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00:00Star Wars has become one of the most popular and influential franchises of all time.
00:05So influential, in fact, that many a movie outside of the series has gone out of its way to reference
00:11this universe of space wizards and evil galactic empires over the years.
00:16Now, this isn't always a good thing, and I'm pretty sure we've done a video on that at some point.
00:20But there have still been those occasions when a movie's tribute to and mentions of this much-loved franchise have
00:27hit all the right notes.
00:29Feeling respectful, genuinely comical, and actually enhancing the overall experience.
00:35So with all that said, I am Gareth, and I will also be joined by the great jewels for this
00:39list.
00:40And this is WhatCulture's Star Wars, baby, and we are going to talk about the 20 best times that Star
00:45Wars appeared in other movies.
00:47X-Men
00:48The original X-Men movie hit cinemas in 2000, one year after Star Wars' long-awaited return in the form
00:54of The Phantom Menace.
00:55As such, the timing couldn't have been better for X-Men to sneak in a Star Wars reference somewhere.
01:00And during the final battle between Halle Berry's Storm and Ray Park's Toad, well, that's exactly what happened.
01:05Park had just played Sith apprentice Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace,
01:09a character whose insane lightsaber skills allowed him to battle Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi,
01:14who are obviously two trained Jedi at the same time, and come out on top.
01:19Well, almost.
01:20Jumping back to X-Men, though, Park paid homage to those lightsaber skills in that aforementioned fight against Storm
01:25by twirling his weapon around in a very Maul-esque way,
01:29shortly after kicking the weather-manipulating heroine down an elevator shaft.
01:32Park is known for the great physicality he brings to his characters,
01:35and this moment worked out not only as a cool tip of the hat to Maul,
01:39but as a way to make Toad feel even more skilled in the combat department.
01:43Superbad
01:44Raunchy teen comedy Superbad isn't exactly somewhere you'd expect Star Wars to appear,
01:49but the movie does have a couple of hilarious nods to the sci-fi franchise throughout its runtime.
01:53These mostly come from Seth Rogen and Bill Hader's buddy cop duo,
01:57who frequently mention Star Wars after picking up McLovin from the convenience store.
02:01During their subsequent car journey, these cops, Slater and Michaels,
02:04start talking about Attack of the Clones, with Slater saying that the Force is strong with his rookie
02:08partner, before breaking out into a surprisingly convincing Yoda impression and calling Michaels
02:13his Padawan. Later, Slater and Michaels start using their torches like lightsabers,
02:17battling one another while adding their own sound effects. Slater then pulls out a Palpatine
02:22impression from his repertoire, before proceeding to run down Jonah Hill's character with his car,
02:26which if you think about it, is a pretty fittingly evil act for a dastardly Sith Lord.
02:30Star Wars humor may be a cheap way to draw a laugh, but Superbad executes these jokes so well
02:35that we can't really complain. Indiana Jones
02:37With both franchises having George Lucas as a creative spearhead, it would be a genuine shock
02:42if the Indiana Jones movies didn't pay homage to Star Wars in some small way, but fortunately,
02:47they do. The most famous of these homages is found in Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a pair of
02:52R2-D2
02:53and C-3PO hieroglyphs appearing next to Indy when he uncovers the Ark of the Covenant.
