In a galaxy far far away... Cue opening credits and super-cool theme son⭕g... Cue lightsaber action and goosebumpy🐷 beat-music. Where’s my popcorn?
We arrive at last to one of the more contemporary articles in The Gamer. The fact that a movie is great means it has touched millions of people on a deep level. Hardcore fans of the originals have often silently believed that there won’t ever be a better follow-up to the Star Wars film franchise after theꦆ titles that released in 1977/80/83. Another fan-denomination must certainly have begged to differ and felt that the three other flicks following those jewels in 1999/20♍02/05 were just as great.
Then along came Star Wars: Clone Wars, giving us renewed hope that even animated series in this mega-franchise can instill a sense of longing, awe, memorability, and excellence. 2015 saw the release of The Force Awakens, and it really did awaken something inside all of us who went to see Star Wars’ newest blockbuster. Sandwiched between this title and the highly anticipated Star Wars Episode IX (untitled; due for a 2019 release), we have The Last Jedi which hit theatres this month (December 20𒊎17) after weeks of intense anticipation.
In our top-25 list, we hope to cover all those facts your geeky fan-crazed eyes might have missed as you soaked up the magnificence of yet another Lucasfilm masterpiece. Hate us, you shall not. Spoilers, there are. We’ve also tapped into lore as recorded in the Visual Dictionary, so when you come across those in the points below, it’s TheGamer catering to the geek inside of you. And when you go see the movie again for the umpteenth time, we hope you truly enjoy the experience after learning about the following ‘Easter Eggs.' These points are as valid as they are fascinating, enough to driv🍃e true fans ‘crazy’ with exc﷽itement.
26 A Rose By This Name Rebel൲s Just As Sweet
The Last Jedi has given us some pretty amazing moments, to say nothing of the fresh new introductions made in the latest Star Wars installment. Enter, Rose Tico and her sister Paige, who have been instrumenta𒁏l in carrying the plot forward. Played by Kelly Marie Tran, Rose is shown wearing a rather significant ring that balances out her role in the cause, mainly because fans might have assumed that Gunner Paige is more action-oriented. Though she plays a lowly maintenance worker, Rose’s contribution to the Rebel cause has been profound and that ring is proof of it.
The ornament contains a recessed face with the Rebel Alliance insignia etched onto it. Much like an orphan heirloom, the ring has changed hands over several decades until finally alighting on Rose’s finger. The engraving on the inside is🎃 only revealed to fellow-Rebels as a sign of true loyalty to the cause.
25 ⛄ 🌊 ‘Uneti’ We Stand
The Uneti Tree is no stranger to the animated series or the extended comic universe of Star Wars. Fans who have been following these interests are sure to find something rather familiar in The Last Jedi where a certain colossal tree is concerned. We go now to the i🍌sland of Ahch-To where the original Jedi Temple stood and where a hermit Skywalker seems to have stashed himself away from the galaxy. There was a beloved ‘F🥀orce Tree’ that grew in the Temple on Coruscant before the events instigated by the Emperor that saw to its destruction.
The tree on the island might be a descendant of this original behemoth, but we aren’t sure about those ‘roots’ just yet. Nevertheless, there is a vast Jedi-tree mythos extant in the Uneti (seems to rhyme with Unity) tree. In Last Jedi, we learn that Skywalker even found his hideaway-island by tracking Uneti saplings that grew along their spore-flight route🌊 from the source Temple.
24 Guarding History 🍃
Those throne room guards on Snoke’s payroll are bloody brilliant. Aside from inspiring cosplay ideas, that superb vampire-red armor has caught our eye. But that’s not precisely the focus of this point, rather the origin-story of this particular group of ‘bodyguards;' as per Star Wars canon, of𒁏 course. Emperor Palpatine’s Imperial Guards and Snoke’s current version of the samℱe call up real-life (!) counterparts. The Jedi Order’s core beliefs, codes of honor, and even histories, are largely inspired by Eastern cultures and philosophies. In other worlds (not of the 2017 movie), we find that strong Japanese/Chinese tradition has gone into forming the iconic identity of the Kitel Phard Dynasty’s home-planet of Atrisia.
Take Sheev Palpatine’s penchant for gathering Imperial intelligence♌ by hook or by crook (here, you’ll find heavily applied connections to Sun Tzu’s techniques ) and the notorious Emperor Uueg Tching’s (male member of the Kitel Phard Dynasty and the fifty-fourth Emperor of Atrisia) incredible ability to subdue, deceive, and eventually defeat enemy eဣmpires.
23 What The Miꦑnd Might Forget, The Hand Always Remembers
The original trilogy from George Lucas still holds a special place in fans’ hearts. Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia Organa (played by the late-great Carrie Fisher), along with Han Solo and others, were iconic characters; still are. The Last Jedi continues the plot-thread from Force Awakens, but Skywalker’s robotic hand seems to have held on to its memories since Return of the Jedi (1983).
The scene in question is when Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) hands Luke his distinct blue lightsaber. While we don’t yet know how this special weapon was ꦍrecovered after its abandonment on Cloud City, we do see his robo-hand displaying the battle-scar🀅s from a certain fight from back in the day. Hardcore fans have certainly gone gaga over this fact, and we’ve been left wondering whether the director deliberately left Luke’s hand unsheathed by gloves or fake-skin just to ensure that someone somewhere notices the throwback.
