Everyone loves movie Easter eggs. Why is that? Maybe we get a feeling of accomplishment whenever we manage to pick up on something that’s been sneakily slipped in. Maybe this sates the desire that many of us have to see certain universes collide through a crossover. A combination of both of those is why Star Wars Easter eggs that have been hidden in other movies and productions are so exciting to find and discover. Of course, it could also be the fact that we feel a sense of pride whenever we see just how big the franchise is.
But it’s difficult enough to uncover Star Wars Easter eggs within the movies themselves, let alone in other motion pictures. With this in mind, there are chances you never even noticed the secrets that we are going lay out.
#1 Star Trek
Star Trek and Star Wars are like the cats and dogs of the movie industry. However, it seems like the differences and competitive nature have been set to the side when J.J. Abrams took over Star Trek for the 2009 reboot. To showcase his deep love towards George Lucas’ legendary franchise, he planted an R2-D2 between the shots of spaceship debris floating in space.
#2 Raiders of the Lost Ark
If George Lucas doesn’t stroke his own ego, then who will? Luckily for us, he goes about it with a bit more subtlety than, say, M. Night Shyamalan. Since he produced both Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Lucas afforded to sneak in a drawing of R2-D2 among the hieroglyphs visible during one of the scenes in the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
#3 Independence Day
Whether it was intentional or not, that’s debatable. What is clear, however, is that during the scene when Earth first detects its alien invaders, the monitors show the image of a ship strongly resembling the Death Star. The possibility of a coincidence seems to have faded given the fact that on the walls of one of the hangars of Area 51, you can see an R and a 2 written on the walls.
#4 E.T.
What better movie to tie in with some Star Wars Easter eggs than one that’s centered on an alien to begin with? It’s a hardly a secret that many of Steven Spielberg’s works, especially from the 80’s, features a lot of nods to Star Wars. This is super blatant when a Yoda Halloween costume makes a cameo in E.T.
#5 Twister
You can say “Luke, I’m your father” and the reference will be picked up on by someone who’s never even seen the movies. However, Twister decided to be more subtle with its Star Wars Easter eggs, as it had one of the characters exclaim “That’s no moon, it’s a space station!” in reference to the line spoken in A New Hope.
#6 Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a movie featuring the deeply harrowing psychological darkness of the Vietnam War. Supposed to be initially directed by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, the latter drew out last minute. Coppola honored him by naming Harrison Ford’s character “Colonel Lucas,” also nicknamed “Luke.”
#7 Men in Black
The movie had the opportunity to make this super obvious, but it didn’t. Instead, Men in Black paid its obligatory homage to Star Wars by including a shot of George Lucas during a line-up of secret aliens.
#8 Star Trek: Into Darkness
Abrams didn’t stop with his Star Wars Easter eggs there. He continued with Into Darkness and returned R2-D2 to the movie for even shorter screen time. He can barely be spotted as he’s hurled out of the Enterprise during an explosive collision.
#9 Marvel Phase 2
Marvel’s Phase 2 is generally considered to be a big step-up from its predecessor, similarly to Empire Strikes Back. This is why this array of movies features many call backs and Star Wars Easter eggs that remind of the iconic scene when Luke loses his hand.
#10 The Goonies
We end this list with what is possibly the most difficult to detect of Star Wars Easter eggs. When we are shown the deck of the pirate ship we glimpse at in The Goonies, a closer look will help you see the hidden R2-D2 tucked between the other props.
