Star Wars Wednesday: 8 Easter Eggs in Star Wars

8 Easter Eggs in Star Wars

          Every movie tends to have a few fun little secrets hiding inside of it, and Star Wars is no different. Whether a reference to another movie, a part of the Expanded Universe, or something else entirely, there’s plenty of Easter Eggs hidden in all the Star Wars movies, and we’ll be counting down 8 of my favourites today in the order of the movies they were released in.

E.T. in the Senate

          Palpatine’s Senate chamber is full of various species from all across the galaxy, including several familiar faces such as Wookies and Ithorians. But did you also know that you can find E.T. of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial fame?

          Yes, an entire family of E.T.s can be spotted during one of the Senate scenes in Phantom Menace. While they aren’t prominently featured, they aren’t exactly hard to find either. Just keep an eye on the bottom of the screen during the Senate meetings where Amidala is playing host and you’ll surely be able to spot them.

The club full of cameos

          The scene early on in Attack of the Clones where Anakin and Obi-Wan chase bounty hunter Zam Wessel through the streets of Coruscant is a personal favourite of mine, but even I didn’t notice a bunch of these little secrets even after watching it several times.

          We all know the part where they go into the club and Obi-Wan uses the Jedi mind trick to help that deathstick vendor go home and rethink his life, but did you know that the club is filled to the brim with Star Wars references and cameos?

          Firstly, pay attention right after the two Jedi first enter the club. We see Obi-Wan looking around, and then get a shot of a group of aliens watching some kind of sport on TV. But we want to pay more attention to the screen on the far left, which is currently playing the Star Wars: Episode 1 Pod Racer game!

          Later on it looks like Zam is about to get the jump on our heroes, but Obi-Wan whips his lightsaber out in time and stops her. After she’s defeated, we get a look at two separate patrons reacting to the Jedi suddenly appearing. Recognize them? This scene is the only time we see Anthony Daniels and Ahmed Best not playing C-3PO and Jar Jar respectively in any Star Wars movie.

The Millennium Falcon on Coruscant

          Revenge of the Sith has plenty of little hidden goodies tucked away for fans to uncover, with several of them tying back to stuff in the Original Trilogy. For example, did you know that early on in the movie you can spot the Millennium Falcon docking on a Coruscant spaceport?

          While we don’t know who’s piloting it here (Lando maybe?), that’s unmistakeably the most famous ship in the entire franchise. In motion this one can be notoriously tricky to pin down thanks to the way the scene moves, but if you know what you’re looking for and the general vicinity of where to find it, it’s fairly easy to spot. Next time you’re watching Revenge of the Sith, keep your eyes on the bottom of the screen.

George Lucas as Baron Papanoida

          It’s funny that it took Lucas six movies to finally cameo in one of them, but he finally debuted onscreen in, again, Revenge of the Sith. Here he plays Baron Papanoida, a blue-skinned individual with a very silly hat.

          Unlike the Falcon, Lucas/Papanoida is fairly easy to find. He makes his one and only appearance just before the famous “Darth Plagueis the Wise” sequence, right as Anakin is approaching Palpatine’s balcony. Look to the left right before Anakin goes through the door, and you’ll find Lucas talking to his daughter, both of them in full costume.

Anakin on the Imperial insignia

          We’re still in Revenge of the Sith, and while this one can be argued as more ironic set design instead of an Easter Egg, it’s still fun to take notice of.

          After Palpatine rescues Anakin from Mustafar, pay close attention to the scene immediately after the one we see the two of them marching through the rain on Coruscant. We see Anakin lying on a bench in the chamber that’s about to attach the Vader suit to him. Notice anything familiar?

          You might need to adjust your head a bit to get the full effect, but Anakin is lying on a near-perfect Imperial Insignia. Same circular design, same six spokes, same black and white colours. It’s a nice nod to the creature Anakin is about to be turned into.

Hip-Hop Yoda

          Now here’s a real obscure one. To find what is perhaps the funniest and most difficult to find Star Wars Easter Egg of them all, you’ll need to break out an old DVD Player, an original copy of Revenge of the Sith from 2005, and a DVD remote with a numerical keypad on it.

          Next, on the main menu you must select the Options menu, and then enter 1138 on the keypad (the code itself is a reference to THX 1138, one of George Lucas’s first movies, and a topic I’ll surely get to someday). If done correctly, you’ll be presented with this:

          If that isn’t the best thing ever made, I don’t know what is.

The Outrider over Mos Eisley

          Among the more obscure references here is one added to the Special Edition of A New Hope. When Luke and Obi-Wan first enter Mos Eisley, you can catch a glimpse of a Millennium Falcon-looking ship leaving the spaceport.

          To those familiar with the old canon, this ship is instantly recognizable. This is the Outrider, a Corellian freighter belonging to Dash Rendar, main character of the massive Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire series from 1996. The series was an enormous success, so much so that when the Special Editions were being made they slipped this reference in as a nod to fans.

          Maybe I should talk about it someday.

Headbanging Stormtrooper

          This one isn’t really an Easter Egg, but it’s the only one I’ll always stop and point out to any newcomers I’m watching with. When Luke is trying to contact 3PO from the trash compactor, you see three Stormtroopers entering the room R2 and 3PO are hiding in. If you keep an eye on the trooper furthest to the right, you’ll see him accidentally bang his head on the top of the door.

          This blooper is such a classic that Star Wars itself has wholly embraced and referenced it several times. With the release of the Special Editions, a “clunk” sound effect was added to when he hits his head, further pointing out the trooper and making an already funny scene even funnier. In Attack of the Clones Jango Fett bumps his head on the door of the Slave I, a reference to the classic goof. The joke’s also appeared in several Star Wars games, such as Battlefront 2015.

          There are plenty more secrets hidden away in Star Wars, including surprise guest actors, cameos from other characters and plenty more movie references. Did I miss your favourite? Leave it in the comments below, and I’ll see you next time for more Star Wars content!