ST Prequel References In The ST

No offense, but I feel like a lot of these “references” are a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, the only notable PT references/connections are:

- Sith are mentioned
- Clone army is mentioned
- broken Pod racer is shown on Jakku
- alien at Maz Kanata’s bar is wearing a Kaleesh mask
- pod racing flag outside the aforementioned cantina
- Luke refers to Darth Sidious, summarizes how the Jedi let him and Darth Vader rise to power
- Kylo goes to Mustafar
- Sidious quotes a line of his dialogue from ROTS
- Rey hears the voices of several PT characters
- wayfinders seem to be a form of holochron, not exactly a PT reference, but more of a CW reference

 

Force choke sounds like it did in Clone Wars.

 

Nah, there are a whole lot more, especially on the visual side of things. And with that I don't mean some of the really far-fetched stuff that occasionally got mentioned here, but specific references, like the shot of Kylo Ren and his troops entering the rebel base in TLJ mirroring the one of Anakin and the clones marching into the Jedi Temple in ROTS.

 

Palpatine's message had 'at last, the work of generations is complete' in it, and the first order, 65 orders before ROTS I guess, would date back to him and Rax in Jakku, at some point between TPM and AOTC.

This sounds like 'unseen by me'. He was 117 in TROS; roughly 4 generations.

So, the power like life itself seen by him would have to do with Shmi and Anakin. This seems to be inference.

 

Okay, I'll give you the shot of Kylo Ren entering the base; that one feels more deliberate to me.

Also forgot the Naboo fighters that are in the battle of Exegol.

 

Resistance blasters also fire blue blaster bolts like the Clones did in the PT. Also the Sith Cultists chanting sounds like the voices we hear when Maul comes around in TPM, battle droids in Babu Frik's worshop, also an ET alien is being cooked in Maz's Castle in TFA, only other canon time we see an ET Alien is in TPM.

 

Those references also exist to show that different characters have similar experiences. It isn't just a name drop for the sake of tie-in name drop (such as clone army mention). Gifpocalypse in T minus 5...4...3...2...1


This is Anakin as Darth Vader______________________________This is Kylo as the Supreme Leader


But he lost a lot too hence a tear_______Lost a girlfriend hence a tear.

Rian knows his stuff. Grandfather and grandson experience the same things in slightly different ways decades apart. This sums it very well:


he mediates, feels her presence, turns around. In both cases, relationships are developing against better judgement leading toward larger than life events. There's also a beautful color coded reversal. Anakin is heading to the Dark Side but isn't there yet (hence light colored clothes). Kylo is already on the Dark Side (black robes) but is heading towards the light. And the girls are the key to both Dark/Light turns.

 

Except for the battle droid in the workshop, that all seems like coincidence to me.

 

I've said it before on here, but yea the prequel references in the ST are not that great. Very few actually stand out, and even then not that much.

There are no:
- PT Worlds (I don't really count Mustafar since they never say what planet it is, and it looks so vastly different only hardcore fans know the truth)
- PT Aliens (not counting ones who were introduced in the OT first)
- PT ships (minus the blink and you miss it N1 cameo)
- PT characters (not counting ones who introduced in the OT first, also I realize there are jedi voice overs, but no appearances)
- PT major music themes (I know a couple little snipits are repeated by Williams but that's it)

Now let's compare those same things to the OT:
- Worlds: Cameos by Tatooine, Bespin, and Endor
- Aliens: Ewoks, Mon Calamari, Sulustans, Wookies, etc
- Ships: Millennium Falcon, plus new versions of Tie Fighters, Tie Interceptors, A-Wings, B-Wings, X-Wings, and Y-wings that aren't drastically different looking
Characters: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, 3PO, R2D2, Palpatine, Lando, Yoda, Admiral Ackbar, Nien Numb, Wedge
Music Themes: Han & Leia, Luke & Leia, Imperial March, Yoda, Sith, Main/Luke, Leia

 

Those were actually scrubbed out of the final movie for...reasons.

 

Makes me appreciate TLJ all over again.

