NOTE: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
-
The launch of Star Wars: The Last Jedi means a new chapter in the main saga - and a brand new batch of Easter eggs and franchise connections. Hollywood's love for all things Star Wars was proven with both The Force Awakens and Rogue One, as the cast and crew took every chance to delight fans-- themselves included-- with extended universe nods, cameos, shared universe connections and original trilogy references.
Director Rian Johnson took the same opportunity with the return of Luke Skywalker, so the Jedi isn't the only special treat for fans of the original films. We've collected the best Last Jedi Easter eggs, secret backstories, references, and tiny details that most fans might miss and are breaking them all down here.
So with one final SPOILER warning, let's get started. Here are the 30 Things You Completely Missed In Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Luke's Hand is Still Damaged
It doesn't take long for the first Easter eggs and connections to George Lucas's original trilogy to drop once Luke enters the picture. Picking up just seconds after The Force Awakens ends, fans should keep their eyes peeled when Rey hands Luke Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber.
Exactly how the saber was recovered after being abandoned on Cloud City may never be answered. However, as Luke reaches out to take it, a tiny nod to the most devoted fans appears on the back of his hand. The back of his artificial hand, to be more precise.
The fact that Luke doesn't bother with artificial skin for the hand speaks to his disinterest in keeping up appearances, but the scorched, torn metal on the back of the hand confirms that this is our beloved Luke.
It's the mark from a blaster bolt his hand took back in Return of the Jedi during the battle at Jabba's sail barge. Apparently, Luke kept it as a reminder.
Luke's X-Wing Makes an Improvised Door
Fans don't need to be told which ship Luke actually piloted on his quest to find the sight of the very first Jedi temple. The pilot and his X-wing have proven inseparable, even after he sunk it in a Dagobah swamp in Empire Strikes Back.
It's more than a little poetic that as Luke decided to live out his days on a small Ahch-To island, his ship did the same. His X-wing rests at the bottom of a small inlet along the island's shore. This time, there's no heroic 'raising from the depths' courtesy of Yoda's Force powers (although the small green Jedi does return for a scene).
However, the ship does live on-- at least part of it does. The original Jedi to inhabit the small island were probably an open-door-crowd, but Luke certainly isn't. He needs a door to keep Rey (and the world) out, and has fashioned it out of one of the X-wings S-foils.
"Laser Sword"
Luke is right to question just what Rey and the resistance expects him to do in the face of the New Order's military might. He's the last true Jedi, but that would only go so far. He couldn't simply "walk out with a laser sword" and vanquish the enemy even if he wanted to-- and that choice of words is sure to send bells ringing in fans' ears.
To casual fans, Luke referring to lightsabers-- the most famous weapons in all of the galaxy-- by a simpler, more generic term is strange. However, to historians of the Star Wars story, it's a callback to the very beginning.
On one hand, it makes sense that Luke wouldn't put much reverence in the "proper" name for the weapon. He only learned of their existence as a teenager, after all. But the reference here is to George Lucas's original scripts and story treatments for Star Wars, where "lazerswords" were commonplace.
Forget Blue Milk, Say Hello To Green
In the wide world of Star Wars lore, nothing sums up the fun, foolishness, and arbitrary otherworld-ness than "blue milk." The straightforward name was given to the liquid poured out at the Lars household in the first Star Wars, and has entered legend ever since.
Director Gareth Edwards even made sure to include a container of the stuff on the counter of Jyn Erso's childhood home in Rogue One-- and director Rian Johnson didn't miss the chance with Last Jedi. However, he took the fan-favorite beverage one step further.
Casual fans may not have connected the dots of the blue milk being that produced by Banthas, since it's never explicitly stated in the films. As a sign of how much Luke Skywalker's final days are both similar to, and different from his Tatooine childhood, he now harvests milk from the thala-sirens of Ahch-To.
Large, harmless, and milk-producing, they also supply him with sustenance. Of course, the milk is now green, not blue.
Keep An Eye Out for Cameos
Even when the series was just beginning, the collection of young actors assembled for the film meant had plenty of celebrity cameos to brag about. However, after the films became some of the most successful of all time, the request line started ringing off the hook.
The modern films have also seen some impressive cameo performances, whether it's Daniel Craig's stormtrooper in The Force Awakens or Lin-Manuel Miranda's vocals in the soundtrack. The Last Jedi is keeping the tradition going.
