Unless you’ve been living in a cave on Tatooine, you’ll know that Obi-Wan Kenobi – the mini series prequel fans have been waiting for – has finally dropped on Disney Plus (opens in new tab). But even if you’ve already watched the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, we’re still willing to bet you’ll find a couple of Easter eggs or trivia treats that have slipped beneath your ship’s sensors.
The Ewan McGregor led show is rather bleak in comparison to ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ – not that we’re complaining – and although the more serious tone isn’t as bombastic when it comes to fan service, there’s still plenty to keep Easter-egg bounty hunting types happy.
Before we dive in, be sure to check out our Obi-Wan Kenobi: Episode One & Two review to see our full thoughts on the long-awaited return of the galaxies’ sassiest Jedi. Now, here’s our roundup of all the Easter eggs and references that we spotted in the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Enjoy!
You look like you’ve seen a force ghost
The recap at the very beginning of episode 1 ends with Yoda (Frank Oz) telling Obi-Wan: “Your old master. How to communicate with him I will teach you.” This is an abridged quote from ‘Revenge of the Sith’, where Yoda reveals that Qui-Gon Jinn has “learned the path to immortality”.
In Star Wars lore, Qui-Gon is the first Jedi to transcend the mortal world and live on as a force ghost. The very poignant way this is talked about begs the question: Could Liam Neeson reprise his role in a future episode of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’?
Little Reva
The Internet is abuzz with a fan theory (opens in new tab) that Reva, the delightfully mean main antagonist of episodes one and two, AKA the Third Sister (Moses Ingram), is in fact one of the younglings attacked in the Jedi temple in the series’ opening scene. This is made more credible when you consider how the cinematography singles out the trainee in question.
She’s the first youngling we see and the only one to receive a close-up. Obi-Wan says it himself that many inquisitors were once Jedi, and Reva’s unbridled anger definitely points towards a tragic backstory, so it’s certainly not farfetched.
The 501st clone troopers that attack the younglings appear to be physical actors in physical costumes. If so, these are the first non-CGI clones troopers to feature in a live-action Lucasfilm production. Every clone in ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith’ was created using CGI.
That’s no moon
Maybe we’re clutching at straws, but the round metal ball next to the seated local on the right portion of the screen [06:31] bears a striking resemblance to a certain planet-destroying space station…
Nobody expects the Sith Inquisition
The inquisitors’ ship is called an Inquisitor Transport Scythe if this new LEGO set (opens in new tab) is anything to go by.
If the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) looks at all familiar, that’s because he’s the main antagonist in the animated television series ‘Star Wars Rebels’, set after ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’. Incidentally, Obi-Wan helped drive separatist forces out of the inquisitor’s homeworld, Utapau, during ‘Revenge of the Sith’. The Fifth Brother (Sung Kang) also features in ‘Star Wars Rebels’.
Tatooine
According to starwarsnewsnet.com, the settlement that Obi-Wan returns to from his meat-harvesting job is Anchorhead. Original Trilogy buffs will know that Luke tells Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness): “Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead,” after he initially refuses to help save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher).
Obi-Wan’s camel-like mount is called an eopie. In ‘The Phantom Menace’, Qui-Gon delivers the parts needed to repair Queen Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) royal spaceship while riding a CGI eopie and Obi-Wan delivers baby Luke to the Lars homestead while riding one in the final scene of ‘Revenge of the Sith’.
The sensor that’s used to warn Obi-Wan if anybody or anything has entered his cave looks to be the periscope from an astromech droid.
As Obi-Wan checks up on the Lars homestead, Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton) repeatedly calls for Luke as the youngster slips away to fly a pretend spaceship. This is likely an homage, since Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru repeatedly shout for Luke in separate instances during ‘A New Hope’.
Obi-Wan’s contemplative expression when watching Luke mimic flying a spaceship is likely due to the youngster’s striking resemblance to a young Anakin Skywalker. Even at just 10 years old, Luke is older than his father was when he won the Boonta Eve Podrace and destroyed the droid control ship that was blockading Naboo, from the cockpit of a Naboo Starfighter.
Looking for Easter eggs in Alderaan places
This establishing shot of a lush green planet with futuristic buildings is Alderaan. Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the planet’s destruction in ‘A New Hope’ as an example of the Death Star’s incredible power and as punishment for Princess Leia’s refusal to give up the location of the Rebel base on Yavin 4.
While starship spotting, Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) guesses that a Tri-Wing is piloted by an, “Aquillian Ranger. Probably scouting for Merson pirates.” According to Wookiepedia, the Aquillian Ranger can be traced all the way back to the second draft of Star Wars – what would eventually be known as ‘A New Hope’.
If the helmets worn by the Organas’ guards look familiar, that’s because Alderaanian consular security forces attempt to repel an imperial assault on the Tantive IV at the beginning of ‘A New Hope’.
As Leia and her mother, Breha (Simone Kessell), head inside, we get our first glimpse of Vect Nokru. The mercenary, hired by Reva, is played by Flea, the bass guitarist for the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’.
Sweet T-16
The model aircraft that Teeka sells to Obi-Wan is a T-16 Skyhopper. Luke briefly plays with the restored model in ‘A New Hope’, as C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) takes an oil bath.