 

True but thematic references are there. granted, there are more thematic references from OT but there are quite a few important ones from PT almost all pertaining to Kylo and Rey. Kylo's offer to rule the galaxy and Rey's refusal are thematically drawn from ROTS(Anakin and Padme) rather than ESB (Vader and Luke) and Rian even recreated the burning embers background that is a motif in both Mustafar and Supremacy scenes





And, of course, the twist on what "Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started" really meant.



Nice color-coding here too. Red hues for Dark Side (feelings such as possession, etc) and blue hues for Light side (feelings such as compassion, unconditional love).


I'm a proud PT nut so PT themes in ST excited me much more than OT themes.

 

Good parallels.
But what I find really interesting, is looking at the 'proposals' ....it's as if they are opposites of each other.

Anakin is drunk on power, on the Dark Side. Padme begs him to change saying he's breaking her heart. In a fit of rage, he tries to Force choke her.
Kylo holds out his hand and begs.
Rey reaches out.....and in a fit of rage reaches for the lightsabre.

It's strange but at times, Rey seemed more like Anakin than Kylo did.

 

TFA has very few PT elements, TROS has more, and TLJ has the most with quite a bit of PT influence.

 

Well summarized!

 

TLJ is the most prequel influenced ST, that i'm somewhat shocked the prequel fans hate it so mutch, or maybe it because it's popular to hate on it.

 

Influence doesn't mean automatic like. Take I am Iron Man/All the Jedi. Many fans of Endgame don't like TROS and in particular this scene hence memes. So while influence is there, something got lost in execution. So my guess is that PT fans acknowledge the influence but don't like the execution in TLJ and what they don't like may not even be influenced by PT. Like, my pet peeve part of TLJ is everything with the slow chase/mutiny. I just don't care for rank stuff in SW. I likely wouldn't mind it in Star trek which is about ranks but not in SW. And that part wasn't influenced by PT but by BSG though one could make a case that showing the inner workings of the Resistance was like showing the inner workings of the Jedi Order. Yet I found the latter interesting.

 

I chuckle at theory's of iron man call back as they were both made at same time.

 

TLJ didn't come close to capturing the essence that made me love the prequels despite a few moments like Luke saying "Darth Sidious."

 

Directors visit sets during filming and Endgame was released in April. Plenty of time to (re)shoot the Iron Jedi finale.

@ezekiel22x well said. I think it didn't capture the essence of PT because the studio demand was still to keep OT essence. So clash of goals. PT was PT, it didn't try to emulate OT which is why there was backlash when it was released. Too different from what fans got used to/expected. But ST was meant to be a full return to OT roots with some PT references but not a return to PT roots if you know what I mean. So it ended up a strange hybrid that is neither here nor there while it never found its own unique character.

I think that watching PT and then ST immediately after will be more interesting than watching 9 movies in order.

 

Rey reflecting the force lightning with her saber is technically a reference really, since the OT never showed us that was a thing. that was the PT that started that.

I think some of the references are more subtle too. even the name Palpatine is technically a reference because in the OT there was no mention of the name Palpatine. i dunno if it was in the expanded books before the PT. but in many ways, it was the PT that would be most recognizable for that name for many. otherwise he would just be known as the Emporer.

 

Agreed, there are more throughout the trilogy-mostly visual, but visual counts! TBH, even that list there @Darth Megatronus is a decent amount really...

 

Spoiler: Zam/Zorii

 

Another connection between the last Jedi and the prequels, which I or someone else may have once brought up long ago, are the similarities between Maces insurrection against Palpatine and Poe’s mutiny against Holdo. It’s fascinating to compare and contrast these. Of course Mace is in the right (though his methodology can be questioned) and Poe is ultimately in the wrong, it’s a nice flip or inverse.
“You are not just a coward, you are a traitor!”
“HE is the traitor!”

EDIT: also worth noting a Skywalker ends both rebellions: Anakin slicing off Maces hand and Leia stunning Poe.

Illustrates the complexities of insurrections and how some can be justified, but others not. I like how Last Jedi complicates the notion of rebellion. Rebellion is just against totalitarian regimes and policies but that doesn’t make every act of rebellion inherently justified.