SPOILERS: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI - 26 Amazing Easter Eggs, Cameos, And References You Need To See
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now in theaters and we've now broken down the movie's biggest Easter Eggs, references, cameos, and more to bring you a definitive guide to this chapter of the Skywalker Saga.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now in theaters and after a massive opening weekend, fans can't stop talking about what writer and director Rian Johnson brought to this Galaxy Far, Far Away. The movie has been somewhat controversial but regardless how you feel about this follow-up to The Force Awakens, there's no getting around that it's packed full of great Easter Eggs, references, and awesome surprise cameos.
Below, you'll find a breakdown of all the biggest and best ones from the references to previous instalments in the Star Wars franchise to unexpected appearances from a wealth of familiar faces, and the ways this instalment lays the groundwork for J.J. Abrams to end the trilogy with Episode IX in 2019.
So, keep reading to find all of Star Wars: The Last Jedi's best Easter Eggs but beware of some spoilers!
The Sacred Jedi Texts
Once Rey departs Ahch-To, Luke decides that it's time to destroy what's left of the Jedi Texts by burning them and the temple they're housed in. However, during his moment of hesitation, Yoda appears and uses his powers to do the deed for him. However, the pint-sized Jedi Master has the last laugh because the texts can be seen at the end of the movie hidden in the Millennium Falcon and Yoda actually says to Luke that Rey has everything she needs to become a Jedi (a clear reference to those stolen texts).
A Familiar Dissolve
Despite the fact that Rian Johnson brings a lot of new things to the table in The Last Jedi, the filmmaker also incorporates a lot of new elements which are sure to be appreciated by longtime fans of the franchise. For example, when Kylo Ren is about to attack Leia's ship, the dissolve which is used to switch between the two characters (a result of their connection to the Force) is the same one we saw in The Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker reached out to his father, Darth Vader.
"I've Got A Bad Feeling About This"
It was Han Solo who said the iconic line above in The Force Awakens but if you were worried about it being M.I.A. in The Last Jedi, you need to pay more attention! Rian Johnson has confirmed that it's in there and after taking a closer look, it's actually BB-8 who says it at the start of the movie.
When Poe is about to enact his plan to attack the Dreadnought, BB-8 beeps nervously and after Poe tries to reassure him, Leia replies: "Just for the record, Commander Dameron, I'm with the droid on this one."
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Cameo
The star of The Dark Knight Rises worked with Rian Johnson on Looper and there's been talk for a while about him showing up in some form in The Last Jedi. Well, sit through the credits and you'll notice that he's credited as Slowen-Lo, the alien (named after a Beastie Boys song) that reports Finn and Rose to the police on Canto Bight. His voice is unrecognisable but it really is Gordon-Levitt!
Star Wars Battlefront II
In Star Wars Battlefront II, Luke Skywalker makes a surprise cameo appearance for one of the game's coolest levels. He's there because the Jedi Master is on the hunt for one of the Emperor's many artefacts and if you look closely in his hut on Ahch-To, you'll notice the compass there among his few other possessions.
Darth Sidious
Due to the fact that the majority of fans don't seem to like the Star Wars prequels, most have assumed they would be largely ignored in this new trilogy. Well, just like The Force Awakens made reference to them when Kylo Ren talked about a Clone Army, so too does Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi when he's talking to Rey about the Jedi Order's many failings and calls the Emperor Darth Sidious as opposed to Palpatine.
A Major Tie To Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The Last Jedi introduces us to a lot of new concepts, with one of the biggest being The First Order's ability to track the Resistance through Lightspeed. Well, the villainous group has been developing this technology for a long time now as Jyn Erso actually comes across a plan for "Hyperspace Tracking" in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. You have to believe this was something which was planned by Lucasfilm!
"DJ"
The name of the character played by Benicio Del Toro is never actually mentioned in The Last Jedi itself but the actor is credited as "DJ" in the movie's credits. We've known that would be the case for a while now but pay close attention to the movie and you'll hopefully notice that those initials are a reference to the advice he gives to Finn - "Don't join" (a phase also written on his hat in an alien language).
Supreme Leader Snoke Loses His Arm
The Last Jedi is a Star Wars movie so someone had to lose a hand or arm! While it's not made particularly obvious here, look closely and you'll notice that the lightsaber ignited by Kylo Ren which slices Supreme Leader Snoke in half also takes his arm off and that can still be seen on the armrest of his throne when General Hux discovers that his beloved leader has been murdered.
A Throwback To Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In The Last Jedi, the Resistance's main ship is named after Admiral Raddus. If that name rings a bell, it's because that's a reference to the leader of the Alliance fleet in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. He was killed by the Empire but not before he managed to get the Death Star plans to the young Princess Leia.
"Here They Come!"
We're no doubt always going to hear familiar music in any upcoming Star Wars movie but when the Millennium Falcon shows up to help the Resistance on Crait, the same music from A New Hope plays which scored the scene when Han and Luke fought TIE Fighers off (here, it's once again Chewie who is piloting the ship but Rey that's firing the guns). As nostalgia goes, this is nothing short of perfection.
