History HilariousInHindsight / StarWars

** In the same scene, C-3PO claims to Luke that he's "not very good at telling stories. Well, not in making them interesting, anyway." Come ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and he's shown telling stories of his exploits to a group of Ewoks, complete with sound effects.

** Adding another layer to this scene; in RotJ, Han thinks Leia is in love with Luke and offers to step aside before Leia tells him they're actually siblings. Here, Leia kissing Luke is largely motivated by spite because Han kept goading her about her feelings for him. Han is inadvertently responsible for a decent chunk of the accidental IncestSubtext in the trilogy!

* Yoda tells Luke that "When 900 years old, you reach, look as good, you will not." Well you see Yoda, [[Series/DoctorWho a certain Time Lord]] has something to say about that...
* Creator/MarkHamill battles a man in a black cape, with one trying to convince the other to redeem himself, and the other says it's too late for him. [[WesternAnimation/TheKillingJoke Sound familiar?]]
* At one point during Luke and Vader's rematch, Luke decides to jump onto the platform above him, or "the high ground" so to speak. To anyone has ever watched ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', this moment becomes darkly humorous as Vader opts to ''throw'' his lightsaber instead of making the same mistake. It's not hard to imagine Vader thinking "''I'm not falling for that again!''"
* [[https://youtu.be/_ayT0EZwbks?t=55 In a]] DeletedScene, Vader appears to use The Force to reach out to Luke from the other side of the galaxy and tempt him to join the Dark Side. This became fairly amusing when later entries in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' would introduce a similar power called the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_bond Force Bond]]. It then became downright hilarious when ''Film/TheLastJedi'' used a similar telepathic link between Rey and Kylo Ren as a major plot point.

** They predicted that ''Revenge of the Sith'' would be titled "Send in the Clones", and that it would involve the revelation that Darth Vader and Obi-Wan were cloned from the same donor (Chewbacca's grandfather). Episode II was actually called "''Attack of'' the Clones", and the revelation was about Boba Fett and the Stormtroopers being cloned from the same donor.

* In an interview soon after this film, Lucas said that many people felt C-3PO was "the worst character ever". [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Yousa serious, Georgie?]]
* Luke attacks a Wampa in self-defense. A Wampa is reminiscent of a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti yeti]]. Skips, the character that Mark Hamill voices in ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', is a yeti.
* Leia yells [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi "It's a trap!"]] when she sees Luke.

* Han's "I know" to Leia's "I love you" was improvised by Harrison Ford, as he felt Han's scripted line "I love you too" was out of character. In ''Film/WorkingGirl'', Ford is the one who says "I love you," to which his love interest replies "I love you too."

* Although Darth Vader created the DarthVaderClone, the most famous aspect of this film related to him, his relation to Luke, had been done [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam 4 months earlier]][[note]]albeit with a brother-sister relationship instead of a father-son one[[/note]] by one of his expies. Hell, the [=DVC=] there, Char Aznable, even tells Sayla Mass (who is in Luke's position there) to join him!
* Luke being missing at the beginning of the movie, especially the "Nobody knows where he is!" exchange between Han and C-3PO, became this after Luke became SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and "#[=WhereIsLuke=]" started trending on Twitter as a result. He is even missing in the movie itself and most of the plot revolves around finding him.

* Similar to the high ground moment in ''Return of the Jedi'', the scene where Han shuts down his power and hides in the Star Destroyer's garbage, only to be OutGambitted by Boba Fett, becomes more amusing following ''Attack of the Clones'', where Obi-Wan hid from Boba and his father, Jango, by landing on an asteroid, powering down, and ejecting the spare parts canisters. Boba obviously learned from the experience.

* Veers is played by Creator/JulianGlover, who was considered for the role of Franchise/JamesBond in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly''. In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Creator/DanielCraig, who ''did'' play Bond, appears as a stormtrooper.
* Not too long after Vader told Luke "Obi-Wan taught you well", Luke kicks Vader off a platform, getting himself a [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith higher ground]].
* This film famously features Creator/HarrisonFord's character getting frozen solid in a giant refrigeration device, which is pretty funny if you know that he eventually starred in [[Film/TheMosquitoCoast a movie]] about his character ''inventing'' a giant refrigeration device. And then in [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull another movie]], escaping a nuclear blast by hiding inside a refrigeration device.

