Did you catch these references to a galaxy of brick building while watching the four-piece Disney+ Star Wars special event?
When the world of LEGO Star Wars is turned upside down, there’s no limit to the Easter eggs and references that can come tumbling out.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy traces the journey of young Sig Greebling, who is thrust into a hilarious and heartfelt journey as he tries to rebuild his topsy-turvy galaxy. Alongside his new mentor, Jedi Bob, Sig comes face-to-face with familiar friends and foes, as well as encountering countless callbacks to the stories and lore Star Wars and LEGO fans have grown to love over the years.
Here are 14 of our favorite Easter eggs from LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy:
1. Rose Tico’s new bling. Rose Tico, once again voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, is another of the dark lords who serve under Darth Dev. This time, Rose’s crescent pendant that she shared with her sister, Paige is whole, reflecting the backwards nature of this galaxy. The design is based on unused concept art from Star Wars: The Last Jedi by prop concept designer Matthew Savage (as seen in The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Phil Szostak).
2. The twin “suns” look different here. This new version of Luke Skywalker refused the call to adventure of his hero’s journey and stayed on Tatooine. The classic binary sunset moment is creatively replaced by two well-placed LEGO light fixtures.
3. The Separator. If you squint through the stars, Darth Dev’s command ship would look familiar to any veteran LEGO builder. With accents of orange and a rectangular silhouette, the brick-built superweapon is reminiscent of the separator piece it’s named for, a handy tool included in many LEGO sets. The landing ship that emerges from the Separator even uses several actual LEGO separator pieces as its wings.
4. Friends in high places. The mash-up galaxy’s Jedi Council travels on the outskirts of a rundown Canto Bight in a Jawa-walker (which is, as you could probably guess, a mixture of a sandcrawler and an AT-AT walker). This court is staffed by an unusual group of Force-wielders: Jedi Jabba, Jedi Vader, Jedi Palpatine, Jedi Lobot, Jedi Jannah, Jedi Cad Bane, and a golden Jedi IG-88. Vader’s glistening white armor was notably first glimpsed in the Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi comic, published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004.
5. ‘00s kids remember: When flashing back to Jedi Bob’s former life, filmmakers purposefully mimicked the look and feel of early LEGO commercials of the late 1990s, including framing the scene in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The simplified designs are reminiscent of the LEGO sets of the time, a wonderful tribute to the early days of the Star Wars and LEGO Group relationship.
6. Who’s scruffy looking? Sig and his brother Dev are nerf-herders — or rather, “nerf handlers,” as Sig prefers. These four-horned beasts appeared in comics in Marvel’s Star Wars (2015) #17 and 18 as well as in the Season 2 episode of Young Jedi Adventures, "The Rustler Roundup." (They are also very cute.)
7. Mellow yellow. Jedi Bob is no stranger to longtime collectors of the LEGO Star Wars theme. While this is his on-screen debut, he first appeared in the classic Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Republic Gunship (7163) LEGO building set in 2002. A Jedi minifigure with no name, fans later dubbed him “Jedi Bob;” he has since taken on a cult status among LEGO collectors.
Here, Jedi Bob (also known as Jedi Master Bobarian Afol — a reference to the “Adult Fan of LEGO” community) is voiced by Saturday Night Live alum Bobby Moynihan, who also voiced Orka in Star Wars Resistance and Seezelslak in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.
8. A long time ago in a draft far, far away. As Sig recites the “most epic story ever told” to his friends, he initially claims that towering Wookiees were the creatures who helped the Rebellion heroes during the Battle of Endor. We all know the Ewoks are the heroes of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, but Sig’s mistake reflects early draft versions of the movie, which had the seven-foot-tall Wookiees taking on the Empire. Plus, it foreshadows the shakeup to come!
9. I know that voice… Fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will recognize several familiar voices in the series, including Sam Witwer, who returns as Maul, who appears to have been shopping in Lando Calrissian’s closet. Phil LaMarr and TC Carson also return as Kit Fisto and Mace Windu, respectively, as their now evil and imprisoned counterparts.
10. Brick by brick: Throughout the series, there are a few other well-placed nods to the 92-year history of the LEGO Group. Beyond the name of protagonist “Sig Greebling,” which is a two-fold reference, one of the nerfs, Lug, is named after “LEGO User Groups.” And hotshot pilot’s Yesi Scala’s last name is a reference to a defunct vintage LEGO line that focused on a dress up doll collection originally released in 1979.
11. Bombad Sith. As they disembark from the Dark Falcon, Darth Dev’s group of disciples are revealed, including Darth Rey, Darth Nubs, and of course Darth Jar Jar (voiced by Ahmed Best). While the latter is a nod to a meme that suggests the hapless Gungan is actually the puppet master dark lord of the prequel trilogy, a joke 20 years in the making, a deeper cut is marked by the arrival of Darth Hammerhead (either Darth Noga-ta or “Rusty”), who previously appeared in LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. The hardest Sith lord to identify, however, may be Darth Jym the Jawa, who is based off a character initially created by Rebuild the Galaxy’s director, Chris Buckley, for his early ‘00s Wizards of the Coast RPG campaign.
12. Checkmate! If you pause at the perfect moment, you can make out this new galaxy’s version of a dejarik chess board, as played by battle droids. Instead of the classic creatures from Star Wars: A New Hope, this set is made up of a rancor, a Gundark, a nerf, a luggabeast…and, apparently, the skeleton of Uncle Owen Lars.
13. Rolling billboard: Among the familiar faces in the Mos Eisley Marina Cantina, you may spot Garindan from A New Hope and Zorii Bliss from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a yellow and red astromech droid named L3-G0, appropriately decked out in the colors of the LEGO logo.
14. Who shopped first? In a humorous twist, the Rodian Greedo is now romancing Leia Organa, his “pateesa,” having shot his shot first. If you remember the cantina sequence before the special editions, you know Han originally shot first. Here, Greedo also seems to have raided Han’s wardrobe, taking a cue from Lando at the end of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. And his ship is a modified version of Boba Fett’s starship, with a slightly different paint scheme and two rather prominent antennae.
Spot your own Easter eggs when you watch (or rewatch) all four pieces of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, now streaming on Disney+.
