History AllThereInTheManual / LiveActionFilms

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** The RuleOfTwo of the Sith is mentioned by Yoda in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' but it is never given any elaboration beyond explaining why we shouldn't expect more than two Sith. Tie-in media and supplementary materials would give a much more detailed account about the Sith, namely that Darth Bane, the last surviving Sith of his time, established the RuleOfTwo to ensure the Sith's survival from their own backstabbing. Additionally, it's explained that their revenge against the Jedi is a case of NeverMyFault since the Sith brought about their own destruction through [[TheStarscream constant backstabbing for leadership]] whereas in the films themselves, it's implied that the Sith were directly destroyed by the Jedi and Darth Sidious is only returning the favor during his takeover of the Galactic Republic.
** All the ships, technology, alien species, and individual characters that are briefly seen throughout the movies are given names and backstories somewhere in reference materials, ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', and the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse''.
** Aurra Sing appears briefly during the Pod Race sequence in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. The movie gives no explanation as to who she is, but the comics, novels, games, and ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' CGI animated series elaborate further on her story.
** The [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion Special Edition]] of ''Film/ANewHope'' has a cameo of Dash Rendar's Outrider, from ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire''.
** Hilariously parodied in WebVideo/RedLetterMedia's 7-part [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG1AWVLnl48 Star Wars Review]] (see part 2 at 5:50).
--->"And don't any of you shit heads tell me that it was explained more in the novelization or some Star Wars book. What matters is the '''movie'''. I ain't never read one of those Star Wars books, or any books in general for that matter. And I ain't about to start. Don't talk about them stupid video games or novels, comic books, or any of that fucking crap. I've seen enough of that shit."
** Lucasfilm seems to enjoy using this trope [[MerchandiseDriven if for no other reason than to make fans buy all of the various merchandising tie-ins in order to get the whole story]]. For their ''The Force Unleashed'' multimedia project, which was presented primarily as a video game, players never learn the name of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, who is referred to only as "Starkiller"; his real name (Galen Marek) is revealed only in the official novelization, which is considered to be the "canon" version of events. See ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'' for similar shenanigans.
** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' begins with Coruscant under attack and recently "kidnapped" Chancellor Palpatine a prisoner on General Grievous's ship. While it's not strictly necessary in order to understand that setup, the first series of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars Clone Wars]]'' cartoons (the Creator/GenndyTartakovsky ones, not [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars the CGI ones]]) actually showed his kidnapping. The last episode of that series ends the moment the movie begins. The same cartoon has the introduction for General Grievous; going only by the movies he appears out of nowhere and his presence is never explained.
** On the flipside, if the viewers read up on the Visual Dictionary by the time ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' is released, it would also essentially spoil the fact that Senator Palpatine was the same guy as TheEmperor in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Something similar happens with the Inside the Worlds of the Original Trilogy guide, where the portion where it shows the Emperor electrocuting Luke has the statement about "Darth Sidious' Crooked Fingers," essentially spoiling the secret of who Darth Sidious was before ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' unveils the revelation that Palpatine and Sidious are the same person.
** The original '70's novelization of ''Film/ANewHope'' revealed that the Emperor's name was Palpatine in a brief foreword before the story proper even began. The expanded universe had been using the name quite casually since at least ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy.''
** Despite how their first appearance in the franchise played a central role in the film, the name of the Ewoks in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is never mentioned or brought up. The main reasons the general public may know their name was through pre-release material and later movies and books.
** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', C-3PO's red arm is explained in the comic ''Star Wars Special: C-3PO''.
*** Basically nothing is explained in the movie itself. What the First Order is, why the Resistance is separate from the Rebellion, why the destruction of a system we've never seen or heard of before and none of the characters are connected to is important... all of that was only explained in supplementary materials.
** Like ''Return of the Jedi'' before it, ''Film/TheLastJedi'' fails to reveal the names of multiple places, people, and/or species in the film, such as Luke's home planet of Ahch-To, the bird-like Porgs that also inhabited the planet, and the Canto Bight smuggler that joined Finn & Rose during their side-quest, DJ. These pieces of information were all included in pre-release reference/tie-in material however, like Episode 6 listed above.
** The opening crawl of ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' references a mysterious broadcast from Emperor Palpatine, which confuses all who listen to it and whose origin is unknown. The only place to hear the actual isn't in the film itself, but in... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u0ejXC7kFs a cross-promotional marketing event]] that was held in ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. Complete with unique dialogue by Creator/IanMcDiarmid.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** The novelization of ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' showed the following:
*** One of the officers killed in the transporter accident was Lori Ciana, a Starfleet admiral and Kirk's ''ex-wife''.
*** [[NumberOne Willard Decker]] was the son of [[DeathSeeker Commodore Matt Decker]] from the [=TOS=] episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine "The Doomsday Machine"]].
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'':
*** The original script described Saavik as being half-Vulcan, half-Romulan. This doubles as an AbortedArc in conjunction with Star Trek VI, as Valeris was intended to be Saavik.
*** The RedShirt who dies when Engineering is attacked is Scotty's nephew, which explains why he reacts so emotionally. A scene explaining their relation was cut. The scene was used in the extended ABC broadcasts in the early 1980s, and subsequently included in the Special Director's Edition DVD.
*** Some people consider the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]]'s reveal that Spock created the Kobayashi Maru test to be a distracting change, but subtle hints throughout the movie imply it here. Spock knows the number of times Kirk took it, and the way he finally beat it, but a captain's academy test results aren't usually shared with his junior officers. That Spock never took the test himself is also telling.
** ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''
*** The novelization of the film reveals that Saavik and David became lovers after the events of ''Star Trek II'', making his murder doubly tragic and his sacrifice even more meaningful (he gives his life to save the woman he loves when he realizes the Klingon is about to kill her).
** Probably one of the most controversial parts of ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' was the RaceLift given to [[spoiler: Khan, who was an Indian Sikh in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]], but was played by a [[Creator/BenedictCumberbatch white Englishman]] in the movie]]. The comic book mini-series [[spoiler: Star Trek: Khan]] explains this by revealing that [[spoiler: Khan still was an Indian Sikh]], but received MagicPlasticSurgery that made him [[BlackLikeMe appear white in order to hide his identity]].
*** The retailer Sainsbury's has an exclusive edition with a second bonus DVD disc containing 33 minutes of extra features. In North America, the release is split into various retailer exclusives. Retailer Best Buy has an exclusive Blu-ray edition with 30 minutes of additional content, available on disc in Canada, and via streaming service CinemaNow in the United States. Target's Blu-ray edition also has 30 minutes of additional content that is different from Best Buy's. Online retailer iTunes' version comes with audio commentary for the film not available in the retailer exclusives.
** In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', the motivations of bad guy Nero are only vaguely alluded to in a mind-meld flashback scene. In order to fully understand what happened, and to give the character some actual depth, you have to read the ''Star Trek: Countdown'' comic books (although the physics of [[spoiler:Romulus being destroyed by the supernova]] still might have some physicists scratching their heads, even though it's further explained).
*** The comic also covers what the movie doesn't, how Nero's "simple mining vessel" became that humongous juggernaut of a warship.