[[folder:''The Phantom Menace'']]
* In the movie, Padmé disguises herself as one of her underlings. Later, [[Film/TheForceAwakens her grandson]] does the same thing in a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch.
* While filming ''The Phantom Menace'', Creator/GeorgeLucas says that "[he'll] never beat ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', nobody can". Later, ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' actually ''did'' beat ''Titanic'' in the box office. Ironically, Lucas wasn't involved with ''The Force Awakens'' whatsoever.
* This wouldn't be Creator/LiamNeeson's [[Film/BatmanBegins last time]] playing a mentor archetype who dies at the end of the first film in the blockbuster franchise[[spoiler: ...but that time, he was secretly the villain.]]
* "I'll try spinning! That's a good trick!" Well, it worked out fine for [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Palpatine]], but less for [[Film/TheForceAwakens "TR-8R"]].
* Darth Maul's ([[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars apparent]]) death became darkly amusing once you realize that he failed to take an advantage of the [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith high ground]].
* Anakin owns a statue that looks like [[Film/TheForceAwakens Maz Kanata]]. According to [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material]], it really ''is'' a statue of her.
* Doubles with HarsherInHindsight: In light of the new prevailing theory about Jar Jar Binks [[EvilAllAlong secretly being]] a {{Hypercompetent|Sidekick}} [[TheManBehindTheMan Sith Lord]] using ObfuscatingStupidity the entire time, as well as Ahmed Best's recent social media and podcast material that seem to be all about subtly confirming that he knew what the original plans were for his character all along, his appearances resuming the voice of Jar Jar Binks in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' may be both of these. Hilarious because [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qAKXK_aLeA&feature=youtu.be&t=1m26s one particular segment he did]] on ''Robot Chicken'' was a deliberate allusion to the truth HiddenInPlainSight. Harsher because the fan backlash that ostensibly got George Lucas to back out on this plan didn't actually save the fanbase from a horrible character, but instead destroyed Ahmed's hopes of superstardom by crashing what was meant to be a revolutionary breakthrough that he'd put his voice to.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Last Jedi'']]
* The Vulptices, the foxes on Crait with presumably salt crystals on them, become this after ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduced an Ice-Type Alolan form of Vulpix. Even their names are similar, although in both cases it is likely because they are based on "Vulpes", the scientific term for the genus of foxes.
* This is not the [[Film/BlackPanther2018 only film]] where Andy Serkis' character, heavily hyped up as a major villain in a [[Film/TheForceAwakens previous]] [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron installment]] in the franchise, ends up being anticlimatically killed off by a younger, more complex villain who the hero displays heavy sympathy for.
[[/folder]]

* Due to the stark contrast of behaviour between FN-2199 and Phasma in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', many fans immediately noted that not only was Phasma a DirtyCoward but also disloyal, contrasting FN-2199's UndyingLoyalty, despite Phasma showing no sign of disloyalty in that movie. As of ''Journey to The Last Jedi'' series (particularly the novel ''Phasma'' and the comic ''Captain Phasma''), however, fans are ''absolutely right'': Phasma is ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder definitely]]'' [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder not a]] [[TheStarscream loyal soldier]].

* In the ''[[Comicbook/StarWarsDoctorAphra Doctor Aphra]]'' comic, the title character argues that what her father thinks was an ancient Jedi civil war was actually an argument over text translation by "Jedi grammarians". The reveal of the title has prompted real-life arguments over whether "Jedi" is meant to be singular or plural. Especially confusing since the title of the movie in languages [[ForeignLanguageTitle other than English]] use the plural form of "last", which ''seems'' to point in a specific direction.

