Although it's brief, there's a lot to unpack with the Alan Wake 2 trailer that debuted at the 2021 Game Awards. After getting over the initial excitement that the game was coming out at all, many fans have taken to rewatching The Game Awards trailer for Alan Wake 2 in search of clues hinting at what's to come for the titular writer and his potential escape from the bottom of Cauldron Lake. As is to be expected from Remedy Entertainment, there are actually quite a bit of references packed into the minute-long trailer, both to the original Alan Wake, and to the other entry in the Remedy-verse Control.
Because the two games share so much connective tissue that is primarily seen in the form of easter eggs, many fans knew that Alan Wake 2's trailer would likely have its fair share of easter eggs as well. Luckily, Remedy didn't disappoint with its hints that only some of the most eagle-eyed fans would pick up on to fuel their speculation. Below are the references to the original Alan Wake, as well as those to Control found so far in the first trailer for Alan Wake 2.
The Coffee Thermos
The coffee thermoses of Alan Wake seemed to be a throwaway collectible item that was a thinly-veiled reference to Twin Peaks, which served as a major inspiration for the game. Control later detailed that the thermoses were actually Altered Items which gave them an in-universe reason to be spread out all over Bright Falls. In the trailer, the blue thermos is innocuous enough and is simply laying on its side at a crime scene.
Double Triangle Carving
Triangles, specifically upside-down ones, were a major part of Control as they represented the mysterious Board. The trailer for Alan Wake 2 features two right-side-up triangles which were featured briefly in Control's AWE DLC. Although they likely aren't referencing the Board, they were seen in one of the many fast-moving montages of flashing images in the DLC. It's unclear what they mean or if they have any relationship to the Board, but given its prominence in the trailer, it seems like the mystery surrounding them may be revealed in the upcoming sequel.
The Oceanview Motel
Also a reference to Control, a neon sign for the Oceanview Motel can clearly be seen in the background of the city that the trailer cuts to. This likely isn't the same motel as seen in Control given its Montana location. However, as a Threshold, there are many different ways that it could interact with the world. What's more, the Oceanview is where Jesse sees Alan for the first time in the AWE DLC. The name "Oceanview" could also be in reference to the fact that Alan gets trapped at the bottom of Cauldron Lake at the end of the original Alan Wake, where he has the discovery that "it's not a lake; it's an ocean."
Caldera St. Station
Caldera St. Station wasn't mentioned in Alan Wake or Control, however, a caldera is a deep lake formed from the eruption of a volcano, the type of water body that Cauldron Lake is. There isn't much to this other than a reference to Cauldron Lake, but it could end up being important in Alan Wake 2.
Bright Falls Deer Festival
Alan and Alice end up visiting Bright Falls for the weekend of its annual Deer Festival, which seems to be back and unaffected from the events of Alan Wake, as it can clearly be seen celebrating its 81st festival. In the original Alan Wake, Bright Falls was celebrating its 68th Deer Fest which means that there may have been a time gap similar to the real time fans have spent waiting for the sequel between games.
Thomas Zane's Quote of the Day
The sign behind the food truck reads "Quote of the day: Your friends will meet him when you're gone," a line that fictional poet Thomas Zane told Alan about Mr. Scratch, the body double that would replace him in the real world after he gets trapped at the end of the game. Fans discovered in Alan Wake's American Nightmare that Mr. Scratch isn't as harmless as he may appear, however, and it seems as if Alan Wake 2 might be confronting the doppelganger in some way or another.
Alan Wake 2 is in development.