By Christopher Gates on Dec 18, 2017 09:30 pm
Paying tribute
The Last Jedi might push Star Wars in a bold new direction, but it doesn't ignore the series' past. While fans will be uncovering the Easter eggs, throwbacks, and homages in the latest Star Wars adventure for years to come, here are the coolest things that we've found so far. Warning: spoilers ahead!
1. Hardware Wars
Remember that shot of a spaceship that turns out to be an iron in the First Order's laundry room? That's not just a silly joke. It's a tribute to Ernie Fosselius' 1978 short film Hardware Wars, one of the earliest Star Wars parodies. Hardware Wars opens with a space duel between a toaster and an iron, before going on to tell a brief story about heroes Fluke Starbucker, Ham Salad, and Princess Ann-Droid.
2. Luke's Compass
Luke didn't bring much with him to Ahch-To, but among the knick-knacks scattered on his shelf is a compass that might look familiar to video game fans. Luke stole that device from an Imperial stronghold in Star Wars Battlefront II, and it's implied that the compass helped him locate the original Jedi temple.
3. Carrie Fisher's Dog
Before her passing, Carrie Fisher didn't go anywhere without her French bulldog, Gary. In tribute to Fisher, director Rian Johnson gave Gary a cameo in The Last Jedi, where he's been reimagined as a companion for one of Canto Bight's well-off aliens. See that pointy-eared creature over on the left? That's him (and don't worry: according to first-hand accounts, Gary loved the movie).
4. Poe's Necklace
It's hard to see, but in The Last Jedi Poe Dameron wears a chain around his neck that holds his mother's wedding ring. Poe's parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, appeared in Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto's Shattered Empire comic series. They were part of the team that beat the Empire at Endor, and helped Han Solo, Leia, and Luke found the New Republic.
5. Other Accessories
Poe isn't the only Last Jedi character rocking some stylish space jewelry. According to The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, Luke wears a fragment of a Sith lightsaber crystal around his neck, while Supreme Leader Snoke's ring is decked out with obsidian taken from Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar.
6. Colored Milk
While in exile, Luke survives on a diet of fish and green milk, which he gets fresh-squeezed from Ahch-To's grotesque thala-sirens. The drink is a callback to the blue milk served at the Skywalker moisture farm on Tatooine, although that beverage was harvested from yak-like banthas and not busty sea mammals.
7. Justin Theroux
Mulholland Drive and The Leftovers star Justin Theroux appears in The Last Jedi as the stylish Master Codebreaker, but don't panic if you didn't recognize him. He's only on screen for a couple of seconds, and he's practically unrecognizable under that thin, suave moustache.
8. Mouse Droid
While infiltrating Snoke's flagship, the Supremacy, BB-8 goes undercover by hiding under a box. As he rolls through the Supremacy's hallways, he makes the same chirps and warbles as one of the Empire's famous MSE-6, or "mouse," droids, even though he's about four times bigger.
9. Gold Dice
The gold dice that Luke finds in the Millennium Falcon (and later hands to Leia) are more than just kitschy decorations. According to The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, those are the dice that Han used to win the Falcon from Lando in a game of Corellian Spike, a variant of the popular card game sabaac. The dice also appeared in A New Hope and The Force Awakens, and should feature prominently in Solo, too.
10. Twin Suns
As Luke succumbs to fatigue after his battle with Kylo Ren and right before he ascends into the Force, he looks out to sea, where two suns hang in the sky, recalling Luke's introduction way back in the first Star Wars film.
11. Gareth Edwards
The Rogue One director returns to the Star Wars universe in The Last Jedi, playing one of the last remaining Resistance fighters during the battle on Crait. You can see him in the trenches standing next to Resistance Trench Sergeant "Salty" (i.e. the "It's salt" guy).
12. Leia's Message
It's hardly an Easter egg, but it's still a reference. When R2-D2 convinces Luke to help train Rey (and maybe save the Resistance in the process), he replays Leia's iconic cry for help from Episode IV. That's the same recording that got Luke involved in these Star Wars all the way back in 1977. His life has never been the same.
13. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has appeared in all of director Rian Johnson's films, and The Last Jedi is no exception. In the latest Star Wars outing, Gordon-Levitt voices Slowen Lo, one of the guests at Canto Bight. His character's name is an Easter egg, too: it's a reference to the Beastie Boys song "Slow and Low," following in the tradition of The Force Awakens' Ello Asty ("Hello Nasty") and Ilco Munica ("Ill Communication").
14. Lifting Rocks
While training Rey in the ways of the Jedi, Luke sarcastically mentions that the Force is about more than lifting rocks. Clearly, Luke still harbors some resentment towards Master Yoda, who made Luke stack rocks with the Force while they trained on Dagobah. Of course, Rey ends up lifting a pile of stones during The Last Jedi's final moments, making boulder-levitation an unofficial Jedi rite of passage--whether Luke likes it or not.
15. Luke's X-Wing
Not only is Luke's X-Wing submerged under the water at Ahch-To, recalling how his ship sunk in Yoda's swamp during The Empire Strikes Back, but the metallic door that guards Luke's hut on his island getaway is made out of one of the starfighter's wings--or at least it was, until Chewbacca decided to knock it in.
16. The Throne Room
The stand-off between Rey, Kylo Ren, and Supreme Leader Snoke has The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi's fingerprints all over it. The scene in which Snoke uses the Force to taunt Rey right before his apprentice strikes him down is very similar to the climactic showdown in Episode VI, while Kylo's attempts to recruit Rey during the aftermath echo Vader's pleas to Luke at the end of Episode V.