[[folder:''Attack of the Clones'']]
* Jango isn't the only person in cinema to have a name out of a [[Film/DjangoUnchained western, AND to go up against]] Creator/SamuelLJackson.
* When he's being held prisoner, the first thing Obi-Wan said to Dooku is [[Film/TheForceAwakens "Traitor!"]]
* One of the biggest memes from this movie is Anakin's dislike of sand. Come ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', Rey decides to honor the Skywalker legacy by burying his lightsaber ''underneath the sand''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Revenge of the Sith'']]
* C-3PO remarks as he pilots Padmé's ship "that [he] may be getting the hang of this flying." Then Disney's ''Ride/StarTours'' ride was revamped, and he now pilots the Starspeeder 1000.
* Also, Yoda's statement when fighting against Palpatine, "At an end, your rule is. And not short enough, it was," gets hysterical when a few months after the formation of the Empire, [[ComicBook/DarthVader his rule (almost) did become extremely short by a few months]]. Normally, this would fall under HarsherInHindsight, but hey, it's Palpatine.
* Padmé and Anakin's illicit romance and pregnancy became this after Creator/NataliePortman got pregnant out of wedlock while making ''Film/BlackSwan''.
* Also HeartwarmingInHindsight, but in 2017, Natalie gave birth to a daughter. Her name, Amalia, sounds very similar to "Amidala".
* Darth Sidious yelling "POOOOOWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! UUNNNLIMITEDDDD POOOOOOOOWWWWWWWAAAHHH!" while zapping Mace Windu (played by Creator/SamuelLJackson), and then [[Film/TheAvengers2012 seven years later]], Loki taunts ComicBook/NickFury (also played by Samuel L. Jackson) for his research of the Tesseract, an object of "unlimited power".
* Mace Windu announces an unpleasant decision to Anakin on the behalf of the Council. In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Samuel L. Jackson's another character chews out ''another'' [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Council]] about [[NukeEm a particularly unpleasant decision]].
-->'''Mace Windu:''' "You are on the Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."\\
'''Nick Fury:''' "I recognized that the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a ''[[SophisticatedAsHell stupid-ass]]'' decision, I've elected to ignore it."
* [[https://youtu.be/YtS7m10ps1E A Diet Pepsi commercial]] for the film said "Do not want" many years before it became a meme due to [[WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest an infamous bootleg translation of the film]].
* Remember the amount of EpilepticTrees about whether [[Film/TheForceAwakens Supreme Leader Snoke]] was actually Darth Plagueis having somehow survived? Well, in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Snoke does get betrayed and murdered by his own apprentice, just like Plagueis did. Theory semi-confirmed?
* The above twist is taken even further by ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''. One of the major pieces of evidence for the "Snoke is Plagueis" theory was that the music in the opera scene from this film [[note]]Where Anakin first hears [[Memes/RevengeOfTheSith the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise]][[/note]] sounds remarkably similar to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQ3BJVMfAI Snoke's theme]] from ''The Force Awakens''. ''The Rise of Skywalker'' reveals that these fans were both right ''and'' wrong to make the connection... Snoke wasn't Plagueis, '''Snoke was Palpatine.'''
* Jacen Solo, Anakin Skywalker's grandson [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends has a life that nearly parallels Anakin's in many ways, including being a greatly respected Jedi hero in a massive galactic war, having a member of his own family (his brother) die in front of him, and falling to the Dark Side as the result of attempting to avert a threat to another loved one shown to him a Force Vision, even dressing and acting much like him post-Dark Side.]] The only real differences being that unlike Anakin Jacen was never a slave (though Jacen did suffer weeks of ColdBloodedTorture that may have contributed) and actually succeeds in averting the foreseen tragedy that caused his fall to begin with by doing so, while Anakin ended up directly causing his.
* When the film came out, it attracted many cries of WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical from fans who were absolutely convinced that Chancellor Palpatine was based on then-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush. While this almost certainly wasn't intentional, it makes it pretty funny that Palpatine's biggest political rival is a Senator played by Creator/JimmySmits. Smits would go on to appear in ''Series/TheWestWing'' as Democratic Presidential nominee Matthew Santos, who--according to WordOfGod--actually ''was'' [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based on]] then-Senator UsefulNotes/BarackObama.
* Anakin's declaration to Dooku that "[his] powers have doubled since the last time [they] met" is now much funnier because, per ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'', [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E10TheLostOne Anakin and Dooku's previous encounter]] would have happened a few months ago at most. Also, in this film, Anakin and Obi-Wan agree to take on Dooku together, even though they've already done so already in their last canonical encounter, but Dooku [[ForegoneConclusion escapes anyway]].
* The beginning of Obi-Wan and Grievous's lightsaber duel on Utapau becomes far funnier after ''The Clone Wars'', where they dueled one another several times. Grievous delivers his line that he's been trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku as though it's meant to be a surprise, and yet Obi-Wan is completely unimpressed by him whipping out his four arms. The former makes a lot less sense, even if one thinks of it as Grievous futily trying to intimidate Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan's non-reaction now makes ''far'' more sense because of ''The Clone Wars''.
* The existence of Mustafar in this film seems less fantastical come November 2020, as scientists discovered on the 5th of that month that there is a planet in our world that looks [[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/astronomers-discover-hell-planet-k2-141b-rock-rain-lava-oceans/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=103730842 eerily similar]] to where the climax of this film takes place.
[[/folder]]

