The MCU Just Hid a 'Star Wars' Easter Egg Everyone Missed

Last week, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe made streaming history when new content from both franchises dropped on Disney+ on the same day for the first time.

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Episode 3 of Mandalorian spinoff, The Book of Boba Fett, and Marvel’s Eternals — which debuted in theaters on November 5, 2021 — both hit the streaming platform simultaneously.

Now, fans have noticed a Star Wars Easter egg in Eternals that everyone seems to have missed during its theatrical run. Reddit user OscarTMJ posted a photo of the scene, featuring Ikaris (Richard Madden) onboard Kingo’s (Kumail Nanjiani) plane, in which Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) can clearly be seen on a TV screen:

Guys I found something! The Empire Strikes Back is playing in the background of Eternals.

Guys I found something! The Empire Strikes Back is playing in the background of Eternals. from marvelstudios

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The iconic original trilogy scene — just before “I love you,” “I know” — features Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as he is about to be encased in carbonite at Jabba the Hutt’s palace while Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) look on helplessly.

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This is far from the first time the MCU has included a Star Wars reference and it certainly won’t be the last. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is a massive Star Wars fan — he’s even in the midst of developing his own Star Wars movie with Loki head writer Michael Waldron — so it’s unsurprising that Easter eggs from a galaxy far, far away are a staple in Marvel projects.

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In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, for example, Baron Helmut Zemo’s (Daniel Bruhl) cell number — 2187 — was the same as Princess Leia’s in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).

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Furthermore, a deep Star Wars Easter egg was buried in Hawkeye. When Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) joined the LARPers, “Bells, Bells, Bells” from the Star Wars “Christmas in the Stars” album was playing.

With more MCU projects on the horizon, including Disney+ Original series She-Hulk and Moon Knight, it is only a matter of time before more Star Wars references surface.

More on Marvel’s Eternals

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The Chloe Zhao-directed film is officially described as:

Marvel Studios’ Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

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Eternals stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, and Kit Harrington.

More on The Empire Strikes Back

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The official description of one of the greatest sequels in cinematic history reads:

Discover the conflict between good and evil in the electrifying Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. After the destruction of the Death Star, Imperial forces continue to pursue the Rebels. After the Rebellion’s defeat on the ice planet Hoth, Luke journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda, who has lived in hiding since the fall of the Republic. In an attempt to convert Luke to the dark side, Darth Vader lures young Skywalker into a trap in the Cloud City of Bespin.

Did you notice the Star Wars Easter egg in Eternals?