Dark Winds Season 4 pays tribute to one of its executive producers, Robert Redford, in the first episode. However, the tribute to the late actor isn’t restricted only to that episode. A later episode will reportedly include an easter egg highlighting one of his most notable films that shaped his legacy.

How did Dark Winds Season 4 honor Robert Redford?

Dark Winds Season 4 Episode 1 ends with a title card dedicated to Robert Redford. He will also be honored in an upcoming episode. When Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito travel to 1972 Los Angeles, a movie theater marquee will be shown in the background advertising Redford’s film Jeremiah Johnson.

Redford previously cameoed in the Season 3 premiere, “Ye’iitsoh.” In the episode, he and executive producer George R.R. Martin played characters who were seen playing a game of chess. The game was witnessed by Leaphorn, who helped Martin’s character cheat. Upon seeing this, Redford’s character told Leaphorn, “Thanks a lot.”

Leaphorn’s actor, Zahn McClarnon, enjoyed being part of the scene. He told Gold Derby, “The smile on my face all day, it was incredible.”

Check out the cameo below:

Dark Winds showrunner John Wirth recalled in an article he published for Variety, discussing the cameo’s development, that he and the showrunners failed to get Redford and Martin on the show in 2024, attributing it to their busy schedules. He revealed that he and Steven Paul Judd wrote a scene for the two where they played Men in Black-type characters hired by presumably alien bosses to “retrieve an otherworldly five-horned sheep roaming the Navajo Nation and return it to the sheep’s alien uber-bosses.”

Wirth praised Redford’s line delivery and Martin’s acting in the aforementioned cameo. He then recalled executive producer Tina Elmo telling him how Redford wanted to meet to discuss Season 4 following his return to Santa Fe.

Wirth further recalled being “excited” about the meeting, which wasn’t realized. He added, “I did communicate with Bob about the cut, made a few small changes for him, and was glad he seemed pleased with it. I know I was.”