“Leave the World Behind” director Sam Esmail confirms film's major “Mr. Robot” Easter egg

Hello, friend.

"Hello, friend."

It's been nearly four years since we last heard Rami Malek's hacker character Elliot utter those words on Sam Esmail's mind-bending series Mr. Robot, which aired its final episode in December 2019. But, fans looking for a quick trip down memory lane need look no further than Esmail's latest directorial effort, the apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind.

The film, playing now in select theaters before its Netflix streaming release this Dec. 8, features a major, albeit quick, Easter egg referring to the series. The movie, which Esmail adapted from Rumaan Alam's novel of the same name, follows Amanda (Julia Roberts) and her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke), who rent a luxurious home for the weekend with their kids, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). Their vacation is soon upended when two strangers — G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha'la) — arrive in the night bearing news of a mysterious cyberattack, while seeking refuge in the house they say is theirs.

At one point, Ruth and G.H. — the latter of whom is more in the know about the current events due to his mysterious career — are explaining to Amanda and Clay what they think is going on, and make an off-hand comment about an almost apocalyptic New Jersey hack a few years back. Fans of Mr. Robot will of course remember that one of the most crucial plot points of the series hinged on the Washington Township toxic waste scandal in New Jersey, which was exposed following the E Corp hack by Elliot's hacker group, fsociety. This in turn led to the show's famous Five/Nine hack, which brought about the temporary collapse of the American economy.

When asked point blank if this off-hand comment in Leave the World Behind was a massive Easter egg for Mr. Robot fans, Esmail tells EW, "I will confirm that, yes."

"I would say actually that all of the things I've worked on, Mr. Robot, Homecoming, Comet, and Leave the World Behind are kind of all in the same universe," he adds. When asked if there are other references in the new film for fans to find, he coyly teases, "You'll have to watch it again and see."

While other references may be more hidden, eagle-eyed Mr. Robot fans will immediately spot some familiar names in the credits. Series alums Anastasia White (production designer), Tod Campbell (cinematographer), and Mac Quayle (composer) were all brought on board Leave the World Behind. "We complete each others' sentences at this point," Esmail says. "We have the same obsessions with how to tell stories, and that wasn't even a question in my mind that I would reteam with them on this film."

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke get paranoid in teaser for apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind

• Rumaan Alam goes zingy-dystopian in fall fiction breakout Leave the World Behind: Review

• Rumaan Alam's Leave the World Behind is the fall's biggest novel. It's about the end of the world

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.