Fans can get more specific details on where and when to find a full list of Star Wars: The Last Jedi cameos once the film can be viewed, reviewed, or spoiled by the cameo-makers themselves. However, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and who knows who else from Rian Johnson's filmography filling the ranks, it's yet another spoil of riches.
Jedi Order Insignia
One of the very first shots of The Last Jedi put the focus squarely on the books in Luke Skywalker's collection. As explained in the movie, they're some of the oldest texts he's managed to collect from, by, or concerning the Jedi Order.
The image emblazoned on at least one of them is a familiar one. It's similar in shape to the Rebel Alliance insignia, and that's no coincidence. This is the insignia of the oldest Jedi Order in the Star Wars history, seeming to depict a lightsaber shining in between two feathered wings.
As notable and elegant as the logo might be, there's surprisingly little known about its original meaning. As rich as the Star Wars canon may be, the wings are a common trope of the Old Republic, and the lightsaber is... well, synonymous with "Jedi." S
o it actually does matter that this image-- centuries or millennia old-- depicts the symbol in two different colors. Does the yellow saber distinguish that particular kyber crystal, like the ones used by Jedi Temple Guards? Do the blue wings represent something just as important?
The symbol itself is still a mystery, but the decision to divide it from a monochromatic stamp to a more complex image shouldn't be missed.
Finn's Jacket Needed Repairs
Much was made about the crossguards of Kylo Ren's lightsaber, eventually explained as additional channels to help vent excess energy. A practical solution to the untamed, jagged output of the cracked kyber crystal inside.
In his final battle with Finn and Rey in The Force Awakens, they proved to burn flesh surprisingly well. Kylo Ren twisting the crossguard into Finn's shoulder was just one of several injuries he was left to recover from at the end of the movie, but his jacket was a much easier fix.
As fans will , it was actually Poe Dameron's jacket Finn claimed after crashing on Jakku. Poe let Finn keep it as his own, but the article of clothing is already becoming a strong link between the two brothers in arms.
The hole in the jacket has been repaired by the time Finn wakes up, and the Visual Dictionary confirms that it was Poe who did the stitching himself.
Holdo's Cuff Star Charts
The most significant new character The Last Jedi adds to the Star Wars mythology is Claudia Grey's novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan.
It was there where teenage Leia met Amilyn in a youth version of the Galactic Senate, forging an early relationship that would clearly pay off for the Resistance. It helps explain why Leia entrusted the Resistance Fleet to such an unexpected Vice iral, but Holdo's homeworld is also of growing importance.
Amilyn Holdo projects the composed, refined culture of the planet Gatalenta, while her choice of hair color shows that she's got an attitude all her own. And the fact that Luke journeyed to Gatalenta on his quest for the first Jedi Temple speaks to their respect for the old ways.
Amilyn carries that with her in the form of two bracelets: not random designs, but the constellations visible from her homeworld. In a galaxy where the skies never look the same, it has to come in handy.
Rose's Ring
One of the most pleasant surprises in The Last Jedi is the addition of yet another rank-and-file hero of the Resistance. The introduction of Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) is made along with her sister, Paige.
Even if Paige seems like more of a hands-on member of the Resistance as a gunner, their belief in the cause runs just as deep. Rose may be a maintenance worker, but her prevention of deserters is just the start. The real proof is in the ring on her finger.
Silver in color and featuring the original Rebel Alliance insignia in its recessed face, the ring has been ed down over the decades until landing in Rose's possession.
According to the Visual Dictionary, the ring was worn in the halls of the Imperial Senate during the days of the Galactic Civil War... with the inner engraving shown only in secret as proof of Rebel loyalty.
Alderaan Survives... in Tree Form
You wouldn't know just how extravagant the casino resort of Canto Bight really is from orbit, since the money flowing in helps frame it as an artificial coastal retreat. To make the setting seem even more prosperous and idyllic, the landscaping is just as impressive as the service.
Exotic trees dot the walkways and promenades of Canto Bight, but the average viewer may not realize just how exceptional the finely-trimmed trees really are (seriously, what is it with this movie and trees?).
The trees themselves aren't more or less beautiful than any other: it's that they're a species native to Alderaan-- Leia's homeworld which was completely destroyed in the first Star Wars-- that makes them an astronomical luxury.
Seed banks that had these Alderaanian chinar trees in storage became must-haves for the obscenely rich, who wished to fill the air with the scent of "fire and spice" from an eradicated world.