** Hilariously parodied in WebVideo/RedLetterMedia's 7-part [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG1AWVLnl48 Star Wars Review,]] see part 2 at 5:50.
--->"And don't any of you shit heads tell me that it was explained more in the novelization or some Star Wars book. What matters is the '''movie'''. I ain't never read one of those Star Wars books, or any books in general for that matter. And I ain't about to start. Don't talk about them stupid video games or novels, comic books, or any of that ***ing crap. I've seen enough of that shit."

* The novelization of ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' revealed:
** One of the officers killed in the transporter accident was Lori Ciana, a Starfleet admiral and Kirk's ''ex-wife''.
** [[NumberOne Willard Decker]] was the son of [[DeathSeeker Commodore Matt Decker]] from the [=TOS=] episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine "The Doomsday Machine"]].
* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''
** The original script described Saavik as being half-Vulcan, half-Romulan. This doubles as an AbortedArc in conjunction with Star Trek VI, as Valeris was intended to be Saavik.
** The RedShirt who dies when Engineering is attacked is Scotty's nephew, which explains why he reacts so emotionally. A scene explaining their relation was cut. The scene was used in the extended ABC broadcasts in the early 1980s, and subsequently included in the Special Director's Edition DVD.
** Some people consider the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]]'s revelation that Spock created the Kobayashi Maru test to be a distracting change, but subtle hints throughout the movie imply it here. Spock knows the number of times Kirk took it, and the way he finally beat it, but a captain's academy test results aren't usually shared with his junior officers. That Spock never took the test himself is also telling.
* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''
** The novelization of the film reveals that Saavik and David became lovers after the events of ''Star Trek II'', making his murder doubly tragic and his sacrifice even more meaningful (he gives his life to save the woman he loves when he realizes the Klingon is about to kill her).
* Probably one of the most controversial parts of ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' was the RaceLift given to [[spoiler: Khan, who was an Indian Sikh in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]], but was played by a [[Creator/BenedictCumberbatch white Englishman]] in the movie]]. The comic book mini-series [[spoiler: Star Trek: Khan]] explains this by revealing that [[spoiler: Khan still was an Indian Sikh]], but received MagicPlasticSurgery that made him [[BlackLikeMe appear white in order to hide his identity]].
* For ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', the retailer Sainsbury's has an exclusive edition with a second bonus DVD disc containing 33 minutes of extra features. In North America, the release is split into various retailer exclusives. Retailer Best Buy has an exclusive Blu-ray edition with 30 minutes of additional content, available on disc in Canada, and via streaming service CinemaNow in the United States. Target's Blu-ray edition also has 30 minutes of additional content that is different from Best Buy's. Online retailer iTunes' version comes with audio commentary for the film not available in the retailer exclusives.
* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', the motivations of bad guy Nero are only vaguely alluded to in a mind-meld flashback scene. In order to fully understand what happened, and to give the character some actual depth, you have to read the ''Star Trek: Countdown'' comic books (although the physics of [[spoiler:Romulus being destroyed by the supernova]] still might have some physicists scratching their heads, even though it's further explained).
** The comic also covers what the movie doesn't, how Nero's "simple mining vessel" became that humongous juggernaut of a warship.