02:59There's another lesser-known nod at the start of the movie as well, with the text
03:02Obi-CPO emblazoned on the side of Jock's airplane at the end of the opening sequence,
03:07a shout-out to Obi-Wan Kenobi and C-3PO. Temple of Doom continued to dish out the Star
03:12Wars goodness with the club that Willy sings in at the beginning called Club Obi-Wan,
03:16while the sound effect used for the crashing plane's engine failure is the same sound heard
03:19in The Empire Strikes Back when the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive fails. And finally, while
03:24The Last Crusade is surprisingly light on Star Wars nods, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has Indy
03:29uttered the iconic line, I've got a bad feeling about this, which has been spoken in almost every
03:33single Star Wars flick to date. Toy Story
03:36Going all the way back to the first Toy Story movie, it's been something of a trend for Pixar
03:40to include Star Wars nods in its movies. Some of the best of these include the Dash forest chase
03:45in The Incredibles harking back to Return of the Jedi's speeder bike chase, or the fight of pilot
03:49dogs in Up referring to themselves as Grey Leader, Grey 2, and Grey 3, parodying the Red Squadron
03:55call sign in A New Hope. But it's the Star Wars references in the Toy Story series that people
03:59will remember most fondly. From dickbag neighbor Sid interrogating Woody with the Where's the
04:04Rebel base? to an Obi-Wan action figure in Toy Story 4, to the fact that Emperor Zurg is a
04:09clear
04:09riff of Darth Vader, there's a small piece of Star Wars in all four movies, some obvious and some less
04:15so. Zurg telling Buzz, I am your father, and Buzz yelling, No! is one of the funniest Easter eggs in
04:21movie history, inadvertently foreshadowing Vader's own pained scream in Revenge of the Sith six years
04:26later. Pixar and Star Wars actually have a shared history, with George Lucas himself proving an
04:31instrumental player in the studio's formative years. This in mind, it's almost like these Star Wars
04:36nods are a neat way for Pixar to honour its own past.
04:39Star Trek 2009
04:41Star Wars and Star Trek have been closely intertwined for decades, with George Lucas once stating that
04:46Star Wars wouldn't exist if Star Trek hadn't softened up the entertainment arena.
04:50And original Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz revealing that Trek was a big influence on
04:55Lucas when creating his own space-set franchise. However, by the time lifelong Star Wars fans,
05:00J.J. Abram and Damon Lindelof, were handed the keys to the Trek franchise for the 2009 movie reboot,
05:06the order of influence had changed, with Trek now drawing from the Star Wars movies that those
05:11two creatives had grown up revering. Not only were two scenes in Star Trek 2009,
05:15aka young Kirk staring at the under-construction Enterprise and old Spock saving Kirk from a monster,
05:20intended to echo two scenes from the original Star Wars films, where Luke stares at the binary
05:25sunset and Obi-Wan stops the Tusken Raiders from attacking Luke, but also a small piece of Star
05:29Wars also appears in the movie physically, or at least digitally, but you catch our drift.
05:34This appearance comes in the form of none other than R2-D2, who can be seen floating through the
05:38wreckage of several Starfleet ships after the Enterprise emerges from the warp. R2 also pops up in
05:43the sequel's Star Trek Into Darkness in a similar manner, because apparently appearing in the vast majority of
05:48Star Wars movies just wasn't enough for this attention-seeking droid.
05:51Captain America Civil War
05:53With Marvel Studios' Kingpin Big Kev being such a huge fan of Star Wars, it's also surprised that
05:58the Marvel Cinematic Universe is littered with nods to the Empire that Luke has built. Many movies in
06:03the franchise include a scene where a character loses a limb, such as Thor's arm being locked off
06:07in Thor The Dark World, all of which were intended as a wink to Vader chopping off Luke Skywalker's arm
06:12in
06:12The Empire Strikes Back. Ongoing gags aside, though, arguably the best singular Star Wars
06:16reference in the MCU is delivered by Spider-Man in Captain America Civil War, who uses his knowledge
06:21of the sci-fi franchise to help Team Tony take down Giant Man. Asking his fellow Avengers if they've
06:27ever seen that really old movie The Empire Strikes Back, Spidey proceeds to reference the scene where
06:32the Rebels use a cable to topple an at-at on Hoth, before using the same technique on Giant Man.
06:37Civil War was chock-full of crowd-pleasing moments, but the pop in the theatre when Spidey
06:41mentions Star Wars was one of the biggest of the lot. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
06:45Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of the most rewatchable movies ever, and can effortlessly
06:50put a smile on your face whenever you sit down for another viewing. It's also a treat for Star
06:54Wars fans, with one of the most memorable moments of the movie featuring a hysterical nod to the
06:58franchise's famous music. The moment in question sees two parking attendants going for a joyride in
07:04Cameron's dad's Ferrari. Soaring through the air in slow motion, their epic leap is scored with John
07:08Williams' main Star Wars theme tune, which then carries on playing as they hit the ground and
07:13drive off into the distance. It's among the most iconic moments in any John Hughes movie,
07:17which is saying something considering the guy's incredible filmography, primarily because John
07:21Williams' music makes everything it touches a thousand times better.
