The large number of actors involved with the Arrowverse at some point or another makes it almost impossible to include a pop-culture reference without invoking this trope in relation to someone. The introduction of The Multiverse also makes this trickier. Some examples are listed below.
- Perhaps the biggest would be Cisco's fondness of wearing The Big Bang Theory t-shirts. This is because Sheldon Cooper, that show's Breakout Character, occasionally wears Flash t-shirts, and even discusses the 2014 show with his girlfriend. Speaking of which, Summer Glau (Isabel Rochev) guest starred on that show As Herself.
- The CW is mentioned in Supergirl (2015), and yet it's the network that will air it starting its second season (it is where Arrow, The Flash (2014), and Legends of Tomorrow all air from the start).
- Harrison Ford's Real Life wife Calista Flockhart plays Cat Grant in Supergirl, and Ford himself was directly name-dropped by her. She even mentions him being married.
- Star Wars has been referred numerous times on both Earths-1 and 38 despite the fact that...
- Mark Hamill, who played The Hero of the franchise's original trilogy, plays James Jesse/the original Trickster on Earths-1, 3, and 90.
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Amaya Jiwe) plays a Sacrificial Lamb on The Force Awakens.
- Greg Grunberg (Tom Patterson) plays a minor character on The Force Awakens.
- The Walking Dead was mentioned a number of times, thus creating several very interesting paradoxes...
- Audrey Marie Anderson, who plays Lyla Michaels-Diggle, had a Small Role, Big Impact on that show's fourth season.
- Emily Kinney, who plays Brie Larvan/The Bug-Eyed Bandit, was part of that show's main cast for three and a half seasons.
- Chad L. Coleman, who plays Tobias Church, was part of that show's main cast for three seasons.
- Kirk Acevedo, who plays Richard Dragon, played (appropriately enough) The Dragon on that show's fourth season during its first half.
- Juliana Harkavy, who plays Dinah Drake, played an Elite Mook during its fourth season.
- Rutina Wesley, who plays Liza Warner, guest-starred as a minor antagonist during its ninth season.
- Dougray Scott, who plays Jacob Kane, plays a Recurring Character in its Spin-Off, Fear the Walking Dead.
- Kathleen Gati, who plays Raisa, played a Red Shirt in its Spin-Off, Fear the Walking Dead.
- Emma Bell, who played the very first major casualty of that show, guest starred on the second episode of Arrow as Laurel's client.
- Brenda Strong, who plays Lillian Luthor in Supergirl, plays a Recurring Character in its Spin-Off, Fear the Walking Dead.
- Briana Venskus, who plays Susan Vasquez in Supergirl, plays a minor Recurring Character on that show starting its seventh season.
- Emma Caulfield, who plays Cameon Chase in Supergirl, appeared in Fear the Walking Dead Season 3.
- Justice Leak, who played a Mook on that show's fifth season, played a Villain of the Week on Supergirl.
- Xander Berkeley, who played a recurring antagonist on that show from its sixth season up until the beginning of the ninth, plays Peter Lockwood, the father of Supergirl Season 4 Big Bad Ben Lockwood. Speaking of which...
- Sam Witwer, who plays Ben Lockwood, cameos as a dead soldier at the very end of the show's Pilot episode.
- Ray Palmer apparently watched all of Doctor Who, which should include the episodes featuring Colin Salmon (Walter Steele), Alex Kingston (Dinah Drake Lance), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlyn), Russell Tovey (Ray Terrill) and the actor of his future Legends cast mate, Arthur Darvill (Rip Hunter). Supergirl also acknowledged the existence of the show in their universe.
- Barry mentions that he likes Lady Gaga. Before becoming an actress, Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) was a backup dancer of hers and even appeared in some of her music videos.
- Game of Thrones was blatantly referred on both The Flash and Supergirl.
- Rila Fukushima started appearing on that show around the same time she's still appearing on Arrow as Tatsu Yamashiro.
- Dean S. Jagger, who played a key antagonist on that show's sixth season, played a Villain of the Week in Legends.