** The ''Film/MarvelOneShots'' also serve a similar function. For instance, ''Film/TheConsultant'' shows what happened to the Abomination after ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', and reveals [[spoiler: that he was initially picked as a potential member of the Avengers before the Hulk joined up]]. ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' reveals there is a real Mandarin, something that isn't stated in ''Film/IronMan3''.

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** The ''Film/MarvelOneShots'' also serve a similar function. For instance, ''Film/TheConsultant'' shows what happened to the Abomination after ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', and reveals [[spoiler: that he was initially picked as a potential member of the Avengers before the Hulk joined up]]. ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' reveals there is a real Mandarin, something that isn't stated in ''Film/IronMan3''.

* ''Film/TheRizzle'': [[TheProtagonist The girl] in the short is never referred to by her name (Elena), and neither is the Dancing Man on The Rizzle video. We only know those are what they're called because those are the names that they're given in the credits.

** Aurra Sing appears briefly during the Pod Race sequence in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. The movie gives no explanation as to who she is, but the comics, novels, games, and ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Clone Wars]]'' TV series elaborate further on her story.

** The original '70's novelisation of ''Film/ANewHope'' revealed that the Emperor's name was Palpatine in a brief foreword before the story proper even began. The expanded universe had been using the name quite casually since at least ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy.''
** Despite how their first appearance in the franchise played a central role in the film, the name of the Ewoks in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' is never mentioned or brought up. The main reasons general public may know their name was through pre-release material and later movies and books.

** Like ''Return of the Jedi'' before it, ''Film/TheLastJedi'' fails to reveal the names of multiple places, people, and/or species in the film, such as Luke's home planet of Ahch-To, the bird-like Porgs that also inhabited the planet, the Canto Bight smuggler that joined Finn & Rose during their side-quest, DJ.

** The opening crawl of ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' references a mysterious broadcast from [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine]], which confuses all who listen to it and whose origin is unknown. The only place to hear the actual isn't in the film itself, but in... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u0ejXC7kFs a cross-promotional marketing event]] that was held in ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. Complete with unique dialogue by Creator/IanMcDiarmid.

* In ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', the U.S. military high command is panicking over the mass mobilization of the Soviet surface and submarine fleets, and they fear that [[VehicleTitle the Red October]], a nuclear missile submarine, piloted by Captain Marko Ramius, will either spearhead an attack on the United States, ''or'' maybe Raimus went rougue and he's trying to start a war by himself and the Soviet Navy's trying to stop him. Jack Ryan then figures out that the Soviet Navy is mobilizing to track down Cpt. Ramius because he's defecting and taking the Red October with him, stating that since his wife died a year before, he has no reason to go back to the Soviet Union. [[Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober The book]] goes into more detail, explaining that about a year before, Ramius' wife was checked in to a hospital to undergo an appendectomy, but died on the operating table when the doctor performed the surgery while drunk. Ramius filed charges against him, but since the doctor was related to a high ranking member of the Communist Party, he was acquitted. Ramius blamed his wife's death on the whole Soviet system, and decided that defecting and handing over a top secret Soviet weapon to the United States was apt revenge for his wife's death.

* Creator/DarkHorseComics's comic adaptation of ''Film/RoboCop3'' reveals a few details including the new CEO's being Bob Morton's dad (though still not his first name), that no one in Metro West [[spoiler:believed Murphy killed Lewis and realized that it was [=McDaggett=] and his men who killed her]], and that the Rehabs set up base there when Nikko went to Dr. Lazarus for help.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' has the [=IDW=] tie-in series "Biff to the Future," which explains how Alternate-1985 became so chaotic. The day after the dance, Grandma Tannen forced Biff to go to Las Vegas to gamble, where he runs into a hustler who tried to rob and kill him. After winning his first million dollars, he goes to Hollywood, but after realizing he was being scammed out of his winnings by a shady film producer, and chance encounter with Ronald Regan, who decided he was going into politics, Biff has the producer killed and uses his money to take over Hill Valley. After effectively buying the city council and the police, he has George murdered to stop the resistance movement against him, and has the police frame Red the Bum as the killer. He makes his connections with the Nixon administration by agreeing to use his furtune to help dispose of toxic waste, and after buying the Washington post, who owned the local newspaper to stop bad publicity against him, he inadvertantly stopped the Watergate scandal. In return for gambling to be legalized, Nixon asked Biff to bribe state legislator to repeal the 22nd ammendment as way to remain in office indefinitively.

* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath'': The credits reveal the reason the "I" segment was named [[spoiler:Ingrown]]: [[spoiler: "2015 women murdered in the last 10 years in Mexico. 200 women a month.

* Creator/DarkHorseComics's comic adaptation of ''Film/RoboCop3'' reveals a few details including the new CEO's being Bob Morton's dad (though still not his first name), that no one is Metro West [[spoiler:believed Murphy killed Lewis and realized that it was [=McDaggett=] and his men who killed her]], and that the Rehabs set up base there when Nikko went to Dr. Lazarus for help.

* ComicBook/DarkHorseComics's comic adaptation of ''Film/RoboCop3'' reveals a few details including the new CEO's being Bob Morton's dad (though still not his first name), that no one is Metro West [[spoiler:believed Murphy killed Lewis and realized that it was [=McDaggett=] and his men who killed her]], and that the Rehabs set up base there when Nikko went to Dr. Lazarus for help.

.
* Anyone who hasn't read the Creator/EdgarAllanPoe short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" will probably be thoroughly confused by the weird, surreal, experimental 1928 short film adaptation ''[[Film/TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher1928USA The Fall of the House of Usher]]'', which presents 13 minutes of bizarre and confusing imagery and does not really explain what's going on.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'':
** The novel clears up a few details about the movie, such as making it possible to understand Dent's KnightTemplar tendencies. Bruce is skeptical that Dent could have a skeleton-free closet, and decides to do some digging. What he finds is that Dent's father was a police officer who abused his mother, and whenever the police were called, they'd look the other way. Eventually, Dent's father killed his mother while he was away at school. This explains Harvey's initial distrust with Gordon at the beginning due to Gordon having dirty cops in his special unit (like Wuertz and Ramirez, to be specific). Bruce eventually realizes he's been digging so hard because he's jealous. Etc.
** The ARG also fills in a ton of details for what took place between ''Film/BatmanBegins'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
* ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'': There is a souvenir program out there that shows pictures from the movie and some behind-the-scenes stuff, including the names of the rest of the delegates seen in the movie (mostly Southerners to fill out the dance line in "Cool Considerate Men") For example, the man that yelled "''Will someone shut that man up?''" during "Sit Down, John", is Georgia delegate George Walton.
** The screenplay was later published in paperback format with an extensive afterword.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': Some people's names are never mentioned, but you can tell who they are supposed to be. Simultaneously {{inverted}}, with some characters in this film being called by names that weren't revealed until the second book.
* The ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' novelization includes a scene of the T-X being created in the future.
* ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'':
** The posters reveal that [[spoiler:the type of Terminator that John Connor was converted into was a T-3000]].
** Creator/MattSmith’s mysterious character is credited as "Alex", [[spoiler:but according to auxiliary materials, he is a T-5000, an avatar of Skynet. Additionally, according to the writers, the T-5000 is actually the Skynet from the universe of ''[[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines Rise of the Machines]]'' and ''[[Film/TerminatorSalvation Salvation]]'', and developed interdimensional travel tech in addition to time travel tech and proceeded to go from universe to universe, only to see itself get defeated over and over again until it converted the John of ''Genisys'' into the T-3000]].
* ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'':
** The name of the planet most of the movie is set in is Lythion, but you'd only know that by reading the original comics or a summary of the movie (in-movie it's only known as planet 16).
** Some of the background characters do have proper names, but you'd need to read a character sheet to know them. Some of these characters (notably Captain Sun) had larger roles in the comics, but in the movie most of what they did of importance in the comics is distributed between Durand Durand and Dildano.
* ''Film/{{Quintet}}'' centers around a fictional board game, but the film itself doesn't really describe the rules in detail. In its theatrical release, the audience received a pamphlet with a detailed explanation of the game.
* Deliberately invoked with The Cremaster Cycle, a set of five art films by Matthew Barney. The cycle totals nearly 7 hours of viewing time, is not available on DVD, and is completely incomprehensible unless you've read either the creator's website or the published statement of purpose. Various books have been published to act as companion supplements.
* One of the manga adaptations of ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' (''The Beast's Tale'') fills in a major PlotHole in the film's third act: [[spoiler: Belle cannot use the teleportation book to save Maurice because it only works when the Beast touches it (as it was a "gift" for him), and if they were to go to her village together matters would be worse]].
* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath'': The credits reveal the reason the "I" segment was named [[spoiler:Ingrown]]: [[spoiler: "2015 women murdered in the last 10 years in Mexico. 200 women a month.
* In ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', the U.S. military high command is panicking over the mass mobilization of the Soviet surface and submarine fleets, and they fear that [[VehicleTitle the Red October]], a nuclear missile submarine, piloted by Captain Marko Ramius, will either spearhead an attack on the United States, ''or'' maybe Raimus went rougue and he's trying to start a war by himself and the Soviet Navy's trying to stop him. Jack Ryan then figures out that the Soviet Navy is mobilizing to track down Cpt. Ramius because he's defecting and taking the Red October with him, stating that since his wife died a year before, he has no reason to go back to the Soviet Union. [[Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober The book]] goes into more detail, explaining that about a year before, Ramius' wife was checked in to a hospital to undergo an appendectomy, but died on the operating table when the doctor performed the surgery while drunk. Ramius filed charges against him, but since the doctor was related to a high ranking member of the Communist Party, he was acquitted. Ramius blamed his wife's death on the whole Soviet system, and decided that defecting and handing over a top secret Soviet weapon to the United States was apt revenge for his wife's death.
* The junior novelization of ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' expands on Longclaw's character and what the echidnas want, and includes an extended scene of Sonic and Longclaw before he finds his way to Earth.
* In ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'':
** Pretty much all the names of the Skeksis and Mystics are featured in the novelization and "Art of" book.
** Even though the name of the planet this story takes place on is never mentioned, it's referred to in the novelization as 'Thra'.
* ''Film/VanHelsing'':
** The three actresses playing the Brides revealed some nifty extra information about their characters you don't get in the film at all such as Verona being the oldest and Dracula's favourite, Marishka is the middle bride and was a gypsy, and Aleera is the youngest and most jealous. Silvia Colloca said that Verona was "very confident and very wise, never loses her temper [...] she is very dangerous for that reason because she is not very predictable."
** Van Helsing's buzzsaw weapons are actually called 'Tojo blades', but you will only know this if you've played the video game.