07:25The Lego Movie
07:26The Lego Movie was an absolute dream for pop culture enthusiasts, with famous faces like Batman,
07:32Gandalf, Wonder Woman, Superman, Dumbledore, and even Shaquille O'Neal appearing throughout
07:36its runtime. The Star Wars gang also gets some cameo action, with the Millennium Falcon interrupting
07:41Batman when he talks about obtaining a hyperdrive, musing aloud,
07:44What do you think? A spaceship is just going to appear out of the blue? Well, Batsy, yes,
07:48that's exactly what happens. The Falcon parks up as the Star Wars theme plays, before Han Solo,
07:53Lando, Chewbacca, and C-3PO emerge from various compartments of the ship, talking about a sweet party
07:58on Naboo that they were supposed to be attending. Though Harrison Ford didn't return to voice Han,
08:02Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Daniels did return for Lando and C-3PO, respectively,
08:07adding a layer of extra awesomeness to the scene. Also awesome is watching Lando talking to Batman,
08:12which is almost too much cool for a single screen to handle. Things don't end well for the Star Wars
08:17crew, though, when Batman steals the hyperdrive and they're eaten by a space slug, but they certainly
08:21gave audiences a memorable time in their brief trip across the Lego multiverse.
08:25E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
08:27Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have been the best of buds for decades, even going back to before
08:32they collaborated on Indiana Jones. In the 70s, the pair even traded back-end points on Close
08:37Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars, with Lucas believing that Spielberg's sci-fi classic
08:42would be by far the biggest hit. Needless to say, Spielberg emerged from that gamble with heavier
08:47pockets. With Star Wars proving to be such a smash hit in 1977, Spielberg decided to pay homage to
08:53the franchise in his 1982 flick E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, with a few different references dotted
08:58throughout. At one point, we see a child walking down the street in a Yoda costume, which is
09:02accompanied by the same Yoda musical cue heard in The Empire Strikes Back. Elsewhere, the lead
09:07character Elliot's bedroom is stuffed with Star Wars action figures, including Boba Fett, Greedo,
09:11and Lando. And right before Elliot introduces him to E.T., his older brother Michael mocks him by
09:16doing a Yoda impression. Brilliantly, Lucas would later return the gesture with a few members of E.T.'s
09:21species appearing on Coruscant in The Phantom Menace. It's a small universe after all, isn't it?
09:26Free Guy
09:27Free Guy was one of those movies that felt like it had Easter eggs hidden in every frame,
09:31so it really wasn't a surprise that Star Wars made the cut. During the climactic battle between
09:36Ryan Reynolds' hero Guy and his ridiculously buff adversary Dude, Guy is completely outmatched
09:41physically, forcing him to call in a bit of help from some iconic pop culture weapons. Captain America's
09:46shield is first up, followed by a Hulk fist and then, you guessed it, a lightsaber, which Guy uses
09:51with a level of skill that would give Vader a run for his money. Made possible by Disney's
09:56acquisition of Star Wars and Free Guy's distributor 20th Century Fox, these references were implemented
10:01after Reynolds, along with director Sean Levy, wrote to Disney and asked for permission.
10:05Obviously, the studio said yes, and we are glad they did. Guy using a lightsaber while John Williams'
10:10Star Wars score plays made for one of the best movie theatre moments of 2021.
10:14The Imperial March ringtone, Ted
10:18Unquestionably one of the most recognisable pieces of music in movie history, John Williams'
10:23The Imperial March has become synonymous with all things evil. This is precisely what makes
10:28the use of it during 2012's Seth MacFarlane directed and starring comedy Ted So Damn Hilarious.
