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What are the known Easter eggs in The Force Awakens?

Note: Due to community input, Easter Eggs should be limited to references of the previous Star Wars films, and are meant/confirmed by the writers/directors/etc. to be Easter Eggs. Also, please be aware that this can lead to spoilers.

Programmer
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  • I don’t think it’s a dupe, but it feels like it might be straying into “too broad” territory. – alexwlchan Dec 22 '15 at 19:00
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    I actually think the other 2 questions should probably be a dupe of this one. –  Dec 22 '15 at 19:00
  • I understand it may be too broad. How could it be reworded to fit the requirements of this site? – Programmer Dec 22 '15 at 19:01
  • Answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shT0797BkpY –  Dec 22 '15 at 19:01
  • @CreationEdge does that only cover what is shown in the trailers? Seems like it might be to me. – Programmer Dec 22 '15 at 19:03
  • I changed the link. The first one was just the trailer, yes. (I pulled the wrong one from my browser history). Updated with a new one! –  Dec 22 '15 at 19:03
  • @CreationEdge ahh now that's a great source. Can it be made into a proper answer for this site? I know that I always love to know about the Easter Eggs in movies and being able to search for them on SE would be great. – Programmer Dec 22 '15 at 19:05
  • I'm leaning towards this one being too opinion-based; it's going to be hard to know if a specific item in the movie was intended to be an Easter Egg or we're just overthinking it. – KutuluMike Dec 22 '15 at 19:05
  • @MikeEdenfield I wonder if I asked this question too early after the film's release. – Programmer Dec 22 '15 at 19:07
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    @MikeEdenfield JJ et al have done a lot of interviews clarifying some of those things, so I think it's entirely possible we can get a clear idea of confirmed Easter Eggs. For instance: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/20/jj-abrams-reveals-obi-wan-and-yoda-are-star-wars-force-awakens I expect as time goes on we'll get more evidence. –  Dec 22 '15 at 19:07
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    Why is this close but the other similar questions still open? http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/111224/what-are-the-things-that-the-force-awakens-borrowed-parallel-from-a-new-hope –  Dec 23 '15 at 00:17
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    @CreationEdge They're not similar; those can be quantified. Compare a scene X in A New Hope versus scene Y in The Force Awakens: we can tell whether they are similar or not based on the contents of the scene (i.e. Trash compactor in both movies); whereas how do we know for sure that a particular scene or character is an Easter Egg? Did the producers tell us? do we think it's an Easter Egg? – Möoz Dec 23 '15 at 02:05
  • @Mooz As I commented above, yes, the producers do tell us this stuff. It's like this was closed because it was asked too early, not because it's not answerable. –  Dec 23 '15 at 02:10
  • @CreationEdge That's my point, the OP hasn't specified whether they want our opinions, or whether an Easter Egg is confirmed by the producers or not. – Möoz Dec 23 '15 at 02:12
  • @Mooz There's a meta discussion on this and similar questions right now, too. But if the OP doesn't roll back my edit, then we've narrowed the scope a bit. –  Dec 23 '15 at 02:14
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    I would say that it must be confirmed and not just opinion. I will make an edit to the question to specify this. – Programmer Dec 23 '15 at 02:14

1 Answers1

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Here you go. Easter Eggs, Cameos, and References.

This list has been expanded to include more than just the reference video.

New Hope parallels

  • Person stranded on a desert planet destined for more
  • Opening scene with storm troopers killing rebels
  • Mind tricks and hiding on a large base
  • Stormtrooper dressed as a rebel vs rebel dressed as Stormtrooper
  • Han Solo "I have a bad feeling about this"
  • Trash compactor
  • Anakin's lightsaber being stored in Obi-Wan's chest
  • Feeling a death from across the galaxy (Leia and Obi-Wan)
  • Trench run
  • Millenium Falcon
    • 12 parsecs
    • Floor compartments
    • Board game
    • Jedi training device

Other Film References

  • Millennium Falcon has a new square dish, which replaced the round one lost in RotJ. (Also as mentioned in Heir to the Empire)
  • Pulling lightsabers out of snow with the force (ESB)
  • Someone falling to their death from a great height (ESB, RotJ)
  • Killing monster with a door (RotJ)
  • Must drop the shields for the attack to begin (RotJ)
  • Pod racers (TPM)

Recurring themes

  • Limb loss - in that C3PO has a new arm
  • Facial scars
  • Jedis in exile

Recurring Non-central Characters / Ships

  • Admiral Akbar
  • Nien Nunb
  • Clone troopers (mentioned)
  • Old style X-Wing, Tie-fighter, and Star Destroyer ship wreckage on Jakku

Random References

  • Pilot Ello Asty is a reference to Beastie Boys song Hello Nasty and written in Aurebesh on his helmet: "Born to Ill"
  • Various voice actors from previous Star Wars cartoons and games
  • Various characters and locations named after people related to JJ Abrams or other production crew.
    • Poe Dameron is named after Abram's daughter's toy polar bear and his assistant.
    • Abrams' father plays a resistance officer Captain Cypress
    • Abram's grandfather is references as a Kelvin Ridge
  • Michael Giacchino as a Stormtrooper
  • Daniel Craig as a Stormtrooper (interacting with Rey)
  • Simon Pegg as Unkar Plutt
  • Onscreen appearance of R2KT
Jack B Nimble
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