- Esmé Bianco, who played the shows' resident Ms. Fanservice character in the first three seasons, plays Thara Ak-Var, Kara's best friend from Krypton.
- The Terminator franchise is acknowledged to exist in this universe by Cisco. Despite the fact that...
- Summer Glau (Isabel Rochev) was one of the leads in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
- Michael Ironside (Lewis Snart) played a key character in Terminator Salvation.
- Lance Henriksen (Todd Rice) was one of the main characters in the inaugural film.
- In The Flash (1990), Dick Miller, who had the recurring role of Fosnight in that series, played one of the cyborg's first victims in the original film.
- Tommy mentions Twilight in the pilot episode of Arrow, Despite the fact that...
- Three of Renesemee Cullen's Time Shifted Actors appear in the series, two of them as the child versions of Ra's al Ghul's daughters in flashbacks; Nyssa Al-Ghul in Arrow, and Talia al Ghul in Legends. The remaining one plays Zoe Ramirez, Rene Ramirez's daughter.
- Twilight main cast member Peter Facinelli appears in Supergirl as Maxwell Lord.
- Tommy also mentions Lost in the same episode.
- With Constantine being retroactively incorporated within The 'Verse, then both shows have Harold Perrineau (Manny) and Jeremy Davies (Ritchie Sampson) as major characters.
- Michael Emerson (Cayden James) played the show's Breakout Character and was a main cast member from its second season onwards.
- Greg Grunberg (Tom Patterson) plays one of the show's original Recurring Characters.
- Jeff Fahey (Quentin Turnbull) was a main cast member of the show during its last three seasons.
- Navid Negahban (Al-Owal) plays a backstory antagonist to one of the main characters.
- Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Eshu) plays a backstory antagonist to one of the main characters.
- Patrick J. Adams (Rex Tyler) plays a backstory supporting character to one of the main characters.
- Cisco mentioned Friends during the middle of The Flash Season 1. One of its Spin-Off show Joey's Recurring Characters was played by Matt Letscher, who plays Eobard Thawne aka The Reverse-Flash.
- Breaking Bad was mentioned late in The Flash Season 1, despite the fact that...
- Mark Margolis, who plays Felix Faust on Constantine, plays a prominent antagonist on that show.
- Bryan Cranston, who plays the show's Villain Protagonist, guest starred on the 90s Flash series as a Villain of the Week.
- Danny Trejo, who plays Josh/Breacher in The Flash, played a minor character in Breaking Bad.
- Alex Désert, who plays Julio Mendez in The Flash (1990) and The Flash (2014), played a police officer in the Breaking Bad Spin-Off series, Better Call Saul.
- The Jurassic Park film series was mentioned by Cisco late in The Flash Season 1.
- Peter Stormare (Werner Zytle) was part of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
- Jurassic World has Katie McGrath as the Ensemble Dark Horse, who plays Lena Luthor in Supergirl.
- B.D. Wong (Godspeed) plays a recurring antagonist in the film series.
- The Planet of the Apes film series is always mentioned in Grodd centric episodes, despite the fact that...
- Tom Felton (Julian Albert Desmond) plays a major antagonist in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, while Chelah Horsdal (Kate Spencer) plays a minor supporting character on the same film.
- Kirk Acevedo (Richard Dragon) was a cast member in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
- Chad Rook (Clyde Mardon) appeared as a minor character in War for the Planet of the Apes.
- The Shawshank Redemption has been mentioned a number of times. Both William Sadler (Simon Stagg) and Clancy Brown (Wade Eilling) appeared there as major characters.
- Cisco mentions the Mission: Impossible Film Series in his blog. Dominic Purcell (Mick Rory) and Dougray Scott (Jacob Kane) were in Mission: Impossible II, while Greg Grunberg (Tom Patterson) was in Mission: Impossible III.
- An early Season 1 episode of Supergirl mentions Homeland despite the fact that...
- David Harewood, who plays Hank Henshaw and J'onn J'onzz, is also a major character there.
- Lead star Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El) herself appeared in its early episodes.