The X-Wing
Luke's X-Wing can be seen submerged in the waters of Ahch-To but the Jedi Master made good use of his old spacecraft before letting it sink. When Chewbacca smashes in his door, you'll notice that Luke has used part of the X-Wing as a door to presumably give him some privacy from the island's Caretakers. This actually resembles what we saw in The Empire Strikes Back as Yoda had quite clearly used part of his escape pod for the foundations of his hut on Dagobah.
Supreme Leader Snoke's Ring
If you're wondering what significance Supreme Leader Snoke's ring has, the Visual Dictionary for the movie reveals that the design on the band is a reference to the Four Sages of Dwartii (you can learn more about them by clicking here). The ring, meanwhile, is made from obsidian mined from beneath Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar, proof that Kylo Ren isn't the only one interested in the Sith Lord.
Jurassic Park
When the Fathiers crash through the casino on Canto Bight, a glass can be seen moments before they come crashing through a wall full of water which ripples as they approach. That's an obvious reference to Jurassic Park, a movie Laure Dern (who place Vice Admiral Holdo here) also starred in.
A Barash Vow
The Expanded Universe was done away with when Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the company has since established a new continuity through both the movies and a series of novels and comic books. In Darth Vader's series, he talked about the Barash Vow, a method Jedis hiding from the Emperor after Order 66 used to disconnect themselves from the Force. That's clearly what Luke Skywalker has done in The Last Jedi and it will be interesting to see if this is used in future movies.
Shoot To Stun
In A New Hope, the Stormtroopers use a seldom see setting on their blasters when blue circles shoot out of them to knock Princess Leia out rather than kill her. Well, The Last Jedi brings that back in a big way when the good guys all start firing at each other on the Resistance flagship and Leia stuns Poe Dameron after she wakes up and finds him on the bridge and enacting his disastrous plan.
Leia's Original Blaster
Talking of the moment the Resistance General stuns Poe, look closely and you'll notice that she's using the same blaster she had in A New Hope. Whether she got it back from the Stormtroopers who took it from her or it's just the same design isn't clear but this is a great throwback to that classic movie.
A Cameo From Rogue One's Director
Rian Johnson was given a cameo as a Death Star technician in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and he returns the favour here by giving Garth Edwards a cameo of his own. After that Resistance soldier points out that Crait is covered in salt, the director can be seen next to him taking aim at The First Order.
Blue Milk
George Lucas was working with a limited budget on A New Hope in 1977 and he and the production team were forced to find some unique ways to make the world of Star Wars look truly alien. That included blue milk and in a perfect throwback to that, The Last Jedi shows the grumpy Jedi Master harvesting some green milk from one of Ahch-To's aliens and drinking it then and there much to Rey's disgust.
A Familiar Scar
During the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke's robotic hand was struck by blaster fire and you'll notice that the scarring from that remains when we see his hand again here. Clearly, he never found the need to replace it (it must have been well-built) and this is a great way to reference the past.
Leia's Original Message
This wasn't exactly the sort of Easter Egg which you missed (unless you took a poorly timed bathroom break) but in a bid to convince Luke to help the Resistance, R2-D2 shows him the original message Princess Leia made for Obi-Wan Kenobi all those years ago which he first saw on Tatooine. Bear in mind that the droid has all his memories dating to back before the events of The Phantom Menace!
Han Solo's Gold Dice
If you're wondering about the significance of the dice seen in The Last Jedi, they first popped up in A New Hope and it's previously been claimed that Han used those to win the Millennium Falcon. A recent tie-in novel claimed they were given to him by Chewbacca as a joke but whatever the answer may be, Lucasfilm reportedly had to find a set on eBay after realising that the originals had somehow gone missing.
Luke Skywalker's Appearance On Crait
The Last Jedi is a movie which demands multiple viewings and if you take a closer look at Luke Skywalker's confrontation with Kylo Ren onCrait, you'll notice that Rian Johnson was telling us all along that the Jedi Master wasn't really there! For starters, he leaves no red footprints in the salt and the blue lightsaber he's wielding is the one Kylo and Rey destroyed a little earlier in the movie.
Laser Swords
When Rey fills Luke Skywalker in on what exactly has happened since he fled to Ahch-To, the Jedi Master scoffs at the idea that he's going to confront entire First Order with a "laser sword." That's how Anakin refers to a lightsaber in The Phantom Menace but is crucially what George Lucas initially intended to refer to the iconic weapons as when he wrote the screenplay to A New Hope.
Binary Sunset
One of the most iconic moments in the entire Star Wars franchise is Luke Skywalker looking at Tatooine's two setting suns. As he dies in The Last Jedi, the sun hits the moon and creates the illusion of two suns, a great way to close out Luke's story just as it began all those years ago when he was a youngster.
Carrie Fisher Tribute
Wait for a few minutes once the credits start rolling and you'll get to see Lucasfilm's touching tribute to Carrie Fisher. It reads, "In Loving Memory Of Our Princess, Carrie Fisher."
Did you guys spot these Easter Eggs in Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Have we missed any others? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.