The VFX team for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was tasked with subtly referencing a key moment from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is packed full of big moments, easter eggs, and secrets to uncover but one of the most subtle has now been revealed by the VFX team.
Towards the climax of Episode IX, Rey has a vision of the stars as she hears the voices of Jedi past before she is able to defeat Palpatine. But did you catch that this starfield is a replica of the opening shot in A New Hope?
Speaking to Insider, ILM visual effects supervisor Patrick Tubach said: “One small nugget that somebody may not have picked up on is that as you fly up through that giant lightning tree and you get up to that top of the tree and [Rey] hears the voices of the Jedi, that starfield you’re looking at is exactly the [A New Hope] starfield. That was very important to J.J.
“He really wanted to have that moment harking back to the very beginning of Star Wars, and that I think was bringing it all back together. Seeing those stars and seeing them look exactly that way. It does rotate, but what you end up on is in the beginning of [A New Hope].”
It’s a pretty cool Easter egg! Surely not many would have spotted this on first viewing – if at all!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
Originally published January 22, 2020. Updated February 22, 2020.