* Obi Wan's line that the blaster marks are too precise for Sand People and must be from Stormtroopers gets funnier as the series goes on. We see (Justified and not) [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy stormtroopers miss nearly everything they shoot for]], while the Tuskens are able to hit pod racers moving at hundreds of [=MPH=] in ''Film/{{The Phantom Menace}}''. [[FridgeBrilliance If you think about it]], it's more just showing that Obi Wan's been in hiding for so long. The last time he was hanging around with troopers they were kicking ass, and then killing Jedi. There's also the fact that that Sandcrawler is huge and slow. Even a Stormtrooper could probably hit that just fine.
* Given what we later discover about Vader's [[YouHaveFailedMe policy on employee mistakes]] in the next movie, Admiral Motti comes off as ''exceptionally'' stupid for picking a fight with Vader, especially by mocking the religion ''the Emperor holds to''. This is even lampshaded by Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star Technical Manual, where he expressed that if Motti didn't keep his opinions to himself regarding the Force, he won't last long under Palpatine's Empire.
* Just going by the films, Palpatine may not have ''ever'' let on to anyone but his apprentices that he was a Sith Lord.
* According to the novelization, Obi-Wan was uncomfortable about Luke's questions about his father, but unlike Owen, Obi-Wan *didn't like lying* so he told the truth {{from a certain point of view}}: Darth Vader killed Luke's father.
* Those who got to watch this first before they encountered the reveal that Luke and Leia are twin brother and sister may call the latter as a cop-out from the romantic triangle issue, but it does add some flavor to the films. With that knowledge, Han and Chewie have become two unfortunate guys getting caught in the middle of a big family mess, acting as some kind of baby sitters as the two siblings start putting things together. And it does add some more humor at how the two separately snark at his ship when each sees it for the first time.
-->'''Luke:''' What a piece of junk!\\
'''Leia:''' You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought.
* "[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi I'm never coming back to]] [[TemptingFate this planet again.]]"

