29 incredible Easter Eggs, callbacks and references in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

1. Shadow of the Empire

The beginning of The Last Jedi sees the plucky Resistance fleeing from the First Order, mirroring the opening act of the very first Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back, when the Rebel Alliance was trying to escape the planet Hoth but were attacked by Imperial forces.

The Hoth battle is also paid tribute to in the final scenes of the new film, when the First Order marches AT-M6 walkers across the white salt flats of the planet Crait, in visual homage to the icy Hoth attack (where giant AT-ATs attacked the Rebel Base).

2. Porkins reborn!

In an early battle, a classic Star Wars gag is nodded to with the explosive death of a rather overweight pilot who possesses the unfortunate name of Tubbs – almost certainly a riff on the similarly chunky pilot Porkins who perished in the very first 1977 Star Wars film.

3. Vader theme

As usual, the new film can’t resist including John Williams’ classic Imperial March (aka the Darth Vader theme) during a scene where characters discuss the deceased Sith Lord.

4. X-Wing under water

When Rey (Daisy Ridley) tracks down Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on Ach-To, she spot his X-Wing fighter sunk under the water – a clear reference to Luke’s original predicament in 1981’s The Empire Strikes Back, when the wannabe Jedi’s craft sunk under the Dagobah swamp while he was seeking out his own Jedi training.

If you look closely, you can see that the door to Luke’s hut has been salvaged from X-Wing parts, in an echo of how Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz) used an escape pod to build his swamp home in The Empire Strikes Back. His backpack also appears to have been made from his old X-Wing flight uniform.

5. Green milk

During his exile on the planet Ach-To, Luke has taken to quaffing a distasteful beverage – green milk, which plays on the blue milk drank by the character in 1977’s Star Wars.

6. Young Skypetalker

At one point Kylo (Adam Driver) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) share a moment of mental connection through the Force, and the dissolves used to cut between the two actors are the same as ones used for a similar parent/child force-chat – Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.

7. Never say die

The golden dice that Han Solo (Harrison Ford) kept in the Millennium Falcon in the original trilogy play a significant role here, after Luke takes them from his late friend’s cockpit.

8. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope

Princess Leia’s original message to Obi-Wan Kenobi from 1977’s Star Wars is repeated at a pivotal moment in the new film, used by R2-D2 to try and convince Luke to help the Resistance. Notably, the phrase was also included as background noise in The Last Jedi's very first teaser trailer, hinting at its importance in the finished film.

9. Laser swords

At one point in The Last Jedi, Luke disparagingly refers to his lightsaber as a "laser sword", the original term Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the Jedi’s signature weapon (and one he still sometimes uses in interviews to this day).

10. Handy stuff

If you look closely, Luke’s robotic hand has a dent on the back of it – an injury he sustained from a blaster bolt in Return of the Jedi.