At long last,Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkeris in theaters. This serves as not just the finale to the sequel trilogy, but the end of the Skywalker saga as we know it. Through nine movies spread across more than four decades, this franchise has been a huge staple in the pop culture landscape. Director J.J. Abrams decided to take inspiration from every corner of Star Wars in crafting Episode IX, as it contains a ton of Easter eggs and references from every corner of the franchise.
Looking out for nods to previous movies in the series has been a staple of Star Wars for years. George Lucas introduced the idea in the original trilogy and furthered in a big way with the prequels. The Disney era of a galaxy far, far away has been especially heavy in this department.The Rise of Skywalkeris no exception. So, for those who have seen the movie already, here’s a collection of various Easter eggs, references and other things you might have missed.
35The Sith Temple
One of the major locations in the movie is the Sith Temple that Palpatine has been using as a base of operations on Exegol. This is the first time we’ve seen such a location brought to life in live-action, but it’s been explored plenty elsewhere in theStar Warscanon. Those who watched the animated seriesRebels, in particular, probably felt that the structure seemed familiar. Even though Exegol was a new location in Episode IX, the temple clearly took a great deal of inspiration from the ones we’ve seen in shows likeRebels.
34Palpatine’s Throne
The Rise of Skywalkerprovides us with a look at Palpatine’s throne, which is grand and what one might describe as “metal AF.” But this wasn’t just conjured out of thin air. The throne design was actually based on early concept sketches done by legendary artist Ralph McQuarrie, whose contributions to the originalStar Warstrilogy cannot be overstated. The designs were originally cooked up forReturn of the Jedi, but weren’t used. J.J. Abrams and his team decided to revisit these sketches in designing Palpatine’s grand Sith throne.
33Palpatine’s Speech
The opening crawl references a speech given byPalpatine that announces his return to the galaxy. Strangely, this is something that was previewed toFortniteplayers days beforeThe Rise of Skywalkerhit theaters. While we never hear the speech in the movie, those who played the game heard what the Sith had to say.
“At last the work of generations is complete. The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the Sith.”
32Darth Plagueis The Wise Reference
One of the great mysteries heading intoThe Rise of Skywalkeras how exactly J.J. Abrams was going to explain the return of Palpatine, given that he died at the end ofReturn of the Jedi. While there wasn’t much of an explanation offered, we hear the resurrected Sith say the line, “the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” This is ripped directly fromRevenge of the Sithwhen Palpatine is explaining the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise to Anakin. That whole speech had to do with the Sith possibly being able to cheat death. So, while the specifics of the resurrection remain unclear, the notion of Dark Side Force users being able to cheat death is part of the canon.
While we don’t see Snoke return in the flesh, at least not fully, Palpatine does explain that he’s the one who created Snoke. This has been a major question for fans for some time. At the Sith Temple, we also catch a glimpse of a vat that has a couple of partial Snoke clones in it, which seemingly offers a window into howSnoke was created by Emperor Palpatinein the first place.
30Lightspeed Tracking
A major plot point inThe Last Jedisees the First Order developing the ability to track ships through lightspeed, which makes it impossible for the Resistance to escape. This comes up again early in Episode IX when Poe lightspeed skips the Millennium Falcon to escape a pack of Tie Fighters. As we see, the ships are able to keep up with Poe through his various jumps across the galaxy.
29Jedi Training Tools
One of the early scenes in the movie sees Rey training in the ways of the Jedi with Leia. While running her training course, we see a couple of familiar training tools that Luke used inA New Hope. For one, Rey is using a helmet with a blast shield, as well as training remote that is helping her perfect her lightsaber skills. Luke, similarly, used these very same tools aboard the Millennium Falcon on the way to the Death Star when Obi-Wan was training him.
28Rey’s Force Visions
As we first saw inThe Force Awakens, Rey is prone to having Force visions. This was once again part of the equation inThe Rise of Skywalker. This relates to a Force power Rey has known as psychometry, which allows certain Jedi to sense the past through various objects. Rey’s Force visions during her training, in this case, contain references toThe Empire Strikes Backwhen Luke battled Vader, as well as elements of her past, like when her parents left her on Jakku.
27Sacred Jedi Texts
After Rey makes a run through her Jedi training course, she does some light reading. We see that Rey has held onto some of the sacred Jedi texts, many of which were destroyed by Yoda inThe Last Jedi. These Jedi texts contain key knowledge that Rey will need to pass onto future generations, as all of the Jedi live inside of her now. No pressure, Rey.
26The Return of Dejarik
A New Hopehas a classic scene that sees Chewbacca playing a game aboard the Millennium Falcon with R2-D2 known as Dejarik. It’s essentially space chess with holographic pieces that move across the board, taking out the other player’s fighters until one is left standing. This returns early on in the movie, with Finn and Poe playing a game against Chewie once more, who is still winning all these years later. Finn and Poe playfully accuse the Wookiee of cheating, as he always manages to win.
