Almost all of you reading this are likely aware that Star Wars mastermind George Lucas had a cameo role in 2005's Revenge of the Sith. The filmmaker played the blue-skinned Baron Papanoida but it turns out he debuted in the Galaxy Far, Far Away he created years earlier.
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, Clayton Sandell recently sat down for a conversation with former ILM matte painter Caroleen "Jett" Green and discovered that Lucas has a literal blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in Theed's Royal Palace on Naboo during The Phantom Menace's final act. However, unlike the Baron, he wasn't there in person for it.
Instead, Green painted his face into one of her backgrounds. When Queen Padmé and her guards run through a long hallway in the palace before being surrounded by the Trade Federation's Battle Droids, Lucas' face can be seen far in the background in an arch above a window.
This is difficult to spot even in the movie's 4K transfers but it's George, alright.
"I decided to get a picture of George, and I put it on this plaque," Green explained. "I thought, 'Well, that’ll be cool. By the time you shrink that down, his face is just a blur.'" This wasn't something she snuck into the movie, though, as Lucas had to approve it.
"George is really quiet. He looks at it, and he goes, 'Oh, naughty, naughty,'" she recalled. "I said, 'Yeah, but it’s you! It’s your face.' And then there’s silence again. And I’m just sitting there with everybody. And for some reason, I can’t describe the feeling, but–I knew that I wasn’t going to get in trouble. And then George says, 'Okay. Leave it in.'"
While Lucas isn't really one for full-blown cameos, a scream he recorded for 1973's American Grafitti has since been used in the background of movies like Rogue One, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, replacing the Wilhelm scream.
The filmmaker has taken a step back from Star Wars since selling Lucasfilm to Disney. After the past few years, and the newfound love for the prequels from fans who grew up with that trilogy, many would love to see him step behind the camera for one more story.
That's sadly unlikely but this Easter Egg is as good a reason as any to go back and revisit Episode I.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is set approximately 32 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and follows the story of young Anakin Skywalker, a slave on the desert planet of Tatooine who is discovered to be strong in the Force.
Anakin's journey intertwines with the political machinations of the Galactic Republic and the emergence of the Sith, dark wielders of the Force who seek to manipulate events from the shadows.
Check out this newly discovered Easter Egg in the X post below.