Star Wars: The Force Awakens...is like the world's geekiest Easter egg hunt. J.J.
Abrams told audiences to pay close attention to their movie screens and
they'll be filled with delicious references from Star Wars' past. However
this seemed to be harder than expected, there were so many hidden treasures, we had to
watch the film a few times to get it all. I mean, not that we mind, I saw it like three times already but (clears throat)
NUMBER ONE: FN 2187
Before donning the name Finn, stormtrooper FN 2187 shared the same
number as the cell block on the Death Star that held Princess Leia. He also shares that
number with an abstract short film that influenced George Lucas. Both of these
reasons probably led to Finn's allegiance changing. That and all of the other
stormtroopers used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor FN 2187 join in any
stormtrooper games.
NUMBER TWO: YODA AND OBI-WAN ARE IN THE FORCE AWAKENS
When Ray touches Luke's lightsaber, wow that sounds dirty, she starts having visions and hears voices. J.J. Abrams
confirmed that if you listen hard enough, you can hear Luke, Obi-Wan, and Yoda.
A young and old Obi-Wan delivers the line "Rey, this is your first step."
Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan in the original trilogy, passed away in 2000, but
was able to reprise the role post-mortem do some clever editing. By truncating
audio of Guinness saying the word "afraid," Abrams had an older Obi-Wan say "Rey," and
asked Ewan Mcgregor to reprise his role as the younger Obi-Wan to complete the line.
NUMBER THREE: SECRET CAMEOS
There's a few casting surprises that you may have missed. The stormtrooper watching over the captive Rey
who falls for the old Jedi mind trick was played by Daniel Craig. He was at Pinewood Studios
filming Spectre and did the cameo for S's and G's.
Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lord plays a lieutenant in the Resistance. There are some
interesting music connections in the film too. Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich
and composer Michael Giacchino play stormtroopers FN 9330 and FN 3181, which
is also a reference to George Lucas' film THX 1138. One of the alien Resistance
pilots is named Ello Asty after the Beastie Boys album Hello Nasty. He also has "Born To Ill"
on his helmet. Even writer-director and super Star Wars fan Kevin Smith has a
cameo as a stormtrooper.
And no he wasn't silent.
NUMBER FOUR: MAZ KANATA'S SECRETS
Some of the flags outside of Maz Kanata's castle include some of the same flags from the Boonta Eve
podrace, as well as a Mandalorian flag, the same symbol featured on Boba Fett's armor.
Also, could the chest Maz Kanata keeps Luke's lightsaber in be the same chest that
Obi-Wan keeps in a New Hope? Who knows, only time and sequels will tell.
NUMBER FIVE: RALPH MCQUARRIE'S INSPIRATIONS
In 1975, George Lucas hired concept artist Ralph McQuarrie
to create tons of concept art in order to get financing for Star Wars. Abrams has
used some of these pieces of art as inspiration for his Star Wars movie. At
one point, George Lucas was going to have the main character be a woman, and have
McQuarrie create some possible looks for her. Rey's costume may have been inspired by
concept art from that session. The arch in Niima outpost is from McQuarrie's
sketches of Jabba's palace, and BB-8 was inspired from one of McQuarrie's concept
art for R2D2. Funnily enough, the character of Zeb Orrelios from Star Wars
Rebels is also inspired by original concept art for Chewbacca.
NUMBER SIX: "THIS IS A RESCUE"
In the beginning, Finn rescues Poe from the Finalizer. As
they're about to escape, Finn takes off his helmet and says "this is a rescue!"
That little piece of dialogue is a major throwback. Remember when Luke meets Leia for the first time in the
original Star Wars? Luke takes off his stormtrooper mask and says "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!"
Now Finn might not be the next Luke in the series, but it was still a great reference.
Han Solo also blurts out another familiar line from the franchise: "I've got a bad feeling
about this," which is heard in every Star Wars film.
Great job on that addition J.J.
NUMBER SEVEN: MORE FUZZY PARSEC MATH
Another famous line in the original Star Wars is when Han Solo boasts that the Millennium Falcon made the
Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs. The nerdiest fans love and hate this line
because a parsec is a unit of measurement, not time. However, we hear that simple mistake
used again when Rey and Han are talking about how many parsecs it took to make the
Kessel run when the two meet on the Falcon. Both characters don't seem to be
phased by their mathematical mistake.
NUMBER EIGHT: THE WILHELM SCREAM
The Wilhelm Scream was first recorded in 1951 and made famous in the movie The Charge At
Feather River by Private Willhelm. Private Wilhelm's scream might just be the
most famous scream in movie history.
It has been every single Star Wars film, as well as about 200 other movies. During
Finn and Poe's escape from the First Order hangar bay, an unlucky stormtrooper belts
out a recognizable sound. Keep your ears sharp next time you see the scene, you'll hear Private Wilhelm.
NUMBER NINE: FINN FINDS SOME OLD TOYS
While Finn is rifling through stuff to help
heal Chewbacca's wounds on the Millennium Falcon, he finds a well-known object. As Luke was training on the
Falcon, he used the help of a flying remote. Finn finds that remote but then quickly
tosses it aside as he keeps searching for medical supplies. Later, Finn bumps
into a chessboard and turns on a holochess game. A Marksman-H Combat Remote and holochess
in one scene? We can feel the fan jaws dropping.
NUMBER TEN: GET LOST
Okay this one may not have to do with Star Wars, but has more to do with J.J. Abrams.
Two actors who are well known for working with the director have major cameos in this film.
Greg Grunberg suited up as an X-Wing pilot named Snap Wexley. Another actor from
the Lost series, Ken Leung, also pops up here as Admiral Statura. Being friends with J.J.
means you get cameos in his film. Best friendship ever.
And finally NUMBER ELEVEN: THE STARKILLER BASE
The First Order took a page from the Empire's playbook and also
gives us one of the biggest Easter eggs in all of The Force Awakens. The film's
villains built themselves a gigantic super weapon capable of destroying
entire systems, suns and all. Instead of calling it the Death Star, they call the
weapon the Starkiller base. You're probably asking yourself why this deadly
object is so important.
Well, its name was the original surname George Lucas intended to give Luke. Yes
our favorite Jedi was almost
Luke Starkiller. Good thing he went with Skywalker, Starkiller is definitely a better name for a planet
destroying device. The Force Awakens stands to be one of the greatest in the Star Wars
series. What made it so great was that J.J. was a creative fan. After seeing
this video, we hope it inspires you to re-watch the newest addition to the series.
Use the force and find those Easter eggs!
Thanks for watching, and don't forget to like and subscribe if you want to see
more. See you next time!