This Tiny Easter Egg In 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Actually Has A Lot Of History
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally here in all its glory, and with all the new adventure, fans also got a few amazing Easter eggs that harken back to the original '80s movies. WARNING: Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead. But, there are some new fans that just joined this wild Star Wars rollercoaster ride (sorry, where have you been?) and may not have picked up on some of the amazing throwbacks seen throughout the flick. For example, what are the dice Luke finds on the Millennium Falcon? They seem to have great meaning to him and his sister, Leia. Well, as it turns out, these are Han's dice, and they have a detailed history that goes back to the first movie — 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope.
In the original trilogy of Star Wars movies, those dice can be seen hanging from the Millennium Falcon. Story Group Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo told Vanity Fair that the dice have a very important backstory. He said,
The story that you would hear if you traveled to cantinas or watering holes around the Star Wars galaxy is that those dice were involved in a game of Corellian Spike — a dice-using version of a card game called sabacc.
He continued, saying the dice helped Han win the ship, and they were his good luck charm. And the early movies are the only ones where the dice can be seen. They were scrapped for the sequels because, according to Hidalgo, the prop team might have simply forgotten about them. It only makes the newest Star Wars installation even better that they were not only resurrected, but they make up part of an entire storyline.
In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker notices the dice when he boards the Millennium Falcon for the first time since 1980's Empire Strikes Back. This was already a huge moment in the movie for fans, and it was just as huge for Mark Hamill (who plays Luke Skywalker) himself. Hamill told Entertainment Weekly,
It was sort of like visiting an old house that you lived in when you were a kid ... I mean, I just welled up with emotion and I said, ‘I need to be by myself.’
Hamill continued, saying, "They had recreated it down to every last detail that I remember. The oil drips, the hanging pipes, just everything. The dice in the cockpit."
In The Last Jedi, Luke takes those dice from the ship and travels, using the force, to Leia and the rebels. During his reunion with his sister, we see him hand the dice to her and there is a connection between them. This holds so much meaning, considering we know the love there was between General Leia Organa and Han Solo. We feel a fleeting moment of hope and peace in this moment.
Later on in the movie, after Luke Skywalker has his final battle with Kylo Ren, we see the dice again. This time, they fade away as if they were never real to begin with. They also fade as Luke's body disappears, showing the two are connected. This is also the moment that we really find out that Luke was never physically there in his battle against Kylo Ren. His final use of the force is what saves Leia, Rey, Poe, Finn, BB-8, and all of the others from the wrath of the First Order.
So, will we see the gold dice in Episode IX? Even better, will we see how this game of Corellian Spike works in Episode IX? According to Hidalgo, "That’s in the future. Ask me a movie from now.”
