When George Lucas dreamed up the tale of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the incredible
Star Wars of his now decade-spanning film series, he proved anything was possible to
a new generation of filmmakers.
Although those directors may not have reached the same heights, that didn’t stop them
from tipping their hat to Lucas and his galactic heroes in their own films.
Here are Screen Rant’s Awesome Star Wars Easter Eggs in Other Movies.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The friendship shared between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg has led to more than
a few collaborations over the years, most notably in shaping the Indiana Jones series.
But that didn't stop Spielberg from paying homage to his friend's hit franchise in his
extraterrestrial mystery, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The alien ships that arrive to make contact with humans aren't explicitly taken from the
Star Wars universe, but a closer look at the Mother ship shows a familiar shape on its
underside.
Yes, that's an unmistakable R2 unit pinned upside down, modelled after the beloved droid
mascot of the galaxy far, far away.
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is remembered as Francis Ford Coppola's monumental tale of darkness and
descent in the Vietnam War, but it didn't begin that way, It was originally George Lucas
who planned on directing the film, with his close friend Coppola executive producing.
By the time the pair had become big enough names to make the movie happen, Lucas was
filming Star Wars, and making Harrison Ford a household name after giving him his big
screen break in American Graffiti years earlier.
Coppola took over Apocalypse, but found a small role for Ford to play, fittingly, named
after their mutual friend.
To make the reference clear, Ford's 'Colonel Lucas’ is referred to as simply "Luke" in
the actual scene.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Star Wars easter eggs found in the Indiana Jones trilogy are well-documented, ranging
from the obvious to nearly impossible to catch.
The most often cited references are the airplane tail numbers in Raiders of the Lost Ark hinting
at both Obi-Wan Kenobi and C-3PO, and the Shanghai night club named for Luke Skywalker's
Jedi Master seen in Temple of Doom.
The hieroglyphics containing R2 and 3PO are harder to spot, and the chemicals in The Last
Crusade hinting at Han Solo's carbonite cocoon.
But not every nod is so clear: for instance, the sacrificial lava pit in Temple of Doom
making the exact same sound as Darth Vader's lightsaber igniting.
Independence Day
Fans may not see too many parallels between Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and the
Star Wars saga, but that doesn't mean the director and crew weren't massive fans of
George Lucas's series.
When the alien invaders are first detected by Earth's scientists, it's easy to miss the
computer monitor showing a model of the "Deep Space Satellite Satellite Devlin," named for
the movie's co-writer and producer, Dean Devlin.
What's impossible to miss is that the satellite is clearly a scaled down version of the Death
Star super weapon - but it's not the only easter egg in the movie.
A tiny model may be hard to spot, but when the movie shifts to the underground labs of
Area 51, the hangar storing the captured alien spaceship is marked so clearly, fans may wonder
how they missed the massive "R2" on the facility’s walls.
Star Trek
The battle between Star Wars and Star Trek has waged since the 1970s, with fans hotly
debating which franchise reigns supreme.
But when director J.J.
Abrams took over the Trek series for his 2009 reboot, he injected the franchise with some
big screen spectacle typically associated with George Lucas's space opera.
To make his love of Star Wars clear years before he took the helm of Episode 7, Abrams
included R2-D2 in his own universe, visible among the wreckage of a massive fleet of ships.
Only visible for a second, r2 is clearly the go-to easter egg for every director.
Star Trek into Darkness
Just to make sure that fans made the connections between Trek and Wars clear, Abrams followed
up his reboot with yet another R2 unit.
This time, the droid calls the Enterprise home, and can be glimpsed for even less time,
flying out of the ship during an explosive decompression.
Given the drama seen in both franchises, this seems like just another day on the job for
your average R2.
Marvel’s Phase 2
While it's technically the middle chapter of a planned trilogy, the Empire Strikes Back
is still recognized as one of the greatest movie sequels in history, considered to be
an even better film than the original by many fans.
So when Marvel Studios decided to pursue that same level of success with "Phase 2" of their
shared cinematic universe, they decided a studio-wide homage was in order.
Empire's climactic battle saw Luke Skywalker lose his hand to Darth Vader, meaning every
Phase 2 Marvel movie had to follow suit.
First came Iron Man 3, in which the film's villain loses his limb courtesy of a Stark
blade.
It was followed by Loki slicing off Thor's hand in the Dark World, although it's revealed
to be an illusion.
Captain America's Winter Soldier sports an artificial arm, and both Groot and Nebula
get the same treatment in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Add in a pair of lost limbs in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and it's hard to know if Luke
Skywalker would be proud, flattered... or disgusted.
So what do you think of our list?
Did we miss any of your favorite nods to the galaxy far, far away?
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