- Jamey Sheridan (Robert Queen), Morena Baccarin (Gideon I), and Navid Negahban (Al-Owal) have all appeared in that show both as main (Baccarin and Negbhan) and key (Sheridan) characters.
- An early Season 1 episode of Supergirl mentions The X-Files. Mitch Pileggi (Rama Khan) was a main cast member of the series, while Robbie Amell (Ronnie Raymond) is part of that show's Sequel Series.
- Jefferson Jackson mentions that he has the entire Titanic (1997) soundtrack in his playlist, and Supergirl characters mention the film a lot in early seasons. Victor Garber (Prof. Martin Stein) was a major character in that film. Billy Zane, who played the film's Big Bad, guest-starred on a Season 3 episode of Legends, while Danny Nucci, who plays Leonardo DiCaprio's best friend, guested on the first season of Arrow as a former comrade of the villain Firefly.
- The James Bond film series has been mentioned quite a few times, despite the fact that Colin Salmon (Walter Steele) was a prominent supporting character during the Pierce Brosnan era, while Teri Hatcher (Rhea) was one of the Bond Girls in Tomorrow Never Dies.
- During Heroes Join Forces, Cisco mockingly calls the main villain "Highlander". A number of actors here have prominent roles in the franchise;
- Clancy Brown's (Wade Eiling) Star-Making Role was in the film that started the franchise.
- Michael Ironside (Lewis Snart) has appeared in Highlander II: The Quickening.
- Adam Copeland (Al Rothstein) was a Mook in Highlander: Endgame.
- Adrian Paul (Dante) played the eponymous protagonist in the TV series.
- Thea made a vague reference to Avengers: Age of Ultron during the second annual Crossover, which was then confirmed by Word of God. This means the Marvel Cinematic Universe exists in this universe. Many actors from this universe have appeared or is still appearing in that franchise, such as...
- Neal McDonough (Damien Darhk), who was heavily tied to the Captain America films as Dum Dum Dugan.
- William Sadler (Simon Stagg), who is playing the U.S. President as of Iron Man 3.
- Martin Donovan (Zaman Druce), who was a major antagonist in Ant-Man.
- Chin Han (Frank Chen), who was a minor character in The Avengers (2012).
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has J. August Richards (Mr. Blank) as Deathlok, and both Falk Hentschel (Carter Hall) and Kirk Acevedo (Richard Dragon) as guest stars.
- Clancy Brown (Wade Eiling) has guest-starred in Daredevil (2015). Arrow Showrunner Marc Guggenheim also wrote a major The Punisher storyline that was adapted in the show.
- Wil Traval (Christopher Chance) played Will Simpson in Jessica Jones (2015).
- Faran Tahir, who plays The Commander in Supergirl, played Raza in Iron Man.
- Dichen Lachman, who plays Veronica Sinclair in Supergirl, played the Big Bad of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2.
- Briana Venskus, who plays a Recurring Character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. starting its fourth season, plays Susan Vasquez in Supergirl.
- Adrian Pasdar, who plays Glenn Talbot on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., plays Morgan Edge on Supergirl.
- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise was name dropped during The Flash Season 2..
- Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen) was part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows as Casey Jones.
- Sumi Shimono, who was both on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), appeared in Legends as Tatsu's distant ancestor.
- Kelly Hu (China White) voices an major Recurring Character on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012).
- Clancy Brown (Wade Eiling) voices antagonist Chris Bradford, alias Dogpound/Rahzar in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012).
- Alan Ritchson, who cameos in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) as Hank Hall, plays one of the four eponymous turtles in the Michael Bay film series.
- An episode of Legends mentioned Top Gun. Michael Ironside (Lewis Snart) was a major cast member in that film.
- An episode of Legends made glorious Shout Outs to the Star Trek franchise.
- Susanna Thompson (Moira Queen) was a franchise regular.
- Neal McDonough (Damien Dahrk) was on Star Trek: First Contact.
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Amanda Waller) and Nick Tarbay (Captain Coomerang) were both on Star Trek Into Darkness.