22 A Milky Conundrum 𝐆 🍸
They merely changed the beverage’s color from blue to green but fans have definitely been paying attention. ‘Blue milk’ has at times been used in the Star Wars films to communicate comedy or homely moments. It was served in the Lars household in Star Wars (1977) and has remained in the franchise ever since. Sending a nod its way, Rogue One’s director, Gareth Edwards, made sure to include a container of the partly-famous blue milk (he left it on Jyn Erso’s counter, in his childhood home). Probably aiming to outdo his predecessor, Last Jedi’s director, Rian Johnson, has taken 💎the blue milk to fresh new heights.
It’s never been factually stated in the films that this milk comes from the Banthas species, but we see Luke Skywalker doing something 🍃different but quite similar from back when he was a kid on Tatooine. Having taken up residence on Ahch-To, he seems to have found a way to milk the Thala-Sirens indigenous to the island.
21 ⭕ A Stitch In Time... 💦
Well-tailored clothes ideal for capital cities and posh planets notwithstanding, we find a curious little tidbit concerning Finn’s (played by John Boyega) rough-n-tough jacket. But he had to repair it in time for his next adventure after Rogue One, right? In that flick, we saw♉ Kylo Ren twisting the crossguard of his lightsaber into Finn’s shoulder. There was much ado about that crossguard, which we later learned was designed to prevent excess energy loss while promoting streamlined wrist movements.
The Sith-saber contained a 🧜rather volatile kyber crystal. While Finn was left recovering from the rather scorching effects of that crossguard, his jacket seems to have pulled through quite well. Funny, it’s not even his jacket but Poe Dameron’s (Finn took it after crash-landing on Jakku). Did the jacket save the Rebel? Yoda might have something clever to say here.
20 Alderaan, Reinc🐎arna💜ted
When viewed from orbit, the Canto Bight casino can be as intimidating as it is gorgeous. There’s so much money being made here that it’s not hard to im🍌agine the casino as an artificially constructed coastal retreat. Let the magnitude of that sink in. Whoever worked on the casino’s landscaping project better get ready for high-end work coming 🍰their way from the stylish Imperials. The promenades and walkways themselves are architectural eye-candy, but it’s the exotic trees lining them that complete the postcard-picture.
These trees are quite significant. We’re once again grazing the symbolism and significance of trees in the Star Wars universe here. While there are certainly more sensational trees in the galaxy, the casino’s copses are Alderaan-natives. Fans are already gasping at this reveal because these trees grew solely on Princess Leia’s homeworld before it was destroyed (Star Wars 1977).
19 ‘Chain’ Of Events ꦫ💟
Poe Dameron’s necklace has become a hot topic💞, not the least of which is ‘where do I get myself one of those?’ Jokes aside, there’s something quite serious about Poe’s neck-jewelry that fans might have missed the first time around. He (Oscar Isaac) seems to be toting the piece even off-screen, in promotional photos, to be precise. The chain and its metal-washer pendant have been covered in the Visual Dictionary, ꦓwhere we learned that Poe’s mother, Shara Bey, called it her wedding ring.
Not only was she an excellent Rebel pilot, comic prequels (more on this later) depict her as an active team member in both Luke Skywalker and Lei✃a Organa’s missions. It’s interesting t🐟o note that Kes Dameron (Rebel Special Forces; the ‘Pathfinders’) and Shara were married, and had a baby. Poe wears the ring to remind him of the strong bond his parents shared, and what’s truly worth fighting for.
18 One Ring To Dazzle Them All ✤
Snoke believes in making lasting impressions, is master of grand entrances and creepy exits, and is basically Palpatine 2.0. One look at his throne room is enough to instill the idea that Snoke is all about that sass; power, opulence, drama, and sheer Force-Darkness made manifest. If only he could have made himself look a bit less orc-like, but then again, the Force can only do so much. Behind Snoke is a very human origin-st🥃ory, that of a man seeking purpose and meaning in the Dark Side. We shall continue by touching upon his atten🐼dants, who hail from the Unknown Regions. But we mainly wish to share a little something on Snoke’s own ‘ring of power’.
We draw your attention to the four images engraved on the gold band. These are the four sages of Dwartii – Yanjon, Faya, Braata, and Sistros – who go back to early Republic days, and have proven to be quite phi𓃲losophically ambiguous. They prioritized thought over morality, which in itself is not the Jedi way; no wonder these four were Sith favorites.
17 And The Famous Line In The Script Goes To... 🦩
One of the franchise’s trademark lines is as simple as, “I have a bad feeling about this.” It began when the Millennium Falcon was gravity-beamed into the Death Star, and he used that line. Ever since then, every Star Wars movie has used the sentence at an apt moment of dire circumstance. However, in The Last Jedi, not one 🌄character has spoken the iconic words, and fan-observations of the same carried over onto Twitter where manifold complaints were met with one 🥂cool confirmation (though a rather subtle one) from Director Rian Johnson. ‘It IS spoken...’
Well, that got fans rushing to figure out how, who, where, and what. It’s one of those instances where the simplest things result in a complicated series of events. Before long, the hunt ended and fans foun🍌d out that (wait for it) BB-8 is the most probable candidate. The droid’s incessant beeping to Poe before they assaulted the dreadnought First Order has given viewers cause to believe that the cute little thing was going ‘beep-beep-got-a-bad-feeling-about-this-beep.'