Avengers: Infinity War's Arrested Development Easter Egg

CBR

Infinity War's Best Easter Egg Has Nothing to Do With Marvel

By Jordan Commandeur

Published Apr 28, 2018

As directors Joe and Anthony Russo teased, they hid an Easter egg to Arrested Development in Avengers: Infinity War. Did you spot it?

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.

True to their word, directors Joe and Anthony Russo sneaked an Arrested Development Easter egg into Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War. Before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the brothers were perhaps best known for their work on the cult-favorite television comedy, and were determined to pay tribute to it, again.

“All we can say is that [viewers] will be rewarded with careful attention," Anthony Russo teased ahead of Infinity War's release. "I think die-hard Arrested Development fans will see it on the first viewing."

The nod does required careful attention, but if viewers peel their eyes away from the action at just the right moment, they'll catch a glimpse of everyone's favorite Never Nude, Tobias Fünke making a quick cameo.

In Infinity War, Star-Lord, Gamora, Mantis and Drax return to Knowhere in hopes of prying the Reality Stone from The Collector before Thanos can get his hands on it. However, they arrive to find widespread destruction. When they hear Thanos’ booming voice, they try to creep up on the Mad Titan, and Star-Lord signals for his teammates to stop, but no one does. As Gamora walks away, the top left corner holds the mother of all Easter eggs: Tobias Fünke in his Blue Man Group makeup -- white cut-off shorts and all. He's one of The Collector's specimens in the terrarium-like containment cells. Now, just to be clear, it's not actor David Cross, but it's unmistakably Tobias.

The Russo brothers won an Emmy Award for their work on Arrested Development's 2003 pilot, and went on to direct a combined 13 more episodes of the comedy.

Infinity War isn't the first MCU film in which they paid homage to Arrested Development, however: In 2016's Captain America: Civil War, the Bluth Company stair car can be glimpsed during the airport fight scene. They've also include nods to Community, for which they directed more than 30 episodes, giving Danny Pudi a cameo as a S.H.I.E.L.D. tech in The Winter Soldier, and Jim Rash a minor role in Civil War.

Now, the question remains: What other items did the Russo brothers hide in The Collector's museum?

Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston and Josh Brolin, among others.