10:35With John Bennett searching for his phone in his car alongside his girlfriend Laurie Collins,
10:40this dude with a teddy bear for a best mate asks her to ring it for him. You can see
10:44where this
10:44is going. Right on cue, the song often found accompanying Darth Vader rings around the
10:49vehicle, provoking Laurie to ask if this was her ringtone on his phone and actually ask where
10:54it's from. She didn't know. Without missing a beat and sensing he could likely be in a bit of
10:58trouble if he explained the truth, John comically puts out this fire by telling her it's just the
11:03tune from The Notebook. We must have missed the part where Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine went
11:07for a romantic boat ride to the sound of this thunderous banger. And while we're talking about Star Wars songs,
11:11I want to know right now what do you think is the best Star Wars theme of all time? You
11:16let me know
11:16in the comments section down below. A Possessed TIE Fighter Poltergeist
11:20Sticking with things connected to the Galactic Empire for this next entry,
11:25So Pooper's classic supernatural horror movie Poltergeist boasts a quite familiar vehicle.
11:30Well, a toy vehicle. You see, as the Freeling family find themselves being tormented by a mysterious
11:36force in this Steven Spielberg-produced picture, young Carrie-Anne ends up being dragged into a closet.
11:41It's during that stressful sequence, one that also sees her brother get attacked by a tree,
11:47when a brief nod to George Lucas' iconic franchise can actually be spotted. An unmistakable TIE
11:52fighter toy is pulled into the closet here too, with a Darth Vader poster also being visible in
11:58the bedroom. Nothing was safe from these spirits. Not finished there though, Hooper and Spielberg would
12:03then offer another salute to the latter's good pal. When the parapsychologist shows up to investigate
12:08the home after this creepy attack, that same TIE fighter along with everything else in the room
12:13is now being floated across the screen by those ghosties. It even makes the legendary roaring
12:19sound as it thoroughly freaks out the folks nearby. Good stuff. Each scene is brilliant in its own way,
12:25and Star Wars is very much caught in the middle of the chaos in both. A force was definitely strong
12:30in this room. That's a lightsaber, The Adam Project. As another entry in this list has already highlighted,
12:36Sean Levy is quite the fan of this galaxy far, far away. The free guy director, who is currently
12:41attached to direct a Star Wars movie, wasn't done cramming references to that franchise into his
12:47movies though. The Adam Project, another Ryan Reynolds-starring action comedy, threw in yet
12:52another piece of laser sword madness. Well, sort of. As the younger Adam looks through older Adam's
12:58stuff, the latter had travelled through time to try and save his wife, in case you didn't know,
13:02he stumbles on a weapon that looks an awful lot like the one used by Jedi and Sith. Then,
13:07after being told it definitely wasn't a lightsaber, young Adam quickly notes that a lightsaber dude,
13:13before seeing his older self, used this whirring laser staff to take down some enemies.
13:18We did sound like one. Whether this mag-sil is being used to wipe out bad guys with a burst
13:23of
13:23energy, or erase them from existence with a slash, there's never a dull moment when this weapon,
13:29clearly inspired by a lightsaber, is about. Though, Levy has gone on record to state that
13:34this is still definitely not an actual lightsaber, likely out of fear of being sued. But that's now
13:39two separate movies when Reynolds has wielded a laser sword, with neither of them happening in the
13:44actual Star Wars universe. Get this man some robes, dammit. The worms, seemingly speaking,
13:49Hutties. Men in Black. Humans aren't exactly the only species found wandering around the likes of
13:55Tatooine and Coruscant, with the many different aliens of Star Wars also having their own cultures
14:01and languages, too. But did you know that one of said non-basic languages actually found its way into
14:06another beloved science fiction franchise? Remember those hilarious analids seen in the Men in Black
14:12series? I mean, how could you forget them? Well, these worm guys actually seem to speak the exact
14:17same language as one of the most famous villains in Star Wars. Jabba the Hutt. The words spoken by
14:23the charismatic little chain smokers in the famous scene when Agent K introduces Agent J to the aliens
14:29sounds very much like Hutties, right? Now, it is worth noting that Brad Abril, the actor who brought
14:34these comical voices to life, has gone out of his way to state that the language is not an offshoot
14:40of
14:40Hutties. But come on, when listening to both languages back to back, the Hutties influence
14:44is there for all to hear, man. Whether you choose to believe this is little more than an internet
14:48rumour or theory, or there is a genuine Star Wars connection here, one thing everyone can agree on
14:54is the fact that coffee breaks don't come much more memorable than this wormy hit of caffeine.