- Jeri Ryan, one of the main leads of Star Trek: Voyager, guest starred on Arrow Season 4 as a family friend of the Queens. She also guest starred on the 90s Flash series.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation main cast member Michael Dorn voices Arrow Season 5 Big Bad Prometheus.
- Tony Todd, who played Worf's brother in The Next Generation provided the voice of Zoom in Flash Season 2.
- Greg Grunberg (Tom Patterson) plays two different and unrelated characters on two of its reboot films.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation main cast member Denise Crosby guest starred on the same episode of the 90s Flash as Ryan.
- Glenn Morshower (Sam Lane) guest starred on a couple episodes of The Next Generation, plus played a Red Shirt in Star Trek: Generations.
- The Disney Animated Canon is acknowledged to exist in this universe by different characters.
- Anika Noni Rose, who voices Vixen's Big Bad and Arch-Enemy Kuasa, voices the titular protagonist of The Princess and the Frog.
- The In-Series Nickname of both Earths 1 and 2 Killer Frost is "Elsa" due to their powers. Phil LaMarr (Rag Doll and Malefic J'onzz) and Rachel Matthews (Margot Pyle) are both voice cast members in Frozen II.
- Both Clancy Brown (Wade Eilling) and Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott) are regulars in Tangled: The Series, with the former voicing the protagonist's father. Kelly Hu (China White) is also a prominent cast member of the series.
- Lance Henriksen (Todd Rice) voices the adoptive father of the eponymous Tarzan.
- Keith David (Solovar) was a cast member on both Hercules and The Princess and the Frog, voicing the Big Bad of the latter film.
- B.D. Wong (Godspeed) voices the male lead of Mulan.
- A Villain of the Week in The Flash Season 2 mentions the Law & Order franchise.
- Jesse L. Martin (Joe West) was one of the longest-serving main cast members of the parent series. Bonus points for Joe being present when the Shout-Out was made, even making a Double Take.
- Jamey Sheridan (Robert Queen) was one of the original main cast members of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
- Kirk Acevedo (Richard Dragon) was one of the main cast members of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, in addition to frequently guest-starring on the franchise.
- B.D. Wong (Godspeed) was one of the longest-serving main cast members of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Colin Donnell (Tommy Merlyn) was one of the original main cast members of Chicago Med, which officially takes place in the same universe as the Law and Order shows.
- Josh Segarra (Adrian Chase) plays a prominent Recurring Character in Chicago P.D., which officially takes place in the same universe as the Law and Order shows.
- Isabella Hofmann (Clarissa Stein) was one of the main cast members of Homicide: Life on the Street, which officially takes place in the same universe as the Law and Order shows.
- Charlie Barnett (Future JJ Diggle) plays one of the main characters of Chicago Fire, which officially takes place in the same universe as the Law and Order shows.
- Alex Kingston (Dinah Drake Lance) plays a Recurring Character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Colin Salmon (Walter Steele) plays a Recurring Character in Law & Order: UK.
- Christina Brucato (Lily Stein) plays a Recurring Characternote in Chicago Med, which officially takes place in the same universe as the Law and Order shows, in addition to her prior appearances in the series franchise.
- Charles Halford (Chas Chandler and Jemm) played a Small Role, Big Impact villain in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Jeri Ryan (Earth-90 Felicia Kane and Earth-1 Jessica Danforth) plays a Recurring Character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Demore Barnes (Henry Hewitt) plays a main cast member in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Richard Belzer, who plays Recurring Character Joe Kline in the 90s Flash series, was a main cast member on both Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Laura Benanti (the original Alura Zor-El and Astra) plays a Recurring Character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Richard Brooks (Gregory Wolfe) was one of the original main cast members of the parent series.
