matches a carpet in the villain Sid's house with that of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining."

Steven Spielberg gained fame as a director for his expert sense of pacing, mixed with adventurous grandeur. Take his blockbuster hit "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," which follows a capable, but intrepid explorer as he searches for ancient relics.

Written by George Lucas of "Star Wars" fame, the film makes subtle homages to the space opera classic. In one scene, when Indy is searching for the Ark amidst columns inscribed with hieroglyphics, one inscription stands apart from the rest. A closer look shows that one part of the column is not hieroglyphic at all, but a carving of "Star Wars'" iconic android characters R2-D2 and C3PO.

As evidenced by the previous entry on this list, director Steven Spielberg is no stranger to references and homages, even if they are written into the script by others. In his family classic "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," Spielberg pays back an easter egg to George Lucas.

One scene features neighborhood children out on the town for a night of Halloween trick-or-treating. One kid dons a Yoda costume (from Star Wars). What's more, E.T. seems to recognize him. This suggests that both films ("E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Star Wars") take place in the same universe.

"Fight Club" failed to make much headway upon its release in theaters, but it found a new home on video thanks to its prescient look at men's alienation in modern society. Directed by the meticulous David Fincher, the film also contains not-so-subtle references to a corporate coffee giant.

Be it a paid advertisement, subliminal programming, or a satire of the film's anti-corporate creedo, "Fight Club" manages to insert a cup of Starbucks Coffee in every single scene. Some are spotted quickly. Others, however, take several rewatches to notice.

Much like "The Godfather," Martin Scorsese's crime epic "The Departed" involves a saga of the criminal underworld, rife with secrecy, lies, murder, and betrayal. Also like "The Godfather," "The Departed" provides clues to the fate of its characters.

Whereas "The Godfather" depicts an orange or a bushel of oranges preceding every character's death or betrayal, "The Departed" makes it a bit more obvious. Any time one of its characters dies, an X appears on screen, be it on a carpet, a wall, or a light fixture. The only main character to survive the film is Sgt. Dignam (played by Mark Wahlberg). He never shares a scene with an 'X-marks-the-spot.'