Though they didn't invent the idea of the cinematic universe, the MCU has certainly perfected it. Following the success of The Avengers, studios scrambled to build their own cinematic universes which connected different films in fun ways. However, there are those more subtle connections between certain movies that fans may have overlooked.
These movies seemingly take part in different universes, but there are small and surprising ways they relate to one another. Instead of building massive universes over these connections, they have been overlooked and forgotten. But they remain fun Easter eggs that allow fans to think about all the interesting implications of these shared stories.
The Transporter (2002) / Collateral (2004)
Action star Jason Statham got his big break in the genre with his starring role in The Transporter. Statham plays Frank Martin, a skilled getaway driver who is better than anyone at transporting anything from point A to point B.
Following the success of The Transporter, Statham's star began to rise which made his quick appearance in Collateral such a surprise. The Michael Mann film stars Tom Cruise as a hitman who arrives in L.A. to carry out a series of hits. When at the airport, Statham appears briefly as a man delivering a package to cruise. Though his name is never given, it seems like an obvious nod to his Transporter character.
Spy Kids (2001) / Machete (2010)
Danny Trejo has appeared in more movies than most actors could even imagine, but probably his most famous role is as the titular Mexican badass in Machete. Trejo headlined his own movie as Machete, but fans might not realize that was not the first film the character appeared in.
Machete was introduced in an earlier Robert Rodriguez film, the family-friendly adventure Spy Kids. Trejo plays Machete, the uncle of the two main kids. Given the very different tones of these films, it's not surprising most fans didn't pick up on this fact.
Ghostbusters (1984) / Casper (1995)
During the Halloween season, many fans will be revisiting the beloved 1990s take on Casper. This live-action film follows a father and daughter who move into an old house that is said to be haunted. In fact, it is the home of the friendliest ghost around, Casper.
Near the beginning of the film, the house's owners try to get rid of the spirits living in the house. This sets up a cameo by Dan Aykroyd who is seen running from the house in his full Ghostbusters outfit saying, "Who ya gonna call? Someone else."
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) / Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have been close friends since early in their careers, even making the Indiana Jones films together. However, it is still unexpected that they joined two of their most famous films together in a subtle way.
Though Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace is not a favorite of all fans, it does include a fun cameo. During the galactic senate scene, aliens resembling the same race as E.T. can be seen among the crowd.
The Italian Job (2003) / Hobbs And Shaw (2019)
It turns out that The Transporter was just the beginning of Jason Statham's career in fast car movies. He would go on to star alongside Mark Wahlberg in the remake of The Italian Job. Later he would join the Fast and Furious franchise as Deckard Shaw.
Statham later teamed with Dwayne Johnson for the spinoff film Hobbs and Shaw. In that film, they visit Shaw's garage where he shows off a Mini Cooper car he said he used for a job in Italy. This suggests his character in The Italian Job is actually Deckard Shaw.
Happy Gilmore (1995) / Hubie Halloween (2020)
Just in time for Halloween, Adam Sandler is back on Netflix with a new comedy Hubie Halloween. Sandler plays a small town laughingstock trying to keep everyone safe during Halloween. The film packs some great laughs beginning with a crowd-pleasing cameo.
Ben Stiller appears in the first scene playing an orderly at a mental institution. However, Sandler fans instantly recognized the character as being the same orderly Stiller played in his cameo in Happy Gilmore. Some say this confirms the forming of the Sandler Cinematic Universe.
Jackie Brown (1997) / Out Of Sight (1998)
The stylish crime film Jackie Brown remains Quentin Tarantino's most underrated movies. Pam Grier stars in the titular role as a flight attendant who is caught with smuggling money for her gun dealer boss and decides to play the cops and criminals against each other for her own benefit.
The film is based on the book Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard. The following year, Steven Soderbergh adapted another Leonard book Out of Sight into a movie. That film includes a cameo from Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette, who Keaton played in Jackie Brown and who appears in both of Leonard's novels.
Jaws (1975) / Piranha 3D (2010)
When making a movie about an underwater killer creature, it's hard for a film not to pay homage to Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Jaws. However, Piranha 3D took their homage to the next level.
The gloriously over-the-top horror movie opens with a scene of a fisherman being eaten by an army of piranha. The fisherman is played by Richard Dreyfus who played Matt Hooper in Jaws. He is also dressed in the same costume and sings the same song featured in that film. Though his name is not used, Dreyfus himself confirmed the character is Hooper.
Clerks (1994) / Scream 3 (2000)
It is well-known that Kevin Smith has built his own cinematic universe out of his popular (and less popular) films, known as the View Askewniverse. However, his most popular characters Jay and Silent Bob also made an appearance in another very unexpected franchise.
After being introduced in Smith's debut film Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob became regularly featured in Smith's movies. But for some reason, the characters also appeared in a cameo for Scream 3 which was very jarring.
Shaft (1971) / Django Unchained (2012)
Quentin Tarantino has also built a cinematic universe of his own, connecting his films in subtle ways. Sometimes a supporting character will be featured in multiple movies and sometimes it is just the brand of cigarettes being used by the characters. However, he connected his Western Django Unchained to another classic outside his filmography.
In the film, Kerry Washington plays Broomhilda von Shaft, Django's wife. Tarantino later explained that she and Django would share the name von Shaft which would eventually be shortened to Shaft and generations later, their descendant would be badass detective John Shaft.