Edward Woodward, star of the original Wicker Man, has said that while he was offered a part in the remake and declined, he nevertheless was "surprisingly impressed by the quality of the script".
There is a "Missing" sign in the police station with a photo of Edward Woodward's character from the 1973 original.
In the classroom scene there is a phrase in Irish above the blackboard that reads "Níl aon chealg ag an rí" which translates to "The king has no sting".
Nicolas Cage's character is named "Edward"; Kate Beahan's character is surnamed "Woodward". Edward Woodward portrayed the police officer in the original movie.
The typeface of the opening credits is identical to that used in the original film.
The downstairs interior of Sister Summersisle's home is actually a women's club in Vancouver. The fancy wallpaper seen along the staircase was on a wall added by the art department to cover an open doorway leading to a large modern kitchen. The upstairs portion of the house was a set.
Many characters' names are plant related, or have a nature connection, such as Willow, Beech, Honey, Rose and Thorn. Malus is the genus name for the apple and crabapple, while Rowan is the name of a shrub found in Asia and Europe.
The writing on the chalk board in the classroom is a portion of the poem "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" by William Blake and reads, "Once meek, and in a perilous path/ The just man kept his course along/ The vale of death./ Roses are planted where thorns grow./ And on the barren heath/ Sing the honey bees."
In Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's original 1973 film, the island is called Summerisle. The producers of the remake decided to change it to "Summersisle" because they thought it would be 'easier for Americans to pronounce'.
Not screened for critics.
The movie was originally rated R for extreme violence, disturbing images, language, and thematic elements, but director 'Neil LeBute' wanted a broader audience, so they cut most of the scenes out, some of which have been included in the unrated version of the DVD, to deem it PG-13. However, there are about four minutes of additional cut footage that are not shown in the unrated DVD.
A lot of the dialog, perhaps as much as 80%, is either very close or word-for-word the same as in the original The Wicker Man (1973), albeit sometimes in a different context. Watching the two films back to back proves this - especially if the original is watched first.
While Officer Malus is talking with Sister Rose outside the schoolhouse, there's a maypole in the background next to a swing set. This is in reference to the maypole question and scene in the original film.