* In ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'', a lot of the 'Who are these people and why should we care?' information for the Black Zodiac isn't actually in the movie, but rather in special footage on the DVD.

* The novelization of ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' revealed:
** One of the officers killed in the transporter accident was Lori Ciana, a Starfleet admiral and Kirk's ''ex-wife''.
** [[NumberOne Willard Decker]] was the son of [[DeathSeeker Commodore Matt Decker]] from the [=TOS=] episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine "The Doomsday Machine"]].
* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''
** The original script described Saavik as being half-Vulcan, half-Romulan. This doubles as an AbortedArc in conjunction with Star Trek VI, as Valeris was intended to be Saavik.
** The RedShirt who dies when Engineering is attacked is Scotty's nephew, which explains why he reacts so emotionally. A scene explaining their relation was cut. The scene was used in the extended ABC broadcasts in the early 1980s, and subsequently included in the Special Director's Edition DVD.
** Some people consider the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]]'s revelation that Spock created the Kobayashi Maru test to be a distracting change, but subtle hints throughout the movie imply it here. Spock knows the number of times Kirk took it, and the way he finally beat it, but a captain's academy test results aren't usually shared with his junior officers. That Spock never took the test himself is also telling.
* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''
** The novelization of the film reveals that Saavik and David became lovers after the events of ''Star Trek II'', making his murder doubly tragic and his sacrifice even more meaningful (he gives his life to save the woman he loves when he realizes the Klingon is about to kill her).
* Probably one of the most controversial parts of ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' was the RaceLift given to [[spoiler: Khan, who was an Indian Sikh in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]], but was played by a [[Creator/BenedictCumberbatch white Englishman]] in the movie]]. The comic book mini-series [[spoiler: Star Trek: Khan]] explains this by revealing that [[spoiler: Khan still was an Indian Sikh]], but received MagicPlasticSurgery that made him [[BlackLikeMe appear white in order to hide his identity]].
* For ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', the retailer Sainsbury's has an exclusive edition with a second bonus DVD disc containing 33 minutes of extra features. In North America, the release is split into various retailer exclusives. Retailer Best Buy has an exclusive Blu-ray edition with 30 minutes of additional content, available on disc in Canada, and via streaming service CinemaNow in the United States. Target's Blu-ray edition also has 30 minutes of additional content that is different from Best Buy's. Online retailer iTunes' version comes with audio commentary for the film not available in the retailer exclusives.
* The most iconic object from ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}'', the pistol made out of bones and teeth, is not named in the film. Background material reveals it's actually called the "gristle gun".
* ''Film/AfterEarth'': In regards to the {{backstory}} of [[http://io9.com/the-alien-backstory-you-didnt-see-in-the-after-earth-t-509618063 AE's fictional universe]].
* ''Film/ManOfSteel'':
** The tie-in prequel comic (which is presumably completely canon, since its story is credited to Goyer) [[spoiler:reveals that [[ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} Thanagar]] exists in this continuity -- as does [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara Zor-El]], whose ship lands in Canada thousands of years before the beginning of the film.]]
** [[spoiler:How Clark goes from a full beard to clean-shaven is never explained, though in the comics he shaves with heat vision and a mirror (or other reflective surfaces). The omission is kind of a cop-out since a Gillette ad campaign to promote the film was "How Does He Shave?"]]
* The Graphic Novel ''Film/PacificRim: Tales from Year Zero'' is a series of {{flashback}}s about some of the characters from the movie and how they came to be part of the Jaeger program.
* The company man at the end of ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' named Michael Bishop, the man who created the Bishop line of robots, is not named in any part of the film's dialogue, even in the Assembly Cut. The credits referred to him as "Bishop II", which only fueled the misconception brought on by shoddy editing that he's some sort of special robot with red blood.
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': Caryle is a self-made man and is chosen for Delacourt's hijack of Elysium, as he's the one who coded the SABRE defense system in the first place, being a child prodigy hired by Armadyne for it. He also [[ComicallyMissingThePoint won a humanitarian award for coding said defense system, which fries the attacker's brain.]]
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' has a tie-in Daily Bugle website, complete with fake articles that heavily {{Foreshadow}} future villains such as the Vulture and Comicbook/{{Venom}}.
** Marvel also released a digital-exclusive {{prequel}} comic for the film, which shows why Peter is sporting a new costume in the film.
* ''Film/TheGerman'': All characters' names (those who have them) are given only in the credits.
* The Novelization for ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' gives the characters more development and provides insight into them, as well as additional backstories.
* For ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', Paramount released a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95YrWB3AQVk trailer]] and [[http://www.legendoftheyokai.com/ website]] about "The Legend of the Yokai", which told of four ''{{kappa}} {{yokai}}'' who once defended Japan against a horde of fellow monsters, were also trained as ninja, and passed into legend saying they would come again. Though the film itself doesn't elaborate on this further than Eric Sacks displaying a scroll illustrated with ''kappa''.
* Each episode of ''Film/HaloNightfall'' comes with a few "Second Story" short videos which expand on the background plot.

