History Main / EarlybirdCameo

* In 1963, Vee-Jay released Music/TheBeatles' first album to U.S. consumers, ''Please Please Me'' as ''Introducing The Beatles.'' A little over a year later, Capitol records (the group's official U.S. label through EMI) would release many of the tracks on the album ''The Early Beatles.'' "I Saw Her Standing There" was pressed on ''Meet The Beatles'' while "Misery" and "There's A Place" didn't see U.S. release through Capitol until 1980 on ''Rarities.''

* Inverted in ''Television/GameOfThrones'', in which many characters (notably Edmund and Blackfish Tully) first appear later than in the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novels, to prevent the producers of the television show from having to cast someone for one scene in the current season and then hope and pray that they're still available for a much bigger part in a later season.

* Inverted in ''Television/AGameOfThrones'', in which many characters (notably Edmund and Blackfish Tully) first appear later than in the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novels, to prevent the producers of the television show from having to cast someone for one scene in the current season and then hope and pray that they're still available for a much bigger part in a later season.

* ''SuperSentai'' has been doing the same thing as ''Kamen Rider'' in recent years as well. Both ''TensouSentaiGoseiger'' and ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' showed up for a quick battle cameo in the [[ReunionShow teamup movies]] of the two teams before them (both of which involve ''SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' as one of the teams), a month or so before each of their shows started.
** The next team, ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'', make their early-bird cameo in the [[Film/KaizokuSentaiGokaigerVsSpaceSheriffGavanTheMovie crossover]] between Gokaiger and ''SpaceSheriffGavan''.
** And now, Gavan Type-G, the new Gavan from the [[Film/SpaceSheriffGavanTheMovie revival movie]], will make his first appearance in Gobusters.

* An early bird cameo for a movie line: Music/GeorgeHarrison's line in ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' "It's all in the mind" was first said by Music/JohnLennon on Music/TheBeatles' [[WesternAnimaiton/TheBeatles cartoon show]] episode "Strawberry Fields Forever." (John delivered it as "It's all in the mind, y'know" which was said by George fully in a restored scene in ''Submarine''.)

* {{Terrytoons}} had three characters in their ''Deputy Dawg'' show that spun off into their own series. A little blue space alien became Astronut, a Russian mouse named Mischa became Macon Mouse, and the Long Island Duckling became Duckwood. Astronut was paired with a human named Oscar Mild, Duckwood was paired with a con-artist mule named Donkey Otie, and Macon Mouse was among the gang in ''Possible Possum''.
* An early bird cameo for a movie line: George Harrison's line in ''YellowSubmarine'' "It's all in the mind" was first said by John Lennon on the Beatles' cartoon show episode "Strawberry Fields." (John delivered it as "It's all in the mind, y'know" which was said by George fully in a restored scene in ''Submarine''.)

*** While it has yet to come into play in the MarvelCinematicUniverse (and may never do so, dooming it to mere EasterEgg status), the Infinity Gauntlet is visible in Odin's trophy room/weapon vault. Considering [[spoiler:Thanos]] appeared at the end of the ''Avengers'' film, the possibility of the Gauntlet becoming more important later on could be a little more likely now.

* Both [[Characters/WWEDivas Ivory and Victoria]] appeared as the Godfather's Hos before they actively started wrestling on the roster.

* In a similar example to the Dean Malenko one above, Teddy Long was a referee for years in WWE before becoming a proper onscreen personality, going from valet to Smackdown General Manager.

** She also appeared on WCW Monday Nitro as Starlia Saxton, before joining the company as Miss Madness.

* In his review of ''{{Caligula}}'' to celebrate 100 episodes, WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob had appearances from all of Brad Jones's other characters, including 80s Dan... at least, until Brad pointed out he didn't ''have'' an 80s Dan character, at which point Dan faded away into nothingness. A few weeks later, 80s Dan became an official spin-off.

* In ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'', Knuckles is playable in ''Sonic 2'' as part of the ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles and Knuckles]]'' setup.

** The ending theme to ''SonicTheHedgehog3''(1994), whose soundtrack was at least partly composed by Jackson, sounds very similar to his single "Stranger in Moscow", which was composed in 1993 but not released until 1997.