- Many actors from this universe have also guested on the franchise at different points, some more than once as different characters, specifically; Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El), Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow), Susanna Thompson (Moira Queen), Caity Lotz (Sara Lance), Victor Garber (Martin Stein), Wentworth Miller (Leonard Snart), Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen), Jeremy Jordan (Winschlow Schott, Jr.), Ciara Renée (Kendra Saunders), Megalyn Echikunwoke (Mari McCabe), Neal McDonough (Damien Dahrk), Rick Gonzalez (Rene Ramirez), Kelly Hu (China White), (Peyton List) (Lisa Snart), Seth Gabel (Count Vertigo), Emily Kinney (Brie Larvan), Chad L. Coleman (Tobias Church), Britt Morgan (Leslie Willis), Sarah Carter (Future Grace Gibbons), Helen Slater (Eliza Danvers), Dean Cain (Jeremiah Danvers), Lynda Carter (Olivia Marsdin), Brenda Strong (Lillian Luthor), and Ezra Miller (Barry Allen from another universe). Like Joe above, Caitlin was also present when the Shout-Out to the franchise was made.
- Both Earth-1 and 38 have mentioned the existence of Netflix, which produces the aforementioned Daredevil (2015) and Jessica Jones (2015) (see Marvel Cinematic Universe above) - as well as having Lucifer (2016) (who is a broader part of the Arrowverse due to his cameo in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019))
- A late episode of Arrow Season 1 shows a flashback where Oliver and Laurel are talking while "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis is playing in the background. The song was written by Jesse Mc Cartney after he and then-girlfriend Katie Cassidy (Laurel's actress) broke up. Interestingly, that scene was one of the last acts leading to Oliver's ultimate betrayal of Laurel before the yacht incident.
- Cisco, Harltley and even Oliver (the books at least) are Harry Potter fans, and the franchise exists. Tom Felton, who plays Draco in the films, plays Julian Albert Desmond aka Dr. Alchemy. Ezra Miller, who cameos in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) as a Barry Allen from another universe, is a main cast member of the Fantastic Beasts film series.
- Cisco mentions Mean Girls a lot in his blog. Neil Flynn (Chuck McCabe) plays the father of the film's protagonist.
- Mariah Carey is confirmed to exist on both on Earths-1 and 38. Wentworth Miller (Leonard Snart) was her Love Interest in two of her music
videos. - iZombie is mentioned by Cisco in The Flash Season 2. Greg Finlay (Tony Woodward) played The Hero's Love Interest during that show's second season, while one of is main cast members, David Anders, played a Villain of the Week in Arrow Season 1. Another main cast member, Rahuli Kohli, appears in Supergirl as Lena Luthor's ex-boyfriend.
- Felicity mockingly calls Lian Yu "Fantasy Island" during Arrow Season 2. John Wesley Shipp (Henry Allen, Jay Garrick, and Earth-90 Barry Allen) was a guest star there.
- Cisco makes a Take That! towards the Transformers Film Series during The Flash's Season 2 finale. Tony Todd, who voices Zoom, also voiced the titular Big Bad of the second film. Both Glenn Morshower and Odette Annable, who respectively play Sam Lane and Reign in Supergirl, were also part of the film series (the former being a prominent character).
- Rocky IV was mentioned during Legends Season 1. The film was the Star-Making Role for Dolph Lundgren, who plays Konstantin Kovar, the Big Bad of the Arrow Season 5 flashbacks.
- Twister was mentioned during the Season 3 premiere of The Flash. Jeremy Davies (John Deagan) was a main cast member on that film.
- After Jay Garrick intervenes on another Cosmic Retcon attempt of Barry's, he took the latter to a diner in 1998 where a TV is airing Dawson's Creek. This is despite the fact that...
- Jay's (and by extension, Henry Allen's) actor, John Wesley Shipp]], was a main character there, playing the eponymous character's father.
- Dylan Neal (Dr. Anthony Ivo) plays a Recurring Character there, specifically the older brother of one of the main characters.
- Most importantly, the Franchise's founder, Greg Berlanti, was both a writer and a producer on that show.
- Kara mentions that she's a big fan of *NSYNC when she was younger. Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Lucy Lane) was a backup dancer of the group (and eventually its most famous member) before she became an actress. Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance) was also in the cover of their third album Celebritynote .
