The Star Wars series includes some of the biggest blockbusters of all time, due in no
small part to the rabid and meticulous fandom that’s followed it through the years.
Even after a thousand viewings, there are still some things you may have missed in that
galaxy far, far away.
Here are a few hidden details in Star Wars movies.
Lucas Family Cameos
George Lucas resisted the temptation to go Hitchcock during the original Star Wars movies
and make cameo appearances, but he did allow himself a few indulgences during the prequels.
His son and daughter appear in the prequel trilogy.
That's Jett Lucas you see in the library in Attack of the Clones, and again kicking clone
trooper butt when the Jedi younglings are attacked during Revenge of the Sith.
Lucas himself appears alongside his daughter Katie in the latter film, playing the blue-skinned
Baron Notluwiski Papanoida, who became a regular in the animated Clone Wars series.
And speaking of cameos...
Boba Fett Unmasked
Officially, Star Wars fans didn't get their first look at a helmet-less Boba Fett until
the second prequel, Attack of the Clones.
But the guy who played Fett in the original films, Jeremy Bulloch, actually showed his
face in The Empire Strikes Back.
When another actor failed to show up for filming during the shoot, Bulloch stepped in to play
an Imperial officer who drags Leia away while she's trying to warn Luke about Vader's trap
in Bespin.
Years later, Bulloch returned for another non-Fett cameo, playing the pilot who delivers
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bail Organa, and Yoda to Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith.
The Fett legacy doesn’t end there, however.
Klutzy Stormtrooper DNA
Hardcore Star Wars fans know about the Stormtrooper head-bump goof-up that made it into the final
cut of A New Hope.
Rather than correct the mistake, George Lucas paid tribute to it when he had the character
of Jango Fett—whose DNA was used to create the first Clone Trooper army—whack his head
on the door as he climbs into his ship.
Clone Troopers were eventually phased out for conscripted Stormtroopers, but some Clone
Troopers remained in service.
Guess we know who this guy’s dad was.
Cellblock 1138
Years before embarking on the Star Wars saga, George Lucas made his big screen directorial
debut with the 1971 sci-fi feature THX 1138.
It wasn't a major commercial success, so many viewers initially missed the significance
when Luke Skywalker makes a reference the Death Star’s "cellblock 1138" during A New
Hope.
“Where are you taking this…
Thing.”
“Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138.”
Corellian Freighters
It’s easy to believe that the Millennium Falcon is a one-of-a-kind spaceship.
After all, while we saw plenty of X-wings and TIE fighters zipping through space, we
never got a look at anything like another Falcon.
But the truth is that Han Solo's beloved freighter was just one of many in the Corellian YT-1300
line.
George Lucas slipped in several of them in the background during the prequels—including
a brief shot of the Falcon herself, spotted docking at Coruscant long before Solo claimed
ownership.
That’s not the only hidden detail featuring the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy...
Millennium Falcon's New Dish
We don't know much about what happened to the Millennium Falcon after it lost its radar
dish in Return of the Jedi…
“That was too close.”
...but it's obvious that someone did a little repair work along the way.
The ship was given a rectangular replacement that you can clearly see during The Force
Awakens.
Maybe it was installed by the same person who worked on C-3PO?
“You probably don’t recognise me because of of the red arm.”
Vader's Helmet
When Palpatine invites Anakin into his private booth during a performance of the "bubble
opera" during Revenge of the Sith, the audience already knows the young Jedi will be corrupted
into becoming Darth Vader.
But to add that extra little bit of nearly subliminal foreshadowing, George Lucas inserted
an almost imperceptible glimpse of Vader's helmet into the show.
Some viewers swear they can even hear what sounds like a couple seconds of Vader breathing
way down in the mix.
Potato asteroids
For years, rumors have persisted that the Empire Strikes Back effects crew, annoyed
by George Lucas' almost impossible demands, decided to strike back by using a potato and
a sneaker as "asteroids" during a Millennium Falcon chase sequence.
Years later, it was revealed that the potato story was actually true—an in-joke between
workers who'd developed countless asteroid designs only to be told that the end result
looked like a certain starchy food.
“Potatoes, boil-em, mash-em, stick-em in a stew.”
Skywalker Sound
There's a lot going on in Coruscant, making it easy for Lucas to sneak in the logo for
his Skywalker Sound company during a brief shot of the city in Attack of the Clones.
Take a look at the blue, circular logo at the top-right section of the screen.
Busted!
Ralph McQuarrie's Cameo
George Lucas dreamed up the Star Wars galaxy, but the iconic designs that amazed generations
of moviegoers came from designer Ralph McQuarrie.
His concept art introduced a number of key elements to the series, and were instrumental
in Lucas landing a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox.
McQuarrie's presence is felt throughout the saga, but he actually appears in person during
a scene in Empire Strikes Back.
He can be briefly spotted as a Rebel officer walking through the base on Hoth.
R2-KT
A pink version of R2-D2, R2-KT was originally a fan community project designed to help lift
the spirits of Katie Johnson, a young Star Wars enthusiast who'd been diagnosed with
an inoperable brain tumor.
Dreamed up by her dad as a way of giving Katie a bit of comfort during her final days, the
droid received her official live action feature film debut during The Force Awakens, making
brief appearances during scenes set on the Resistance base.
I guess there's hope for humanity after all
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the coolest…
*cough* I like coughed as I finished saying that sentence.
I'm gonna keep that in because I'm a rebel. Get it? Star Wars joke? I'm gonna go now.