14:59WANGA! Some quite recognisable bar music, Paul. Similarly to Sean Levy, it's not exactly a secret that
15:06best pals Simon Pegg and Nick Frost absolutely adore Star Wars. So it wasn't all that surprising
15:13to see that the pair's movie Paul, a film about a pair of sci-fi lovers who end up finding
15:17an actual
15:18alien, boasted its fair share of references to this iconic galaxy. Along with Jason Bateman's
15:24special agent Zold delivering a Solo-esque boring conversation anyway, Frost's Clive fancying someone
15:30dressed as an Ewok, and Pegg's Graham wearing a The Empire Strikes Back shirt, there's also one more
15:36terrific nod that goes down in a bar. As the gang wander into the boozer about halfway through the
15:42picture, a song every single Star Wars fan on planet Earth and even those who aren't will recognise is
15:48being played by the band on stage. The catchy tune that was first played in the Mos Eisley Cantina,
15:54aka Mad About Me by the legends that are Figrin Dan and the Modal Nodes. I've got all their albums.
16:00Similarly to that scene in 1977's Star Wars, a scuffle eventually breaks out in this bar too.
16:06What are the odds? Never tell me the odds. I just want to say cheers for joining us today to
16:10watch
16:10some Star Wars stuff, and if you are having fun, you can hit that subscribe button down below and
16:15get more of this WhatCulture Star Wars stuff in your corner of the galaxy.
16:22Just before that aforementioned cantina band can be heard blasting out their greatest hit in 1977's
16:29Star Wars, a certain Obi-Wan Kenobi could be seen successfully performing a Jedi mind trick on an
16:35Imperial Stormtrooper. Clearly inspired by that very moment, R-rated puppet comedy Team America
16:41World Police eventually opted to absurdly use the Force in a similar way throughout the movie,
16:46and many a chuckle was had. Firstly, you have Sarah Wong, a member of the team who is also a
16:52top
16:53empath, and someone capable of being able to convince Panthers to turn on Danny Glover and
16:58Sean Penn using only the power of her mind. It's as gloriously ridiculous as it sounds,
17:04and not too dissimilar from a Jedi mind trick. In a more on-the-nose homage to Star Wars though,
17:10actor Gary Johnston also gets past a set of guards by performing a masterful hand wave,
17:15and letting them know you don't need to see my credentials.
17:19Just like Obi-Wan, Gary's mind trick slash acting power works a treat, and he wanders right on past
17:25the easily fooled security team while sporting his own Jedi cloak. The less said about the offensive
17:30Korean accents though, the better. That always welcome cantina banger also shows up in the feature
17:35too, sort of, with a song that sounds just like it being played in the hideout that Gary enters
17:40earlier in the story. More than a few Star Wars nods, Ready Player One.
17:45Another example of Steven Spielberg respectfully paying tribute to his pals' game-changing galaxy,
17:52his Ready Player One movie is one that contains more than a few delightful Star Wars nods.
17:57Said wonderful references come in all shapes and sizes in this pop culture easter egg stuff trip into
18:03the Oasis too. There's the fact that Mark Rylance's James Halliday, or rather his avatar,
18:08Anorak, refers to Parzival as a Padawan after winning the first key that will help unlock the
18:13gate to the golden easter egg. Then you also have the presence of a good ol' X-wing and Lambda
18:18-class
18:18shuttle heading towards the distracted globe nightclub. The super rare Millennium Falcon is also
18:24something that CEO of Innovative Online Industries Nolan Sorrento mentions when attempting to bribe
18:30Parzival to help IOI get the aforementioned egg. Parzival's holster even looks like Han Solo's too.
