Star Wars of his now decade-spanning film series, he proved anything was possible to

a new generation of filmmakers. Although those directors may not have reached the same heights,

that didn’t stop them from tipping their hat to Lucas and his galactic heroes in their

own films. Here are Screen Rant’s Awesome Star Wars Easter Eggs in Other Movies.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The friendship shared between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg has led to more than

a few collaborations over the years, most notably in shaping the Indiana Jones series.

But that didn't stop Spielberg from paying homage to his friend's hit franchise in his

extraterrestrial mystery, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The alien ships that arrive

to make contact with humans aren't explicitly taken from the Star Wars universe, but a closer

look at the Mother ship shows a familiar shape on its underside. Yes, that's an unmistakable

R2 unit pinned upside down, modelled after the beloved droid mascot of the galaxy far,

far away.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is remembered as Francis Ford Coppola's monumental tale of darkness and

descent in the Vietnam War, but it didn't begin that way, It was originally George Lucas

who planned on directing the film, with his close friend Coppola executive producing.

By the time the pair had become big enough names to make the movie happen, Lucas was

filming Star Wars, and making Harrison Ford a household name after giving him his big

screen break in American Graffiti years earlier. Coppola took over Apocalypse, but found a

small role for Ford to play, fittingly, named after their mutual friend. To make the reference

clear, Ford's 'Colonel Lucas’ is referred to as simply "Luke" in the actual scene.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Star Wars easter eggs found in the Indiana Jones trilogy are well-documented, ranging

from the obvious to nearly impossible to catch. The most often cited references are the airplane

tail numbers in Raiders of the Lost Ark hinting at both Obi-Wan Kenobi and C-3PO, and the

Shanghai night club named for Luke Skywalker's Jedi Master seen in Temple of Doom. The hieroglyphics

containing R2 and 3PO are harder to spot, and the chemicals in The Last Crusade hinting

at Han Solo's carbonite cocoon. But not every nod is so clear: for instance, the sacrificial

lava pit in Temple of Doom making the exact same sound as Darth Vader's lightsaber igniting.

Independence Day

Fans may not see too many parallels between Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and the

Star Wars saga, but that doesn't mean the director and crew weren't massive fans of

George Lucas's series. When the alien invaders are first detected by Earth's scientists,

it's easy to miss the computer monitor showing a model of the "Deep Space Satellite Satellite

Devlin," named for the movie's co-writer and producer, Dean Devlin. What's impossible to

miss is that the satellite is clearly a scaled down version of the Death Star super weapon

- but it's not the only easter egg in the movie. A tiny model may be hard to spot, but

when the movie shifts to the underground labs of Area 51, the hangar storing the captured

alien spaceship is marked so clearly, fans may wonder how they missed the massive "R2"

on the facility’s walls.

Star Trek

The battle between Star Wars and Star Trek has waged since the 1970s, with fans hotly

debating which franchise reigns supreme. But when director J.J. Abrams took over the Trek

series for his 2009 reboot, he injected the franchise with some big screen spectacle typically

associated with George Lucas's space opera. To make his love of Star Wars clear years

before he took the helm of Episode 7, Abrams included R2-D2 in his own universe, visible

among the wreckage of a massive fleet of ships. Only visible for a second, r2 is clearly the

go-to easter egg for every director.

Star Trek into Darkness

Just to make sure that fans made the connections between Trek and Wars clear, Abrams followed

up his reboot with yet another R2 unit. This time, the droid calls the Enterprise home,

and can be glimpsed for even less time, flying out of the ship during an explosive decompression.

Given the drama seen in both franchises, this seems like just another day on the job for

your average R2.

Marvel’s Phase 2

While it's technically the middle chapter of a planned trilogy, the Empire Strikes Back

is still recognized as one of the greatest movie sequels in history, considered to be

an even better film than the original by many fans. So when Marvel Studios decided to pursue

that same level of success with "Phase 2" of their shared cinematic universe, they decided

a studio-wide homage was in order. Empire's climactic battle saw Luke Skywalker lose his

hand to Darth Vader, meaning every Phase 2 Marvel movie had to follow suit. First came

Iron Man 3, in which the film's villain loses his limb courtesy of a Stark blade. It was

followed by Loki slicing off Thor's hand in the Dark World, although it's revealed to

be an illusion. Captain America's Winter Soldier sports an artificial arm, and both Groot and

Nebula get the same treatment in Guardians of the Galaxy. Add in a pair of lost limbs

in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and it's hard to know if Luke Skywalker would be proud,

flattered... or disgusted.

So what do you think of our list? Did we miss any of your favorite nods to the galaxy far,

far away? Let us know in our comment section and don't forget to subscribe to our channel

for more videos like this one.