* Another line from 3PO becomes this after ''Revenge of the Sith''. When first boarding the Falcon, 3PO exclaims "I'd forgotten how much I hate space travel!" ''Revenge of the Sith'' shows that 3PO actually piloted Padme's starship to and from Mustafar, confidently saying "I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this flying business". Then had his memory erased at the end of the film, so he actually did forget.
* A planet with two suns was discovered by NASA years after the release of ''A New Hope''.
* "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimas_(moon) That's no moon... oh wait, it actually is. Never mind.]]"
* [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Death_star1.png This]] is the Death Star, as it debuted in 1977. ''[[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Mimas_Cassini.jpg This]]'' is Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, first imaged in detail 3 years later.
* Han's line "Where did you dig up that old fossil?" has gotten funnier on two counts: first, Creator/HarrisonFord went on to play AdventureArchaeologist Franchise/IndianaJones, and second, in the sequel trilogy, Ford will be older than Creator/AlecGuinness was during the making of the OT.
* Han's general attitude towards Obi-Wan is this, as in ''The Force Awakens'', he finds himself in basically [[TheMentor the same role]], guiding the younger protagonists through their adventure. [[spoiler: Also becomes HarsherInHindsight, considering both Obi-Wan and Han meet a similar end.]]
* In Mos Eisley Cantina, Cornelius Evazan brags to Luke that he has the death sentence in twelve systems. In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', it was revealed that Obi-Wan Kenobi ''also'' has the death sentence across the Empire thanks to Order 66.
* Garrick Hagon plays Luke's friend Biggs. Years later, [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight he would provide the voice for a character]] turning into a clone of Mark Hamill's [[ComicBook/TheJoker other famous role.]]
* In 2016 Carrie Fisher revealed that she and Harrison Ford were sleeping together during filming, unknown to everyone else. Yeah, even before Lucas decided Leia should end up with Han, the actors were heading there.
* In her message to Obi-Wan, Leia reminds him, "you served my father during the Clone Wars." She doesn't know the half of it!
* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Leia had several different hairstyles considered]] before her distinctive "cinnamon bun" hairdo was chosen, one of which was long blonde hair. Then, ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' revealed that Leia was twins with the blond Luke, which would've made that blonde hairdo appropriate.
* Luke's grumbling that if there's an exciting part of the galaxy, Tatooine is the furthest point from it becomes this when you realize what a ''large'' role it plays in the expanded universe.
* Though it was pretty amusingly droll to begin with, Obi-Wan's nonplussed reaction to the ''Millennium Falcon'' is a lot funnier when you know that it's now one of the most famous and iconic spaceships in the history of science-fiction. Today, his conversation with Han sounds almost like an irritated adult talking to a giddy young ''Star Wars'' fan.
-->'''Han:''' You've never ''heard'' of the ''Millennium Falcon''?\\
'''Obi-Wan:''' ...Should I have?
* Palpatine dissolving Imperial Senate became more amusing after watching ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' where he infamously declared [[IAmTheNoun "I]] ''[[IAmTheNoun am]]'' [[MemeticMutation the Senate."]] After dissolving Imperial Senate, Palpatine is, without any doubt, ''the'' only "Senate".
* After ''Film/RogueOne'''s ending, Leia's "Diplomatic mission" excuse gets even funnier when you realise she's running it against a guy who literally just saw her ship escape from a massive space battle 5 minutes ago but can't actually call her on it because her explanation technically holds up.
* The FightSceneFailure between Vader and Obi-Wan became more hilarious as in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' [[RuleOfCool they fought with all sort of flips over a fiery river of lava, collapsing buildings, swung on cables through the air and stuff]]. Looks like they don't age so well between the two films.[[note]]Obi-Wan ''did'' age faster due to living in the desert planet, making him YoungerThanHeLooks. In Vader's case, his cybernetic suit and artificial limbs pretty much prevent him from doing too much acrobatic moves anymore.[[/note]]
* Obi-Wan's line "Only a master of evil, ''Darth''" clearly treats "Darth" as Vader's first name, as at the time it ''was'' his real name and he had not been intended to be Anakin Skywalker yet. However, even after TheReveal, the line still works, as the prequels reveal that "Darth" is a Sith title and essentially ''means'' "Master of Evil".
* "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" After Princes Harry and William had to cancel their cameos as Stormtroopers in ''Film/TheLastJedi'' for being too ''tall'', you have to wonder just how short Luke is.[[note]]Both Mark Hamill and Luke stand 5'8", which is the average height for a human male in real life, though a little shorter than the Hollywood lead man average. Make of that what you will.[[/note]]
* And again when Star Wars fans griped about Creator/AldenEhrenreich being cast as young Han Solo in the Anthology film ''Film/{{Solo}}'', even though he's shorter than Creator/HarrisonFord.
* [=C-3PO=] and Han's discussion about droids and Wookiees as well as, to an extent, [=3PO=]'s badmouthing Chewbacca in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' become ''much'' more hilarious after the release of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' where Jedi Master Ki Adi-Mundi asks this infamous question: [[MemeticMutation "What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?"]]
* The cover story given to Luke about his father by Uncle Owen was that Anakin was the "navigator on a Spice Freighter." Later works reveal that "Spice" is a street name for {{FantasticDrug}}s in the ''Star Wars'' universe.
* What's Obi-Wan's very first line of dialogue? "[[MemeticMutation Hello there!]]"

* Sio Bibble used "OUTRAGEOUS!" way before [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} AQUAMAN]] [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold did]]. Speaking of which, Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers, would later play Aquaman's father in ''Film/Aquaman2018''.

* Elan wanted to sell Obi-Wan "deathsticks". So wait--he was in possession of the extremely rare and sought-after '''''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Elder Wand]]''''', and never told anyone?

* Let's just say this film pre-dates ''The Force Awakens'' in terms of "sick spins".