* ''SonicTheHedgehog'' appeared as an air freshener in the racing game ''Rad Mobile'' two months before the first Sonic game.

** The tune for "Sonic - You Can Do Anything", the Japanese/European opening of ''SonicTheHedgehogCD'', was first used as the BGM to Green Hills Zone in the Master System/Game Gear version of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2''.
** The [[spoiler: Shadow Androids, artificial clones of Shadow]] are first shown in Team Dark's ending in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. They later appear as actual enemies in ''ShadowTheHedgehog''.

* This can be seen in several super-hero movies wherein pre-transformed allies, sidekicks, or villains may make an appearance, whereas in the comics, their first appearance included said transformation. Billy Dee Williams as pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent in TimBurton's ''Film/{{Batman}}'' (though the former was [[TheOtherDarrin replaced]] by Creator/TommyLeeJones by the time he actually became Two-Face).

** [[{{Batman}} Barbara Gordon Batgirl]] had a similar story.

* The first or second English ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' opening had adult/future Trunks in the title slide at the very end, despite him not being introduced until several arcs, and a Big Bad or two, later. Showing up at other points in the intro are Super Saiyan Vegeta and Mecha Frieza (who is getting sliced apart by Super Saiyan adult/future Trunks.) long before their English debuts.

* Music example: The HD revision of ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio'' includes bonus tracks from ''Jet Set Radio Future''.

* Before KeithUrban charted his first single in 1999, he hung around Nashville and got a few bit parts. Among them were a backing vocal credit on INXS' ''Live Baby Live''; a cameo in the video for AlanJackson's "Summertime Blues"; co-writing songs for TobyKeith, 4 Runner, and the Raybon Brothers; and a few scattered electric guitar credits (most notably GarthBrooks' ''Double Live''). He also formed a short-lived band called The Ranch which had two low-charting singles and one album for Capitol in 1997.

* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'''': IDOLO'' was created as a prequel [=OAV=] to the {{Playstation 2}} game ''Zone of the Enders''. In it, scientist Rachel Links looks at a FatalFamilyPhoto of her estranged husband and children, reflecting that she wished she could seem them again. It is a small scene in the [=OAV=], but the full-length series that came after centered on her husband James trying to reconcile with their children and seek her out.

* In ''LiloAndStitch'', as Pleakly and The Grand Councilwoman are using the lift to go to Jumba's cell, you can see Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel in a cell to the right.

* Three examples from DisneyThemeParks. ''Disney/SleepingBeauty's Castle'' was opened in Disneyland several years before the movie. ''It's Tough To Be A Bug'', starring Flik and featuring Hopper, was introduced at the Animal Kingdom several months before ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' opened. Finally, ''Countdown to Extinction'' featured Aladar and a Carnotaurus about two years before ''{{Dinosaur}}'' premiered, at which point the attraction was renamed after the movie.

* Although they got their own animated TV spinoff called ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'', [[Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kuzco and the gang]] actually all made their televised debuts in the show ''HouseOfMouse''.

* Ralph the Guard, a regular on ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', made his debut as an unnamed, [[CharacterizationMarchesOn surprisingly]] competent security guard in several episodes of ''TinyToonAdventures''. Likewise, World's Oldest Woman and Lucky Bob, two characters on ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'', made cameo appearances in ''Animaniacs'' segments years before their own show premiered. ''Histeria'''s version of Joan of Arc (which was actually just a caricature of Shirley [=MacClaine=]) also first appeared on ''Tiny Toons''.

* Five years before the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' aired creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone made a short film called ''The Spirit of Christmas'', which was made using construction paper and had prototypical and mostly unnamed versions of the show's main characters. Two years later they made another ''Spirit of Christmas'', this time with the show's main characters properly named, characterised and recogniseable and also added Wendy Testaburger as an unnamed, non-speaking cameo.
* The ''[[BeavisAndButtHead Beavis and Butt-Head]]'' episode '1-900-Beavis' has an early version of [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill Dale Gribble]] appear as the husband/boyfriend of a phone sex worker. [[FanDisservice Wearing nothing but a pair of briefs.]]