29 incredible Easter Eggs, callbacks and references in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Did you spot all these sneaky secrets and jokes in Star Wars Episode VIII?
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11. Armies of the First Order
The series’ fondness for chopping off limbs continues subtly in the new film, with Supreme Leader Snoke’s bisected death (not dissimilar to the end Darth Maul met in prequel The Phantom Menace) also seeing his arm chopped off. If you look closely, you can see Snoke’s severed arm lying on the floor.
12. Bacta: the future
Finn’s recovery suit at the beginning of the film is referred to in passing as a Bacta suit, calling back to the similarly water-themed Bacta Tank where Luke heals at the start of The Empire Strikes Back (and where Darth Vader rests in Rogue One).
13. Darth Sidious
The Emperor’s Sith name Darth Sidious is uttered by Luke for the first time in The Last Jedi, connecting the new films to the prequels (in the original trilogy, the character was just known as the Emperor).
14. Canto BightÂ
William Wellman's Wings (1927) pic.twitter.com/r5B5uoADAk
— Silent Movie GIFs (@silentmoviegifs) September 16, 2016
Apart from being a more upmarket version of the classic cantina scene from the first Star Wars, the Canto Bight casino scenes also paid tribute to 1927 film Wings through a long tracking shot (above) that some fans have already picked out.
15. Jurassic Larks
When the horse-like Fathiers stampede through Canto Bight, a glass of water ripples ominously in a similar way to the iconic shot from Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (specifically when the T-Rex is attacking). Given Jurassic Park actor Laura Dern also stars in The Last Jedi, it’s a particularly appropriate reference.
16. Brazil
And those aren’t the only non-Star Wars movie Easter Eggs to look out for, with Terry Gilliam’s cult classic Brazil also being referenced in the Canto Bight storyline when Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) are accused of violating parking regulation 27B/6.
For those not in the know, a 27B/6 is the name of a crucial form that appears in Brazil’s ultra-bureaucratic society, in a memorable scene where lead character Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) tries to get his apartment’s air ducts fixed.
17. Cameos
The Last Jedi has an incredible number of cameos, from Princes William and Harry and frequent Rian Johnson collaborator Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Tom Hardy, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards and even the late Carrie Fisher’s dog Gary.
18. Rogue One callback
The First Order’s ability to follow the Resistance through Hyperspace is a troubling development in The Last Jedi, but it turns out we all should have seen it coming – because as many eagle-eyed fans have noticed, the Empire were actually working on a similar project many years before, as acknowledged in 2016 prequel Rogue One when Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) stumbles upon Imperial plans for a similar technology.
19. Raddus lives!
In another Rogue One reference, the brave Mon Calamari Admiral Raddus from the 2016 film has clearly left his mark, with the main Resistance Cruiser named after him.
20. It ain’t easy being green
While much of the film focuses on the iconic blue lightsaber wielded by Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker and Rey over different decades of Star Wars stories, in flashbacks we also get a look at the other lightsaber Luke has in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, which the young Jedi made himself in a green colour.