[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* [[http://i.imgur.com/FoGKzDM.jpg This parody]] in an Italian Mickey Mouse comic made in 1997 is this, now that {{Creator/Disney}} owns Star Wars.
* Funnily enough, ''Star Wars'' was previously distributed by 20th Century Fox. Come 2019, Disney reunites ''Star Wars'' with 20th Century through its acquisition with 21st Century Fox.[[note]]In some ways, this is Creator/GeorgeLucas getting the last laugh; Fox infamously sold the sequel and merchandising rights back to Lucas during production of ''Film/ANewHope'', believing that [[ItWillNeverCatchOn the movie didn't have franchise potential]].[[/note]]
* The 2006 ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' episode "Terms of Endearment" does a ChairReveal scene taken directly from Admiral Piett glimpsing Vader's helmet being lowered onto his scarred head in ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Except that in the ''Drawn Together'' version the villain is revealed to be... WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse!
* WordOfGod states that C-3PO was originally intended to be a smarmy used car salesman, but as anyone who's seen him in any of the movies will tell you, his personality sure doesn't match that. Along comes ''Series/UchuuSentaiKyuranger'', which features a C-3PO expy named Balance, who has the exact personality that would match up with the type of personality that C-3PO's original intended career would likely have needed.
* R2-D2's trademark scream of panic sounds a bit like Website/FourChan's "[[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/reeeeeee REEEEEEE]]" meme.
* A few years after joining the franchise, John Boyega played another DefectorFromDecadence, and this time he actually is an experienced soldier like Finn tries to claim: Bigwig in ''Literature/WatershipDown''.
* Decades after Leia's hologram first appeared in ''A New Hope'', holograms are now used to have performers (usually deceased ones) virtually appear in front of crowds.
* Beginning in 1979, Lucasfilm teamed up with Creator/{{Disney}}/Vista Records to produce several read-along book-and-audio adaptations (on record and cassette) of the ''Star Wars'' movies and a few other stories (such as "Droid World" and "Planet of the Hoojibs"). And this was ''decades'' before Disney bought out Lucasfilm!
[[/folder]]

* In the non-canon novelization, Obi-Wan and Yoda sneak towards the Jedi Temple by having Obi-Wan pretend to be a weird homeless man and Yoda a "Jedi baby", 14 years before ''Series/TheMandalorian'' introduced an infant of Yoda's species.

* Similarly, the beginning of Obi-Wan and Grievous's lightsaber duel on Utapau becomes far funnier after ''The Clone Wars'', where they dueled one another several times. Grievous delivers his line that he's been trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku as though it's meant to be a surprise, and yet Obi-Wan is completely unimpressed by him whipping out his four arms. The former makes a lot less sense, even if one thinks of it as Grievous futily trying to intimidate Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan's non-reaction now makes ''far'' more sense because of ''The Clone Wars''.

* This film famously features Creator/HarrisonFord's character getting frozen solid in a giant refrigeration device, which is pretty funny if you know that he eventually starred in [[Film/TheMosquitoCoast a movie]] about his character ''inventing'' a giant refrigeration device.

* Funnily enough, ''Star Wars'' was previously distributed by 20th Century Fox. Come 2019, Disney reunites ''Star Wars'' with 20th Century through its acquisition with 21st Century Fox.

* Prior to being cast as Rey in TFA, Creator/DaisyRidley had a starring role in a [[NightmareFuel rather disturbing]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6QRAL6Sf4Y short film]], during which, much like Luke in the beginning ESB, she is awakened by her captor and finds herself hanging upside down from a ceiling. [[spoiler:Though it ends much less well for Daisy's character]].

* One of the early ads for the film [[TakeThat took a snipe]] at the "Size Does Matter" campaign of the 1998 Godzilla film with the phrase "Plot Does Matter". This became quite ironic when [[InsultBackfire the plot turned out to be one of the most heavily criticized aspects of Phantom Menace.]]
* In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', Natalie Portman appears in a scene mocking the final award scene in ''Film/ANewHope.'' Here she appears, playing the exact same role within the scene, in a straight {{Homage}}.
* Anakin's line that no one can kill a Jedi and that he had a dream that he was a Jedi and came back and freed all of the slaves on Tatooine. Funny, considering that the Jedi he says this to gets killed at the end and [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith that Anakin ends up killing quite a few himself when he's older]], [[Film/ANewHope including Obi-Wan]], [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack and almost]] [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi his own son]].
* In the early eighties (before ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''), [[Magazine/{{MAD}} Mad Magazine]] printed "leaked" plot details regarding the upcoming sequels, the plot of Episode XII involved the revelation that Luke's father was the Force itself. Turns out they were only off by one generation.
* The comic strip ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' was [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqog0mGKTWQ/VQJ3btdfc1I/AAAAAAABp88/WO__hLrWENc/s1600/BC.png scarily close]] as to when the prequels would be released, and also anticipated the fan reaction.

