Crossover movies like Freddy vs. Jason or Alien vs. Predator take characters from two
different franchises and pair them up, establishing the characters as co-inhabitants of the same
cinematic universe.
But some movie crossovers are so subtle you might have missed them entirely.
For example ...
Spy Kids & Machete
That's right, the gadget-creating uncle from Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids series is the
same dude who later goes on a mission for vengeance and blood in the violent Machete
and Machete Kills movies, also helmed by Rodriguez.
In Spy Kids and its sequels, Danny Trejo's "Uncle Machete" and his collection of super-cool
spy gadgets comes to the aid of the Cortez children against a variety of enemies.
In 2007, Rodriguez teamed up with Quentin Tarantino for the horror double-feature Grindhouse,
which had fake trailers for nonexistent movies, including one for Machete.
"I cost the most, because I'm the best there is."
After making the trailer, Rodriguez decided to go ahead and give Uncle Machete his own
full-length film — a rare case of PG and R-rated films sharing the same universe.
Trading Places & Coming to America
In 1983's Trading Places, Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy are forced to switch lives through
the orchestrations of the nefarious broker brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke.The movie
ends with the Duke brothers' business ruined, leaving them destitute.
Five years later, another Eddie Murphy movie would show us what became of the Dukes after
their downfall.
In 1988's Coming to America, Murphy is a different character: an incredibly wealthy prince who
travels to the United States in search of a bride who will love him for who he is rather
than for his money.
To further that goal, the prince gives all his remaining money to a pair of homeless
men—who turn out, somehow, to be the Duke brothers.
"Mortimer, we're back!"
yea!
Star Wars & E.T.
This sci-fi crossover was deliberately planned by both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
First, there's the scene from E.T. where the kids encounter a kid dressed in a Yoda costume,
reminding E.T. of where he came from ...
"Home!"
That's… obviously not the REAL ancient Jedi, but E.T. clearly recognizes the guy.
Spielberg's buddy Lucas returned the favor in 1999, when he included a delegation of
E.T. aliens as members of the Galactic Senate.
According to an Extended Universe novella, the aliens are known as Asogians and their
leader in the Senate was named Grebleips–"Spielberg" spelled backward.
The Rules of Attraction & American Psycho
If you're familiar with the source material for these two very different movies, then
you probably already know about the connection between The Rules of Attraction and American
Psycho, both based on Bret Easton Ellis novels.
If you're not, then here's a brief explanation: James van der Beek's Sean Bateman in 2002's
The Rules of Attraction is actually the younger brother of Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman
from 2000's American Psycho.
Patrick was supposed to make a brief appearance in The Rules of Attraction, played by another
actor, but all of his scenes were cut before the movie was released.
The Lone Ranger & The Green Hornet
While it can't be acknowledged openly today onscreen by either of the characters, the
Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet are actually related.
In the early radio serials, it was established that Britt Reid, The Green Hornet, was the
descendant of John Reid, The Lone Ranger.
Depending on the source, John is described as either Britt's uncle or great uncle.
Much later, the properties were sold to different studios, so the characters can't intermingle
on the big screen.
But while movie crossovers are out, the comic book rights are a slightly different story.
In 2016, Dynamite Comics obtained the rights to both characters and published a crossover
comic book series that explores their familial connection.
Tarantino's dual cinematic universes
For years, movie fans have speculated that all of Quentin Tarantino's movies take place
within the same universe, and Tarantino himself confirmed in 2016 that the theory is mostly
correct.
There are actually two universes within his films — one is the "real" world in which
many of the characters live, and the other is the "movie" world containing films that
the people in the "real" world would go and see.
As Tarantino explains, "So when all the characters of Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, when they
go to the movies, Kill Bill is what they go to see.
From Dusk Till Dawn is what they see."
The logic isn't airtight, but here's just one example: In Pulp Fiction, actress Mia
Wallace, played by Uma Thurman, says she was in a TV pilot about female secret agents where
she plays "the deadliest woman in the world with a knife" — a reference to Thurman's
character, The Bride, in Kill Bill.
This means the drug-addled Mia Wallace cleaned up her act to play "The Bride" within the
Tarantino universe, making Kill Bill more than just a spiritual sequel to Pulp Fiction.
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