18:36Now sure, none of these mentions, items, and appearances have that much of an impact on the
18:41story itself, but just hearing the mention of iconic spaceships and the use of distinctly
18:46Star Wars terms in a film that also boasts the Iron Giant and Mechagodzilla will never not bring a
18:52smile to your face. It just did to mine. Happy sees his own force spirit, Happy Gilmore.
18:57Episode 6, Return of the Jedi, concludes with one of the most powerful shots of the entire
19:02Skywalker saga, with Luke Skywalker acknowledging the force spirits of a trio of super important
19:08figures, his father, Anakin Skywalker, and his former masters, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
19:14In what appeared to be a little nod towards that heartwarming end to the original trilogy,
19:19Adam Sandler's also quite beloved Happy Gilmore ended in a similar way. Instead of the golfing
19:24sensation looking off to the side and seeing a ghostly collection of legendary Jedi though,
19:29Happy's eyes are drawn to a vision of the late, great Carl Weathers' Chubbs Peterson,
19:34the alligator who bit off Chubbs' hand was killed by Happy and whose head inadvertently caused
19:39Peterson's death, and Abe Lincoln. Right, the three deceased icons all happily wave at Gilmore after
19:46he successfully wins back his grandmother's home, bringing this comedic tale to an uplifting,
19:51albeit slightly surreal, end in a way that both cheekily poked fun at and simultaneously paid
19:56tribute to that awesome Episode 6 ending. Diesel Becomes Vader, Robots
20:02Arriving in theatres the same year as the final prequel, a terrific animated adventure that is
20:08Robots just so happened to include a little moment involving arguably the most famous Star Wars
20:14character ever. The gang of outdated bots, known as the Rusties, end up in a shop trying to get
20:19their pal Fender Pinwheeler fixed. After our hero, Rodney Copperbottom, played by Obi-Wan Kenobi himself,
20:26Ewan McGregor, claims he can repair that broken droid though, a rather familiar sounding voice box is
20:31picked up by little Diesel Springer. In the booming voice of Darth Vader himself, the bot declares the
20:39forces strong with this one. This wasn't merely a case of an actor doing a chosen one impression either,
20:44folks. The late legend that is James Earl Jones very much voiced the character for this brief but
20:50hugely satisfying moment, as Diesel's face changed into looking like the cyborg Sith Lord's menacing
20:57mask for a couple of magnificent seconds. Rest in peace James Earl Jones, we love you men.
21:02So, so much. Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me
21:06Another movie that released around the same time of a prequel, Mike Myers' starring comedy sequel,
21:11Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me, actually used the incoming episode one, The Phantom Menace,
21:17to sell itself. During one of the cheeky trailers for that follow-up to the first super spy tale,
21:23Vader's breathing, what looked like Palpatine's destroyed throne room, music similar to the Imperial
21:28March, and even the line, if you can only see one movie this summer, see Star Wars,
21:32but if you can see two, see Austin Powers, was used to get some eyes on Austin.
21:37Hey, it worked too, to be honest, with that second Powers story earning ten times its budget at the
21:42box office. The hilarious Star Wars salute did not stop there, though. During the sequel itself,
21:47Dr. Evil refers to his laser on the moon as a Death Star, before his own son chuckles at him,
21:53calls him Darth, and then calls his time-travelling pops out for ripping off this piece of Star Wars
21:59history. Fast forward to later on in the movie, and evil is hilariously at it again,
22:04this time shockingly telling Austin that he was his father. Unlike the legendary The Empire Strikes
22:10Back revelation, though, this one is utter BS. Very funny BS, but BS all the same. Oh, and the whole
22:16thing just kicks off with an opening crawl, just like every Skywalker Saga movie, too. Now,
22:21this film is no Star Wars adventure, sure, but it's certainly heavily influenced by them, baby.
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