10 Movies and TV Shows With Clever References To The Source
Movies take a lot of liberty while adapting books. That’s because they can’t fit in the entire story in a 2-hour film and definitely can’t produce the same thing twice. The audience wouldn’t spend their money to watch something when they already know the ending. That’s why screenwriters and directors tweak some changes and add major twists to keep the readers engaged. They try to stay loyal to the source as much as possible by not changing the theme. They also acknowledge the source material with references and Easter eggs. Sometimes the nods are so subtle that only eagle-eyed or loyal fans notice it on watching the film for the 100th time. It is always fun to gather hidden nods to the source material in movies and series. That’s why we can’t stop making lists on them. So, brace yourselves to feed your film-mania brains with more facts. Here are 10 movies and TV shows with clever references to the source.
The Mummy
Ardeth Bay, played by Oded Fehr was an ally of the protagonists Brendan Fraser’s Richard and Rachel Weisz’ Evelyn. He had joined forces with them to fight Imhotep. The name Ardeth was borrowed from the original “The Mummy”. But here, it was Boris Karloff’s Mummy who was named Ardeth Bey.
Game of Thrones
The global hit GOT was incomplete without its cuss words, explicit nudity, s3x, and violence. So, Cersei telling Tyrion, “They said you’d lost your nose” after the battle of Blackwater was nothing as compared to the blood we had seen on the show. Interestingly, Tyrion had literally lost in George R.R. Martin’s books.
Jurassic World
In “Jurassic World”, we saw how the velociraptor was exploded by a rocket launcher. It wasn’t a sudden and surprising element. This idea was taken directly from the source material, Jurassic Park. The same thing happened in the novel when the velociraptor was chasing them in the woods.
Venom
In the super hit “Venom”, the symbiote was seen asking Eddie Brock to get tater tots and chocolates. It wasn’t a random dialogue invented by Sony but homage paid to the Marvel comic books. His comic book counterpart fed on chocolates as a supplement. The substance he gets from chocolates is the same reason why he eats people.
Django Unchained
Italian actor Franco Nero rose to prominence from the original Django franchise. When Quentin Tarantino made “Django Unchained”, he cast Nero for a cameo role to pay homage to the original source. Nero played the stranger who asked Django how his name was spelled.
Thor: Ragnarok
Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Ragnarok” tried to be as faithful to the comic books as possible. After all, it deserves to be appreciated for Hela’s outstanding comic book-like appearance and more. The film also made a subtle reference to the comic books when the Master called Valkyrie as Scrapper 142. In Marvel Comics, Valkyrie made her debut in Incredible Hulk #142.
The Umbrella Academy
Klaus didn’t the power to levitate in the tv series. But he did get a hang of it in season 2 with the help of his brother, Ben’s spirit. It wasn’t a random sequence added in the plot but a deliberate acknowledgment of his book counterpart. In comic books, Klaus had the ability to float in the air.
The Boys
In comic books, Hughie Campbell’s character was highly influenced by Simon Pegg. Not only did he look like Pegg, but even his personality mirrors that of the actor. For instance, Campbell hails from Glasgow, which is also the hometown of Simon Pegg’s wife. And as we see in the series, Pegg appeared as Hughie’s dad.
The Office
The American version of “The Office” starring Steve Carell is one of the biggest hits in the history of sitcoms. It has various versions in different countries that stem from the original British “The Office”. In order to pay a subtle nod to the British one that was set in the town of Slough, Berkshire, they made Dunder Mifflin’s address 1725 Slough Avenue, Scranton, PA.
Jessica Jones
Wondering where Kilgrave grew his obsession for purple? This fondness is not a coincidence. His comic book counterpart in “Jessica Jones” was known as “Purple Man”. Even his skin was purple in the books.