- Quantico is mentioned on Supergirl. The show has Russell Tovey (The Ray) as a main cast member, while Rick Cosnett (Eddie Thawne) and Henry Czerny (who plays Winslow Schott, Sr.) both play Recurring Characters.
- The Matrix was mentioned during a Season 5 episode of Arrow. Harold Perrineau (Manny) was a main cast member in its last two films.
- A Season 2 episode of Supergirl mentions the Stargate-verse. Teryl Rothery (Jean Loring), Robert Knepper (William Tockman), Morena Baccarin (Gideon I), Rachel Luttrell (Rosie of the Demolition team), Haig Sutherland (Griffin Grey), J.R. Bourne (Jeremy Tell), Jewel Staite (Dr. Bryce), Gary Chalk (Gen. Walker), Elyse Levesque (Guinevere), Lexa Doig (Talia al Ghul), and Tobin Bell (Savitar) have all appeared in the franchise.
- The X-Men Film Series was vaguely mentioned in Supergirl Season 2.
- Glenn Morshower (Sam Lane) played a minor character in X-Men: First Class.
- The film series also has Kelly Hu (China White), Roger Cross (Lucas Hilton), Rila Fukushima (Tatsu Yamashiro), Nolan Funk (Cooper Seldon), Vinnie Jones (Daniel Brickwell), Michael Ironside (Lewis Snart), Daniel Cudmore (Jackhammer of the Demolition Team), Mei Melancon (Masako Yamashiro), and Morena Baccarin (Gideon I) in its cast, with Hu, Fukushima, Jones, Cudmore and Baccarin playing major characters in at least one of the films, while David Hayter (King Shark) wrote the screenplay of the inaugural film.
- Winn mentions 24 during Supergirl Season 2.
- Carlos Bernard (Oscar Rodas) played main character Tony Almeida.
- Glenn Morshower (Sam Lane) plays prominent Recurring Character Aaron Pierce.
- Roger Cross (Lucas Hilton) plays major supporting character Curtis Manning.
- Jeffrey Nordling (Frank Bertinellii) played Season 7 supporting character Larry Moss.
- Faran Tahir (The Commander) plays the Starter Villain of its fourth season.
- Xander Berkeley (Peter Lockwood) played George Mason in the first two seasons.
- Tobin Bell (Savitar) plays Peter Kingsley, the Big Bad of its second season.
- Paul Blackthorne (Quentin Lance) plays Stephen Saunders, the Big Bad of its third season.
- Tony Todd (Zoom's masked voice actor) plays benjamin Juma, the Disc-One Final Boss of its seventh season. Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Eshu) plays Iké Dubaku, Juma's lieutenant.
- Megalyn Echikunwoke (Mari McCabe/Vixen II) plays Season 1 Recurring Character Nicole Palmer.
- Carly Pope (Susan Williams) plays prominent supporting character Samantha Roth.
- Kathleen Gati (Raisa) plays prominent Recurring Character Anya Suvarov.
- David Anders (Cyrus Vanch)plays prominent Recurring Character Josef Bazhaev.
- Navid Negahban (Al-Owal) plays prominent Recurring Character Jamot.
- Kevin Alejandro (Sebastian Blood), J. R. Ramirez (Ted Grant/Wildcat) and Kirk Acevedo (Ricardo Diaz) all play minor characters in the show.
- Both Colin Salmon (Walter Steele) and Teddy Sears (Hunter Zolomon/Zoom) were on two different Sequel Series, with the latter being a main character on his.
- Richard Burgi, who had a guest role in The Flash 1990, played Kevin Carrol in the first season.
- A Season 3 episode of The Flash mentions the CSI-verse.
- Megalyn Echikunwoke (Mari McCabe/Vixen II) was a main cast member on CSI: Miami.
- Carmine Giovinazzo (Johnny Sabatino) was part of the main cast of CSI: NY.
- Kelly Hu (China White) and Sarah Carter (Future Grace Gibbons) both play Recurring Characters on CSI: NY.
- Glenn Morshower (Sam Lane), Xander Berkeley (Peter Lockwood), James Callis (Winnick Norton), and Katee Sackhoff (Amunet Black) all play Recurring Characters on the parent series.
