Highlights
- The Star Wars franchise contains many Easter eggs, some of which nearly got Lucasfilm in trouble and others that were inside jokes by the production team.
- Characters in the Star Wars universe have names inspired by different sources, such as Ima-Gun Di's name being a play on "I'm gonna die" and Sha'a Gi being a reference to Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.
- There are various Easter eggs in the Star Wars movies, like the appearance of the Mickey Mouse silhouette in The Empire Strikes Back and the resemblance of the Jedi Archives to Trinity College's Long Room.
A popular franchise today, Star Wars has taken inspiration from many different things. Historical events like the Vietnam War inspired the Rebellion's fight against the Empire in the original trilogy. Akira Kurosawa’s films were massive influences on the saga’s key plot points, with Samurai warriors inspiring the Jedi and Sith.
It follows, then, that the Star Wars franchise is bound to contain many Easter eggs. Some are more prominent, whereas others will only be recognized by true fans. If viewers look closely enough, some of the most random things can be found in the movies, and are truly weird. Certain Easter Eggs nearly landed Lucasfilm in trouble, and others were the result of jokes by the production team.
10 Ima-Gun Di's Unfortunate Jedi Name
Star Wars: The Clone Wars S3E3 "Supply Lines"
An episode in Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ third series sees a Jedi master fighting a bitter, ultimately futile, battle against the oncoming Separatist droids. He was sent to the planet Ryloth to aid the suffering Twi'lek population. This noble Jedi fights to the very end, but ultimately the Separatist forces are too powerful. However, his sacrifice saw the shipment of humanitarian aid reaching the Twi'lek people.
This Jedi’s name, Ima-Gun Di, is a silly play on the phrase “I’m gonna die”, which obviously serves to foreshadow his death at the episode’s ending. Though, canonically speaking, he's had that name his whole life.
9 Sha'a Gi The Padawan
Star Wars: Clone Wars Chapter 20
This animated Clone Wars series is done in a 2D art style and features some incredible lightsaber duels. This series also introduced the ferocious General Grievous on the planet Hypori. Many Jedi fight him, including Ki-Adi Mundi and Shaak Ti. However, there’s also a young, cowardly Padawan with a slightly scruffy appearance in the group.
This Padawan goes by the name of Sha’a Gi. This is a direct reference to the character Shaggy Rogers from the Scooby-Doo franchise. Sha'a Gi shares a similar appearance and temperament to his namesake. Genndy Tartakovsky, the series’ director, has confirmed Shaggy was the inspiration for the Padawan. Either that or Shaggy somehow found himself in the Star Wars galaxy in search of some Scooby Snacks.
8 The Separatists' Kitchen Sink
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
When Anakin and Obi-Wan partake in the Battle of Coruscant, they aren’t expecting to nearly get hit by a kitchen amenity. As the two Jedi fly through the intense battle, a nearby Separatist ship explodes, unleashing a torrent of debris. One piece that hits the Republic Venator is actually a kitchen sink.
This very random Easter Egg is a nod to the visual effects team, Industrial Light and Magic. ILM stated that during the production of this epic space sequence, they threw 'everything but the kitchen sink' into it. Their colossal effort into what was, at the time, the last ever Star Wars movie made this scene one of the most spectacular space battles in the franchise.
7 Abednedo, The Song-inspired Species
Disney's Sequel Trilogy (2015-2019)
Many new and interesting characters debuted in these movies. One such species is the Abednedo, which just happens to follow a rather amusing trend, in that their character names are derived from song titles. The very first Abednedo on screen is “Ilco Munica”, who’s unfortunately killed by the First Order in Tuanul Village. Fans of the Beastie Boys will realize his name is derived from their album “Ill Communication”. As director J.J. Abrams was a fan of this hip-hop group, the trend continues.
Various Abednedo appear in the trilogy; one example has the name “Ello Asty”, secretly a reference to the album “Hello Nasty”. In The Last Jedi, another Abednedo, seen on the planet Cantonica, goes by the name “Slowen-Lo” which refers to the song “Slow and Low”. This Easter Egg will surely please any fans of this musical group.
6 Trinity College's Long Room As The Jedi Archives
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Obi-Wan enters the grand Jedi Archives in search of any information he can get on Kamino. After only a brief glance, it’s obvious how much resemblance the Archives bear to a real-life location, this being the famous Long Room in Ireland’s Trinity College. Even the busts of the “Lost Twenty”, a group of Jedi that includes Count Dooku, line the archives. Similarly, busts of famous alumni line the college’s library. It’s weird how the two locations share a striking resemblance which was seemingly unintentional.