17. Don't Join
Benicio del Toro's shifty hacker isn't named during The Last Jedi, but the end credits and promotional materials refer to him as DJ. That's short for the character's mantra, "Don't join." In case that's not clear enough, DJ also has "don't join" engraved on a metal plate attached to his cap, although you might have trouble reading the inscription: the slogan is written in Aurebesh, Star Wars' fictional alphabet.
18. Rebel Scum
Finn's proud declaration of allegiance after beating Captain Phasma is a throwback to Return of the Jedi, when Han Solo takes offense at being called "Rebel scum" by an Imperial officer. Since then, the epithet has become a Star Wars catchphrase, showing up in spin-off media like Dark Forces and Battlefront II.
19. Double Duty
In The Last Jedi, Mark Hamill didn't just steal the show as Luke Skywalker. The veteran voice actor also donned a motion capture suit to play Dobbu Scay, who Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo confirmed is the gremlin-like creature who mistakes BB-8 for a slot machine.
By Mat Elfring on Dec 18, 2017 09:14 pm
Since A New Hope debuted in 1977, Star Wars has been a box office juggernaut, and it just keeps on coming. With Star Wars: The Last Jedi releasing soon, as well as a Han Solo movie coming six months later, we thought it would be a good idea to see just how well these movies have done in the theaters. Using data from Box Office Mojo, we've ranked every Star Wars movie that had a theatrical release by its box office. In addition, movies older than 10 years had their numbers adjusted for inflation accordingly. If you want some more Star Wars goodness, check out the latest TV spot for The Last Jedi. You may have heard, but there's a live-action Star Wars series coming as well as a whole new trilogy from Rian Johnson. We got so excited that we came up with a few solo films we'd like to see. [Update: The Last Jedi added to the list]
10. The Clones Wars (2008)
The animated feature served as a lead-in to the animated series of the same name: The Clone Wars. While it had a large theatrical release, it didn't make a lot of money. This is probably because this movie is nothing more than a pilot for an excellent TV series, but not a great stand-alone entity. Domestic: $35,161,554 Foreign: $33,121,290 Total: $68,282,844
9. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
The Last Jedi had the second largest opening of all time, bringing in $220 million domestically. Look for these numbers to explode in the upcoming weeks because of the holidays and the fact the film opens in China on January 5. Domestic: $220,047,000 Foreign: $230,000,000 Total: $450,047,000 [As of 12/18/18]
8. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Say what you want about the prequels--more bad than good obviously--but even the movie that made the lowest amount in the theaters, still came pretty close to the $1 billion mark. People went in droves to the theater to see Anakin Skywalker sulk. Domestic: $310,676,740 [Adjusted For Inflation: $426,241,924] Foreign: $338,721,588 [Adjusted For Inflation:$464,718,863] Total: $649,398,328 [Adjusted For Inflation: $890,960,788]
7. Rogue One: A Story Wars Story (2016)
You know you have a successful franchise when your film has all-new characters and a brand-new story, and it still breaks $1 billion, even though it's one of the darkest Star Wars films to date. Domestic: $532,177,324 Foreign: $523,879,949 Total: $1,056,057,273
6. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The final act in the prequel trilogy gave us the birth of Darth Vader, which is probably the reason it did a bit better than Episode II. Domestic: $380,270,577 [Adjusted For Inflation: $480,583,735] Foreign: $468,484,191 [Adjusted For Inflation:$592,067,585] Total: $848,754,768 [Adjusted For Inflation: $1,072,651,321]
5. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
The final act in the original Star Wars trilogy brought in the least amount of money out of that lot, even though it had three separate theatrical releases. Domestic: $309,306,177 [Adjusted For Inflation: $721,663,860] Foreign: $165,800,000 [Adjusted For Inflation:$410,869,379] Total: $475,106,177 [Adjusted For Inflation: $1,132,533,239] Note: Return of the Jedi got three theatrical releases: 1983, 1985, and 1997.
4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
In 1999, people were hungry for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and because of this, it brought in $1.5 billion at the box office. And during this time, people everywhere loathed the antics of Jar Jar Binks. Domestic: $474,544,677 [Adjusted For Inflation: $682,116,537] Foreign: $552,500,000 [Adjusted For Inflation:$818,532,397] Total: $1,027,044,677 [Adjusted For Inflation: $1,500,648,934] Note: The Phantom Menace had two theatrical releases: 1999 and 2012.
3. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Arguably one of--if not the--best movies in the franchise is Empire Strikes Back, and while it didn't pull in the same numbers as A New Hope, it did exceptionally well. Domestic: $290,475,067 [Adjusted For Inflation: $765,135,253] Foreign: $247,900,000 [Adjusted For Inflation:$742,553,763] Total: $538,375,067 [Adjusted For Inflation: $1,507,689,016] Note: Empire Strikes Back got three theatrical releases: 1980, 1982, and 1997.
2. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
People were pretty excited to have a new film in the Star Wars franchise--one that wasn't telling the origins of characters we already know and love. Because of this, The Force Awakens pulled in an incredible $2 billion during its theatrical run. Domestic: $936,662,225 Foreign: $1,131,561,399 Total: $2,068,223,624
1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
The original Star Wars took the world by storm. In 1977, people were lining up around the block to see it, and when adjusted for inflation, it pulled in $2.7 billion. It's doubtful another film will take the top spot. Domestic: $460,998,007 [Adjusted For Inflation: $1,503,659,950] Foreign: $314,400,000 [Adjusted For Inflation:$1,280,526,297] Total: $775,398,007 [Adjusted For Inflation: $2,784,186,247] Note: A New Hope got three theatrical releases: 1977, 1982, and 1997.
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