* After the release of ''The Phantom Menace'', there was a TV special about ILM hosted by Samuel L. Jackson. At the end, he said "Don't expect the next Star Wars film to be driven by special effects!" One of the most common criticisms of this film would be the over-dependence on special effects.

* Palpatine's weird spinning jump at the beginning of his battle against the Jedi Masters. It's not hard to imagine that he took young Anakin's advice from ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' that spinning is a good trick.

* Creator/HaydenChristensen's last major TV role before ''Star Wars'' was as the lead of a single-season show called ''Higher Ground''.

* Palpatine claiming [[IAmTheNoun "I]] ''[[IAmTheNoun am]]'' [[MemeticMutation the Senate]]" became more amusing once you remember that [[Film/ANewHope he would dissolve the Imperial Senate many years later]]. So in a way, after dissolving the Imperial Senate in ''A New Hope'', Palpatine has indeed become ''the'' "Senate".
* There are two regarding the [[MemeticMutation "high ground"]] thing:
** In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Darth Maul failed to employ the tactic and it [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars nearly]] costs him his life.
** At one point during Luke and Vader's rematch in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke decides to jump onto the platform above him, or "the high ground" so to speak. Vader opts to ''throw'' his lightsaber instead of making the same mistake. It's not hard to imagine Vader thinking "''I'm not falling for that again!''"
* Master Ki-Adi Mundi's question about [[MemeticMutation the droid attack on the Wookiees]] is a particularly ridiculous case of WrongGenreSavvy when we all know from the Original Trilogy how much of GeniusBruiser and ProudWarriorRace the Wookiees really are, and that it's entirely likely that they can fight their own war for extended period of time without interference. Also HarsherInHindsight because the Republic interference cause the Clone Troopers (and, therefore, the Empire) to takeover the planet and enslave the Wookiees after Order 66 as soon as the battle is over.

* Also, Mace Windu loses a hand. [[Film/JurassicPark Another character]] played by Jackson only had a hand remain.

* Darth Sidious declared that the Jedi betray the Republic as an excuse to purge them and had Anakin to betray the Jedi and kill them for him. In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', he ''did'' die getting betrayed by a redeemed Anakin [[Heartwarming/ReturnOfTheJedi who re-embraced the Jedi way to save his son]]. Talk about KarmicDeath!
* Palpatine's line regarding his former master Darth Plagueis "Ironic, he could save others from death, but not himself." can also be applied to himself, since he saved Vader's life in this film but end up getting killed by Vader in ''Return of the Jedi''. Doubles as HeartwarmingInHindsight, because Sidious killed Plagueis in Sith's RuleOfTwo way but Vader killed Sidious to save Luke and essentially denounced the Sith and finished them once and for all.

* The callsign of the pilot that retrieves Han and Luke from the Hoth wilderness is Rogue Two.

* This isn't the first time Creator/BenicioDelToro was involved with the franchise, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen at one time]] he was in the running to play ''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Darth Maul]]'', [[WTHCastingAgency of all characters.]]
* It's also [[Film/{{Sicario}} not the first time he's played a character who proved to be untrustworthy.]]
* It turns out [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Matt the Radar Technician]] wasn't lying when he claimed that Kylo Ren is shredded.

* This isn't the first time Mark Hamill would play a [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep master instructor]] of an ancient order of unique sword wielders and practicers of the light side of the power of the universe. That teacher, coincidentally enough, would also push one of his most powerful students to the dark side by attempting to murder a student whose destructive potential he feared.
* Many people were ''convinced'' that Snoke was actually Literature/DarthPlagueis. Well, although it was Jossed, Kylo Ren [[KlingonPromotion takes over Snoke's position]] just like Palpatine did to Plagueis, so in a way, they got their wish.
* Many detractors of ''The Last Jedi'' [[FanonDiscontinuity want it demoted to non-canon and/or fanfiction material]]. Via Disney's reworking of the EU, this is ''exactly'' what happened to the video game that it's a SpiritualAdaptation of, ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''.
* The fact that ''Film/RogueOne'' was much ''less'' [[BrokenBase controversial]] among the fans than this movie makes it kinda ironic that Creator/GarethEdwards is the guy who looks over in confusion at the random Resistance member who tastes the ground and says "It's salt."[[note]] "Salt" being internet slang for "bitter" or "upset", as experienced by a good portion of the internet following the release of this movie.[[/note]]
* In the {{Podcast/Rifftrax}} for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Bill says Kylo Ren kind of looks like that guy from HBO's ''{{Series/Girls}}'' but he's not sure because he's got a shirt on. [[ShirtlessScene He probably recognizes him now]].
* One of the big {{Wham Shot}}s from the trailers was a two-shot sequence of Rey imploring someone to show her "my place in all this", and Kylo Ren extending his hand to her, teasing a possible FaceHeelTurn by Rey. Fans, who were by now used to Disney-era ''Star Wars'' trailers being [[NeverTrustATrailer rather deceptive]], dismissed this out of hand because the two shots were obviously spliced together from different scenes. In the film, Rey and Kylo Ren gain the ability to communicate through a telepathic Force Bond, and their shot-reverse-shot conversations are indeed spliced together from two different locations in radically different parts of the galaxy. To make it even funnier, the shot of Kylo reaching out his hand actually ''does'' come from Kylo offering Rey the chance [[WeCanRuleTogether to rule the First Order together]], though she rejects him.

