Star Wars Easter Eggs In Other Movies

It is nigh impossible to overstate the impact that Star Wars has had on popular culture. Since the first movie's debut in 1977, the franchise has been mentioned in other media on a myriad of occasions. Here are a few of the more obvious easter eggs in other movies.

The opening act of 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom takes place in a glitzy 1930s Shanghai nightclub that would make Mao Zedong frown with anti-imperialistic scorn. With the poisoning, gunfights, and gratuitous Kate Capshaw present in the scene, viewers may miss this venue's name: Club Obi Wan. This name is, of course, a reference to the Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and Ewan McGregor in the prequels). The fact that George Lucas produced both Star Wars and the Indiana Jones series points to the origin of this reference.

Similarly, the ancient Egyptians apparently decided to depict everyone's favorite Star Wars droids—C-3PO and R2D2—as hieroglyphics. Viewers can see them in the ark's burial chamber in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Perhaps the ark was extraterrestrial, not divinely, inspired? The History Channel needs to produce a documentary about this ASAP.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) opens with a massive battle against the Borg, as the villainous alien race attempts to invade Earth. Among the numerous ships fighting alien menace is the Millennium Falcon. Did Han Solo travel through fiction, or do Star Wars nerds also exist in the 23rd Century? George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects company that also worked on Star Trek and Star Wars, can be credited with this cameo.

Viewers can see R2D2 floating through space in both of director J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films. In the 2009 reboot, the droid is a part of the space debris orbiting the planet Vulcan. In 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness the droid is part of the debris during the climatic starship battle. Are starships made out of droids? Or were Star Wars conventions the unfortunate victims of both films' battles? Industrial Light & Magic again deserves credit for his inclusion.

One of the kids in the 1982 hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is seen wearing a Yoda costume for Halloween. Presumably this is because the child's parents were too cheap to buy the Darth Vader outfit. This inclusion was director Steven Spielberg's way of paying tribute to his friend, George Lucas. As a result, Lucas allegedly promised to feature E.T. in the next Star Wars film. Almost twenty years later, the result was a delegation of "E.T.'s" in the Galactic Senate in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.