Indeed, George Lucas was nearly sued by the college since he’d never obtained permission to use the famous building as a reference for the movie. Lucasfilm claimed to have taken inspiration from a range of other famous libraries from around the world. However, it has become something of an Easter Egg due to the similarities the two locations share, whether intended or not.
5 The Certain Extra-Terrestrial Senator
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999)
A popular Easter Egg is the appearance of a certain Extra-Terrestrial in the Senate. After Queen Amidala calls for a Vote of No Confidence in then-Chancellor Valorum, a group of characters can be seen who look the same as E.T. from the 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. This is a homage to George Lucas’ friend and fellow director, Steven Spielberg, who made this movie. What’s more, the Senator among them is called “Greblieps”, which is “Spielberg” backward.
Spielberg’s movie included Star Wars references, such as Elliott’s action figure collection and the child wearing a Yoda costume, the latter of which makes E.T. exclaim: “Home!” This suggested that E.T. was trying to ‘phone’ the Star Wars galaxy as that’s his home. Lucas returned the favor by including Spielberg's character in Star Wars. This seemingly confirms the theory that E.T.’s species is actually from the ‘galaxy far, far away’.
4 The Galaxy's Most Famous Mouse
Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
This is one of the most seemingly weird, yet glaringly obvious once it’s seen, Easter Eggs in the original trilogy. It’s made even stranger as at the time, in 1980, Disney did not own Star Wars. Believe it or not, in the battle on Cloud City between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the iconic Mickey Mouse silhouette is clearly visible. Surprising though it may be at first, there is a reason for this.
George Lucas was a big fan of Disney and was actually working with them in the 1980s. Star Wars was first included in Disney parks in the form of "Star Tours". Star Tours opened in 1987 as a way of celebrating 10 years of the franchise. Despite this, Mickey’s appearance makes for a fun and weird Easter Egg as, technically, he’s in Star Wars canon, decades before actually owning the billion-dollar franchise.
3 The Bounty Hunter Pursuit
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (2002)
This movie features a thrilling high-speed chase sequence between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and bounty hunter Zam Wesell. During the chase, it's possible to see three TIE fighters pursuing an X-Wing at the very bottom left of the screen. It’s over quickly, but this little insert is a pure Easter Egg as no canon explanation exists.
When the two Jedi enter the Outlander Club after Zam, there are three screens broadcasting various sporting events. One is of a Podrace, acting like a homage to Anakin, and his childhood experiences racing in such events. What's on the screen, though, is actual footage of Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer on the Nintendo 64. So is the screen showing a real Podrace, or has someone got an N64 on Coruscant?
2 Famous Real-Life Inspired Artwork
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
It seems some characters have hired artists from this galaxy! This is evident on the planet Mandalore in The Clone Wars. Duchess Satine Kryze has a portrait of herself in the style of Picasso’s artwork, “Seated Woman”. There are also other murals done in the style of Picasso’s iconic piece “Guernica”. One belongs to secret Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla, whereas the other two can be seen around Sundari, Mandalore’s capital. They depict battles between Jedi and Mandalorians, as historically the two were enemies.
Another famous art piece is seen in Padme's apartment in Attack of the Clones. This is “Bird in Space” by Constantin Brancusi, a highly influential Romanian sculptor. Interestingly, Padmé reveals she once had a friend named Palo, who became an artist. This sounds similar to Picasso's first name, Pablo.
1 The Galaxy's Tallest Building
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Connection or Coincidence? There is a building in Coruscant’s skyline that looks like the spitting image of the tallest building in our world: the Burj Khalifa. What’s even stranger is that the movie was released in 2005, and the Burj Khalifa wasn’t completed until 2010. However, construction began on the tower in 2004, a year before the film's release. This seems an exciting phenomenon, possibly suggesting that Star Wars inspired the tower’s design.
The owners of the Burj Khalifa, Emaar Properties, however, have denied the movie somehow influenced the building's design. The tower's appearance was based on the spider lily, a flower that grows in the desert. But seemingly reiterating a connection between the two, in The Clone Wars episode "Padawan Lost" there is a character named “Kalifa”. This episode debuted in 2011, a year after the tower was completed. It's most certainly pure coincidence that the tower’s iconic design appeared on Coruscant five years before it did in Dubai. However, fans can still speculate about a possible connection, seemingly reinforced by the Padawan's name.