* In ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'', a lot of the 'Who are these people and why should we care?' information for the Black Zodiac isn't actually in the movie, but rather in special footage on the DVD.
* The website for ''Film/CSATheConfederateStatesOfAmerica'' has a timeline that reveals more of the AlternateHistory.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** Sparrow's history with Beckett, the Pearl, and Davy Jones is only hinted at in the movies. It was given in a series of books detailing his past.
** Lt. Groves was not named in canon until ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides On Stranger Tides]]'' and either was confirmed to have that name either in the credits or by his actor.
** A lot of MagicAIsMagicA is explained AllThereInTheManual by the writers as well.
* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' has an on-line guide explaining points that were left out of the film proper.
** ''Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide'' was a book released for this purpose. Some editions of the [=DVD=] and Blu-Ray include the guide as an extra.
** Why they even want the '{{Unobtanium}}' in the first place (a room temperature superconductor - restored to the actual film in the collector's edition).
*** It also explains how humans even got to Pandora in the first place without the Unobtanium.
* When ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' arrived in theaters, a companion book marketed as an in-universe supplement to the show was released which contained a copy of the screenplay as well as detailed background information about the setting and each of the various characters who appear both as "actors" and as audience members in the film.
* ''Film/WildWildWest''. The novelization provides some altered scenes, including introducing a subplot where West claims while surviving on his own he befriended a native shaman, who later appeared as Jim fell off the giant spider to revive him.
* ''Film/TRONLegacy'' never explains where the Iso's come from, simply stating they just "appeared." It also mentions, but never explains the Sea of Simulation. The comic book ''TRON: Betrayal'' details that the Iso's came ''from'' the Sea of Simulation. It also makes C.L.U. a much more sympathetic character.
** ''VideoGame/TRONEvolution'' explains most of this as well, but is much more vague and less sympathetic towards Clu. For now, it appears that the comic is canon. ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' adds a lot more detail to the time period between the coup and the second film. And even on the first film, the {{Novelization}} has a truckload of detail about the Program world that couldn't make it onto the screen. That ''isn't'' counting the [[CanonDiscontinuity discredited game and comic book]] that the fandom will also use as resources.
* ''Film/KingKong2005'' has "The World Of Kong: A Natural History Of Skull Island", an art book done in the style of a nature journal, with the information in it apparently collected on expeditions that occurred after Kong was revealed to the world. It goes into great detail explaining the living habits of the various creatures (many not seen in the film itself) that lived on Skull Island, as well as explaining the island's geographical conditions (Skull Island was literally ripping itself apart).
* Since ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' recaps the events of ''Literature/TheHobbit'' in less than a minute, a few of the plot points can be a bit confusing if you haven't read the latter novel. The reference to "[[NoodleIncident The incident with the dragon]]" will go right over your head, you may wonder how Bilbo and Gandalf already knew each other at the start of the film, and you may find yourself thinking, "Who the hell is Gollum, and why should I care?" when he's introduced. And the ending, where [[spoiler: an aging Bilbo leaving Middle Earth with the elves]] won't be nearly as emotional.
* ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' had a bizarre GainaxEnding in which [[spoiler: Leo returns to his time, only to find that the Earth had been conquered a 2nd time by General Thade before he got there.]] If you visited the (now defunct) official website, it would explain that [[spoiler: Thade accessed the Oberon's computer system while he was trapped in it and learned about the real history of the world. Afterwards, he managed to escape, fishing Leo's pod out of the swamp where it had crashed and fixing it to working order before riding off to the electromagnetic storm and arriving back on Earth before Leo did, where he staged a second rebellion.]]
** Even worse, the VHS version of the movie claimed that everything you needed to know to understand the ending was already in the movie, showing a series of clips that apparently explained it for you. All the clips explained, though, was that the planet was actually Earth, a plot twist that had reached ItWasHisSled status ''long'' before the movie came out.
* The first ''Film/MadMax'' film has the character of the Dark One. Originally, he was Max's partner and May Swaisey's husband, but for whatever reason he was removed from the final draft, appearing only as the man they take [[AnArmAndALeg Cundallini's severed hand]] to who reports it to MFP, Max's line "May, call the Dark One" when Jessie is chased through the forest, and the names "M. Rockatansky" and "The Dark One" on the Interceptor's fender (though this is best seen in promotional stills).
* In ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'', the backstories of many of the characters and some of the worldbuilding details can only be found in the prequel comic books, such as [[http://madmax.wikia.com/wiki/Immortan_Joe Immortan Joe,]] being Colonel Joe Moore during the Oil Wars. Additionally, there are some important details that are only revealed in an [[http://vehicleshowcase.madmaxmovie.com/ official website]] discussing the main vehicles, and others discussed in the [[http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Mad-Max-Fury/dp/1783298162 art book.]]
* While it was one of the most faithful comic book adaptations, ''Film/SinCity'' had to leave out some dialogue and a couple scenes didn't make it to the theatrical cut (though are in the director's cut). In particular, how Hartigan found Nancy's apartment, Dwight's monologue about why he can't use his own Cadillac and how the Thunderbird used to be a CoolCar, but has been abused to its present condition.
* ''Film/TheOne'' has a (now shutdown) website that provides tons of background information regarding the Multiverse Agency and how Yulaw came to be a villain. It reveals that he's not the first nor the last to try that. In fact, one of the "offenders" is a female assassin who is hired by a wealthy businessman in Universe Alpha (the one to actually invent interdimensional travel and the one we see twice very briefly) to track down and kill his doubles, although MVA analysts suspect she's also taking the opportunity to kill her own doubles. Yulaw has actually managed to cover up his own murders for quite awhile until another agent started suspecting him and tricked him into revealing his superhuman strength by carrying a box he stuffed with 300-pound weights (the agent paid for that by being made a paraplegic by Yulaw). Interestingly, the website doesn't provide much information on how wormhole travel works, only mentioning that it has something to do with quantum tunneling.
** There are some inconsistencies with the website. For example, [[Creator/JasonStatham Funsch]], according to the website, was an LA cop in Universe Beta before being recruited by MVA. The film makes it appear as if he's from a warzone where everyone is considered a combatant. Of course, it's possible that LA is really that bad in Universe Beta (although the fact that his hobbies, from the website, include fishing and restoring classical cars makes that unlikely).

* Many of the more bizarre elements of Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/TheShining''--Danny's ImaginaryFriend Tony, the dead woman in the bathtub, the fellow in the dog costume administering a blow job--are explained in detail in the original Creator/StephenKing novel.
* Back before there were [=DVDs=] or the Internet to provide you with summaries of deleted scenes, you had to read the novelization of ''Film/SupermanII'' to find out how Superman got his powers back.
* A portion of the plot of ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', as well as certain sections of ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', are explained only in the video game, ''VideoGame/EnterTheMatrix''. Also, there's a "bridge" episode between the ''Film/TheMatrix'' and ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' in ''Anime/TheAnimatrix''.
** Cutscenes from the game appear as a special feature on the Blu-ray.
* In the collector's edition DVD for ''Film/TwoFastTwoFurious'', there is a special opening that details Brian's travel from California to Miami.