- Many actors here guest-starred on the shows such as Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), Grant Gustin (Barry Allen), Candice Patton (Iris West-Allen), Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow), Colton Haynes (Roy Harper), Robbie Amell (Ronnie Raymond), David Ramsey (John Diggle), Neal McDonough (Damien Dahrk), Kirk Acevedo (Ricardo Diaz), and Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer).
- The Hunger Games was mentioned during a Season 3 episode of The Flash. Robert Knepper (William Tockman) plays a villain in the film adaptation's last two films.
- A late Season 3 episode of The Flash mentions Carrie. Several actors are involved/connected to the original film adaptation;
- Priscilla Pointer, who plays Nora Allen in the 90s Flash series, played the mother of one of the film's main characters (coincidentally also played by Pointer's real-life daughter).
- Betty Buckley, who plays Reign's adoptive mother in Supergirl, played the eponymous protagonist's Cool Teacher.
- William Katt, who plays the priest on Barry and Iris' wedding, played the eponymous protagonist's date during the film's prom scene.
- A late Season 5 episode of Arrow mentions The Beastmaster and its lead star Marc Singer. Said actor played the Big Bad of the Season 3 flashbacks.
- Late into Legends Season 2, the titular team enlists the help of J. R. R. Tolkien. Naturally, his iconic literary works are mentioned:
- Manu Bennett (Slade Wilson) plays a major character in the film adaptation of The Hobbit.
- John Noble (Mallus) and Sean Astin (Pete Andrews) were part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With Noble, it’s eventually taken to No Fourth Wall territory. Mick is watching a LOTR movie and the characters note that that one actor sounds uncannily like Mallus! They then travel to the time of its production to find Noble and get him to imitate the demon’s voice.
- The penultimate episode of Supergirl Season 2 mentions Independence Day. Joey King (Frankie Kane/Magenta) was a cast member on the sequel.
- The penultimate episode of The Flash Season 3 has Barry and Snart making an obvious Shout-Out to Taken. The inaugural film has Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance). H.R. has also confirmed earlier in the season that Liam Neeson exists on Earth-19, which likely confirms the existence of the Taken films there.
- In a recent episode of Arrow, Felicity and William are seen playing Injustice 2.... Which honestly is a whole new can of worms.
- Cisco mentions SpongeBob SquarePants during the fourth Crossover. Clancy Brown, who plays Wade Eilling, is part of that show's main cast (he voices Mr. Krabs).
- Cisco is seen wearing a Jason Voorhees T-shirt during the middle of The Flash Season 4.
- The 2009 remake has Caitlin's actress Danielle Panabaker as the Decoy Protagonist, and Sylbert Rundine / Dwarfstar's actor Derek Mears playing Jason himself.
- Kelly Hu (China White) made her film debut in Jason Takes Manhattan.
- Gary Chalk (J.G. Walker) and Brendan Fletcher (Stanley Dover) both appeared in Freddy vs. Jason.
- Lexa Doig (Talia al Ghul) played Rowan LaFontaine, the protagonist of Jason X.
- Winn made a reference to A Nightmare on Elm Street. Katie Cassidy (Dinah Laurel Lance) played the Decoy Protagonist in the 2010 remake which also starred Clancy Brown (Wade Eilling).
- In Season 3 of The Flash, Iris mentions that Barry was a fan of Dragon Ball Z when he was younger. Scott McNeil, who played Julius in the first season episode "Crazy for You," is the English voice of Piccolo in the Ocean Studios dub of the series, while Teryl Rothery (Jean Loring in Arrow) was the original English voice of Mai in the Ocean Studios dub of the original Dragon Ball anime. Kirby Morrow, who plays one of the targets Oliver goes after in the first season of Arrow, voiced Goku in the second half of the Ocean Dub.
