What's the 'Arrested Development' Easter Egg in 'Avengers: Infinity War'?
When we interviewed the immensely talented filmmaking team of Joe and Anthony Russo, just a few days before their monolithic superhero mash-up "Avengers: Infinity War" debuted (to rapturous reviews and astronomical box office), we asked if they could give us something that would only make sense after we saw the movie.
This is what they said:
Joe: How about "blue man?"
Anthony: That's a good one.
Now, having seen the film twice already (what? We have a rich social life full of interpersonal interactions!), we can safely assume what they were referring to. Spoilers follow, so turn back until you haven't seen the movie yet.
Still there?
Okay, cool.
There's a moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy (specifically Chris Pratt's Star Lord, Zoe Saldana's Gamora, Dave Bautista's Drax and Pom Klementieff's Mantis –- Rocket and Groot have already joined up with Thor at this point) land on Knowhere, the giant, floating head of a space god known as a celestial. (Bonus trivia: Kurt Russell is revealed to be a celestial in "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.") They're sneaking into the workspace of the Collector (Benicio del Toro), but are intercepted by Thanos (Josh Brolin). As they make their way through the maze of Collector's display cases, there is a familiar figure -- a blue man, if you will.
But who is this Smurf-colored being?
It's none other than Tobias Fünke, the character played by Arrested Development."
It's unclear if that was actually David Cross in the plastic box (Disney did not respond to our request for comment in time for publish), but that's 100% the character -- the characteristic denim shorts (he's a never-nude, remember), the bushy mustache, the bald head, and the Crayola-colored blue-skin (from some time he spent with the Blue Man Group).
But what's the connection between "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Arrested Development?" It's actually the Russos, who directed the pilot for the highly influential series and who, between the two of them, helmed more than a dozen additional episodes. So, clearly, the show helped them develop as filmmakers and remains a standard-bearer for television comedy.
The experience on "Arrested Development" also helped them in the whole balancing-multiple-storylines thing, which would come in handy when tackling something as sprawling and character-stuffed as "Avengers: Infinity War."
So there you go, blue man decoded!