Owen Lars throws the T-16 Skyhopper model at Obi-Wan’s feet. When the Jedi protests that it’s “just a toy,” Owen says: “It’s a lot more than that.” In ‘A New Hope’ during the rebel pilots’ mission briefing, Luke mentions that he used to “bull’s-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home.” With that in mind, Owen was right, the seemingly innocuous toy certainly helped to fuel Luke’s desire for adventure.
Hands off!
When Reva threatens to punish residents who choose not to divulge the location of Nari the Jedi, she screams: “Hands go first!” before actually severing a woman’s hand. Star Wars has a surprisingly long history of severed hands for a family franchise.
Notable examples include, Obi-Wan cutting off Ponda Baba’s arm during the famous cantina scene in ‘A New Hope’, Dooku severing Anakin’s hand in ‘Attack of the Clones’ – only to have both his hands severed by Anakin in ‘Revenge of the Sith’ – and Darth Vader lopping off Luke’s hand in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’.
On the run in Alderaan
C-3PO can be seen translating for a pair of guests at the Organas’ function [35:13].
Leia says: “I’d rather be digested by a jakobeast”, when being told to apologize to her cousin. In Star Wars lore, Jakobeasts already exist in canon and also legends (opens in new tab).
When consoling his daughter, Bail Organa reveals he wanted to “chase purrgil” when he was younger. Purrgil are large whale-like space creatures that can travel through hyperspace and play a pivotal role in the climax of ‘Star Wars Rebels’.
One of Vect’s goons, the green alien that chases Leia, is a falleen. This is the same species as Prince Xizor, an antagonist in the video game and book ‘Shadows of the Empire’ that many Star Wars fans will remember as being part of the old Expanded Universe (now Legends (opens in new tab)).
The Organas’ holoprojector plea for Obi-Wan to save their daughter is initially unsuccessful, but it’s reminiscent of Leia’s famed holoprojector plea to Obi-Wan in ‘A New Hope’. Then, he doesn’t need to be asked twice.
You can just about make out a domed droid in the right of the frame [47:41]. This appears to be the same class of droid as LIN-V8K, which lined up in front of the sandcrawler with R2-D2 and C-3PO in ‘A New Hope’.
Sign language
The streets of Daiyu are full of neon signs with strange characters that form part of an alphabet called Aurebesh. Signs in this scene [03:02] include, ‘market’, ‘bank’ and a couple that rather hilariously say ‘gungan snacks’.
The begging clone trooper’s (Temuera Morrison) armour carries the markings of the 501st clone battalion, which explains why Obi-Wan looks so perturbed. It would have instantly reminded him of Anakin and his padawan Ahsoka Tano, who were assigned to the 501st and formed a strong bond with its commanding officer, Rex. Obi-Wan may also be considering the fact that it was troopers from the 501st who Anakin led into the Jedi Temple during Order 66.
Obi-Wan is approached by a spice dealer called Tetha Grig, played by none other than his real-life daughter, Esther-Rose McGregor.
When Tetha slips a free vial of spice in Obi-Wan’s pocket, it’s in stark contrast to a similar scene in ‘Attack of the Clones’. When Obi-Wan and Anakin chase bounty hunter Zam Wesell into a cantina, the Jedi master is approached by a dealer selling death sticks and instantly uses a Jedi mind trick to encourage the criminal to change his ways. Here on Daiyu, the broken Jedi makes no such effort.
Jedi joker
Haja Estree tells his contact to give the mother and son he is supposedly helping “safe passage to Correlia,” this is Han Solo’s home planet.
Haja says: “The Jedi must protect their own.” This is rather ironic considering the order’s failure to protect its own hastened its downfall.
Ewan McGregor strokes his chin in thought (08:52), almost certainly a choice made from observing Alec Guinness’s hand gestures in ‘A New Hope’.
The horned thug with facial tattoos that confronts Obi-Wan as he nears Leia’s holding cell is a zabrak, the same species as the Jedi’s nemesis, Darth Maul.
Little princess
Young Leia is stunned into silence as she walks into the path of a large hairy alien, which reminds us that despite her advanced demeanor, she’s not the plucky princess from the original trilogy quite yet. In stark contrast, when Princess Leia encounters Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), the large hairy Wookie in ‘A New Hope’, she famously says: “Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?”
Tetha Grig can be seen pedaling spice to another potential customer [17:49].
Original Trilogy aficionados will recognize this bounty hunter as 4-LOM, the droid that unsuccessfully teamed up with fellow bounty hunter Zuckus to hunt down Han Solo. However, it’s actually a variation of the same droid called 1-JAC.
On the run
As Reva surveys the city from her vantage point, a large green sign reads “milk” in Aurebesh [20:29].
Another example of Obi-Wan’s lack of confidence and general all round rustiness is his poor aim with a blaster.
It would appear that Haja’s sudden insistence on helping Kenobi and Leia, and his willingness to confront Reva to buy them some time, suggests that he at least knows who Obi-Wan is, following the Jedi’s leaked identity.
Reva’s telepathic ability, which she uses on Haja, indicates her strength with the force and could be what the Grand Inquisitor is referring to earlier in the episode when he says: “Your ability gave you station.”
Reva stands watching the cargo transport leave, with her lightsaber extended and cape billowing in the wind. This shot bears a striking resemblance to when Vader is unable to prevent the Tantive IV’s escape at the end of Rogue One.
The second episode ends with Vader floating in a bacta tank. If this is the same one he uses in ‘Rogue One’, he’s situated in his castle on Mustafar, the planet where he dueled Kenobi at the end of ‘Revenge of the Sith’.