- In the fourth season premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, Nate and Ray are revealed to be bronies when the former compares a killer unicorn to Twilight Sparkle. Gary Chalk (J.G. Walker in Arrow) is the voice of Prince Rutherford, Kyle Rideout, who played Martin Stein's father in a first season episode, is the voice of Thorax, Elysia Rotaru (Taiana Venediktova in Arrow) provided the voice of Sable Spirit for one episode, and both Scott McNeil and Vincent Tong, who have had multiple roles each in Friendship is Magic, have guest-starred respectively on Flash and Arrow.
- The Back to the Future franchise has been mentioned several times throughout the shows. Thomas F. Wilson, who played major antagonist Biff Tannen in the films, plays Nate's father, Henry Heywood, Jr.
- Hollow Man was mentioned by Cisco during The Flash Season 1. Rhona Mitra (Mercy Graves) appeared in the film.
- Felicity mentions Mr. Robot during Arrow Season 7. Stephanie Corneliussen (Valentina Vostock) and B.D. Wong (Godspeed) are series regulars there.
- The Season 5 finale of The Flash mentions the Hallmark movies. Several actors in the Arrowverse have starred in at least one of them, namely; Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow), Andrea Brooks (Eve Tessmacher), Matthew McCaul (Henry Heywood), Victor Garber (Martin Stein), Susan Hogan (Dorothy Heywood), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Nora West-Allen), Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer), Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers), Teddy Sears (Hunter Zolomon), Rachel Skarsten (Beth Kane), Jamey Sheridan (Robert Queen), Michelle Harrison (Nora Allen), Robert Gant (Zor-El), Summer Glau (Isabel Rochev), Katrina Law (Nyssa Al-Ghul), Lexa Doig (Talia al Ghul), Dylan Neal (Anthony Ivo), Shantel VanSanten (Patty Spivot), Kevin Sorbo (Lar Gand), Jesse Hutch (Officer Daily), Teryl Rothery (Jean Loring), Jes Macallan (Ava Sharpe), Emily Kinney (Brie Larvan), Julie Gonzalo (Andrea Rojas), Steve Bacic (Sean Sonus), Patrick Sabongui (David Singh), Dean Cain (Jeremiah Danvers), Brenda Strong (Lillian Luthor), Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor), Erica Durance (the second Alura Zor-El), Emily Tennant (young Clarissa Stein), Bruce Boxleitner (Philip Baker), Kelly Hu (Chien Na Wei), Sarah Carter (Future Grace Gibbons), Dan Payne (young Todd Rice and Shay Lamden), Kayla Ewell (Natalia Knight), Italia Ricci (Siobhan Smythe), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Renee Adler), Tom Cavanagh (Harrison Wells), John Wesley Shipp (Henry Allen, Jay Garrick, and Earth-90 Barry Allen), and Colin Donnell (Tommy Merlyn).
- Supergirl Season 5 mentions Avatar: The Last Airbender. Phil LaMarr, who plays Malefic J'onzz, also voices the Earth King. Mark Hamill (James Jesse) voices the cartoon series' Big Bad while Clancy Brown (Wade Eilling) voices a Recurring Character, but the two do not have Earth-38 characters.
- Edge of Tomorrow was referenced in the final season of Arrow. The film stars Franz Drameh (Jefferson Jackson).
- Supernatural was blatantly mentioned in Legends Season 5. Katie Cassidy (Dinah Laurel Lance) was a main cast member during its third season which served as her first break, while Osric Chau (Ryan Choi) is a recurring cast member since Season 7. Several cast members have also guested there like Lexa Doig (Talia al Ghul), Gary Chalk (Gen. Walker), Aaron Douglas (Russell Glosson), Jewel Staite (Dr. Bryce), and Sebastian Roché (Dr. Ethan Campbell).
- The December '19/January '20 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths had the Arrowverse characters visit a handful of "other Earths" which were the settings for other DC-affiliated TV shows "grandfathering in" all of the paradoxes from those shows into the Arrowverse. Of particular note is Lois Lane and Clark Kent from Supergirl visit Lois Lane and Clark Kent from Smallville but nobody comments on how much Earth-167's Lois Lane looks exactly like Earth-38's Alura Zor-El (Supergirl's mother). Both roles were played (in the same episode) by Erica Durance.