* In anticipation of the release of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Magazine/{{MAD}} once ran an article called "The ''Star Wars'' Log", framed as the official outline of the rest of the saga (which had been announced as a nine-film franchise at the time). The article was supposed to poke fun at the convoluted direction of the franchise up to that point, but a few of its predictions actually turned out to be eerily accurate. For example:

* When the film came out, it attracted many cries of WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical from fans who were absolutely convinced that Chancellor Palpatine was based on then-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush. While this [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment almost certainly wasn't intentional]], it makes it pretty funny that Palpatine's biggest political rival is a Senator played by Creator/JimmySmits. Smits would go on to appear in ''Series/TheWestWing'' as Democratic Presidential nominee Matthew Santos, who--according to WordOfGod--actually ''was'' [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based on]] then-Senator UsefulNotes/BarackObama.

--->'''Luke:''' What a piece of junk!\\

--->'''Han:''' You've never ''heard'' of the ''Millennium Falcon''?\\

* Many detractors of ''The Last Jedi'' [[FanonDiscontinuity want it demoted to non-canon and/or fanfiction material]]. Via Disney's reworking of the EU, this is ''exactly'' what happened to the similarly divisive video game that it's a SpiritualAdaptation of, ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''.

* Possibly also HeartwarmingInHindsight, but in 2017, Natalie gave birth to a daughter. Her name, Amalia, sounds very similar to "Amidala".

--->'''Mace Windu:''' "You are on the Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."
--->'''Nick Fury:''' "I recognized that the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a ''[[SophisticatedAsHell stupid-ass]]'' decision, I've elected to ignore it."

* Many people were ''convinced'' that Snoke was actually Literature/DarthPlagueis. Well, although it hasn't been officially confirmed yet, Kylo Ren [[KlingonPromotion takes over Snoke's position]] just like Palpatine did to Plagueis, so in a way, they got their wish.

* Offical artwork of Jorus C'Baoth (espcially [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/a/af/JorusWiki.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20060726162522 this one]]) ended up looking like Old Luke.

* Decades after Leia's hologram first appeared in "A New Hope", holograms are now used to have performers (usually deceased ones) virtually appear in front of crowds.

* In Lucas' [[https://www.starwars.com/news/the-long-winding-and-shapeshifting-trail-to-episodes-vii-viii-ix earliest vision]] for the Star Wars franchise as a whole, drafted up while the original film was still in production, there were to be twelve films in all, and ''A New Hope'' would have been Episode VI. This changed very quickly, as by 1979, ''A New Hope'' had been officially rebranded as Episode IV and Lucas began publicly discussing that there were to be nine films, which he later cut down to only six. And yet, by the time the [[GrandFinale grand finale]] ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' was finally released in 2019, there had indeed been a total of twelve films released to theaters (counting the ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' [[PilotMovie pilot movie]]), and of the live-action movies, ''A New Hope'' was indeed the sixth chronologically (with ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/{{Solo}}'' being set before it). Since more spin-off films are planned, this may change in the future, but for now, George Lucas' 40-year-old plans have finally come to fruition.
* In 1982, during production of ''Return of the Jedi'', a burnt-out Lucas declared that he was done being personally involved in the franchise and that "the next trilogy [would] be someone else's vision". He somehow wound up being both completely incorrect (since the subsequent trilogy produced, the prequels, were written and directed by him) and completely correct (since the subsequent trilogy in the story chronology, the sequels, were produced without his involvement).