20 Things You Didn't Know About Arrival

Initially named Flapper and Raspberry, the alien Heptapods in the film were named Abbott and Costello - after the legendary duo - by Ian Donnelly. He specifically references their “Who’s On First?” bit while naming the extraterrestrial beings, and this served to hint at the picture’s themes.

In the 'bit', Costello wants to know the players of a certain baseball game but becomes increasingly frustrated by Abbott’s answers sounding like a mix of relative pronouns and other seemingly nonsensical (in context) statements. such as “I don’t know” or “I don’t give a darn.” Their multiple meanings only agitate the duo even more as it becomes clear they are not on the same page.

In addition to being humorous, the sketch highlights how simple misunderstandings can lead to a complete communication breakdown as the one seen after the Heptapods reveal their grand plan for humanity.