* A classic example: If you're mystified by movie ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', try the Creator/ArthurCClarke novel of the same name. It even has a nifty ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}''.
** The book and movie complement each other. The book explains the more confusing parts of the movie including the starchild and the final "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" sequence which the movie conveyed through spectacular imagery. The reason for this was that the book was written as the same time at the film.

* The character of Nightcrawler was a popular part of the ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', but was mysteriously absent from ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''. Apparently [[PutOnABus his disappearance]] is explained in ''[[LicensedGame X-Men: The Official Game]]'' released between the two.
* Angel from ''The Last Stand'' never appears in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' despite having joined the team at the end of the last movie of the original trilogy. The tie-in website released for ''Days of Future Past'' reveals that he was killed by Sentinels a few years prior to the events of the movie.
** The website also contains a lot of information that greatly fleshes out the BadFuture portions of the film.

* ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' universe certainly applies to this. Not only are there tons of special features for the two main movies that are everything from trivia to mass info on the backstory of The Necromongers (who you would know almost nothing about just from watching), and other character's pursuit logs for the main character, there's also a [[WesternAnimation/DarkFury 30 minute anime film]] that shows what happened right after the end of the first movie and introduces a major character, two video games (''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay'' and ''VideoGame/AssaultOnDarkAthena'') showing how Riddick got his eyeshine and escaped from prison, leading up to the first film, and on the website, there's a point and click adventure game, an animated comic book, and collection of background info on all the characters in the first film and who they are. There's also a novelization of the first film revealing more of Riddick's past and the character's internal thoughts, a novelization of the 2nd film that has an exclusive epilogue, an exclusive mock-documentary only available on the region 2 DVD of the first film, and it just goes on and on.
* Much of the background of ''Series/RoseRed'' (the titular house featured in the miniseries) is covered in detail in ''The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer''. Without it, its just a bunch of people going to a haunted house that hates them.
* ''Film/SouthlandTales'' (by the director of ''Film/DonnieDarko'') apparently makes more sense when you read the comic books connected to it. Of course, since this movie extended RuleThirtyFour to ''vehicles'', they have a lot of explaining to do. Keep in mind that it becomes readily apparent that the film's a pseudo-sequel to ''Donnie Darko''. It greatly expands on the character roles described in The Philosophy of Time Travel, so it's almost a manual about the manual...
* ''Film/DonnieDarko'' itself. One of the reasons it has become a cult polarizing film is that it is not self-contained at all. Nothing about the Manipulated Dead or Tangent Universe is ever explicitly (or implicitly!) stated, requiring you to read the script-book or check out the director's commentary at length to have any hope of getting the plot.
* In ''Film/BigGame'', the function the woman who brought Herbert in on the case is left for the viewer to guess - unless you stay for ending credits and find out she's actually CIA director.
* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', the motivations of bad guy Nero are only vaguely alluded to in a mind-meld flashback scene. In order to fully understand what happened, and to give the character some actual depth, you have to read the ''Star Trek: Countdown'' comic books (although the physics of [[spoiler:Romulus being destroyed by the supernova]] still might have some physicists scratching their heads, even though it's further explained).
** The comic also covers what the movie doesn't, how Nero's "simple mining vessel" became that humongous juggernaut of a warship.

* The comic book ''[[ComicBook/NickFury Fury's Big Week]]'' serves as a prequel to ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', and expands on the movie's connections to the previous Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films.
** The comic book prequel to ''Film/IronMan3'' explains why Comicbook/WarMachine was absent during the events of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', showing that he was dealing with a terrorist attack in Hong Kong at the time of the invasion.
** The prequel comic for ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' not only filled in the gap between ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' and ''The Dark World'', but also used {{Flashback}}s to fill in some details from ''The Avengers'' (such as how Thor learned Loki was still alive and working for [[ComicBook/{{Thanos}} a mysterious villain]]).
** The ''Film/MarvelOneShots'' also serve a similar function. For instance, ''Film/TheConsultant'' shows what happened to the Abomination after ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', and reveals [[spoiler: that he was initially picked as a potential member of the Avengers before the Hulk joined up]]. ''Film/AllHailTheKing'' reveals there is a real Mandarin, something that isn't stated in ''Film/IronMan3''.
** T'Challa is already the Black Panther by the time he first appears in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', with only vague details about his past given in some dialogue. The ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' prequel comic actually explores his origin in greater detail and shows how he took on the mantle.

* ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath'': The credits reveal the reason the "I" segment was named [[spoiler:Ingrown]]: [[spoiler: "2015 women murdered in the last 10 years in Mexico. 200 women a month. [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped The horror is not on the screen.]]"]]