Finding Indiana Jones References In Star Wars
When I first saw Star Wars Explained’s recent post, “10 Indiana Jones Easter Eggs in Star Wars,” I stopped short; just like Dr. Jones (or Admiral Ackbar) sensing a trap.
Yes, I know about C3PO and R2 in Raiders of the Lost Ark’s “Well of Souls” and Indy and Willie’s adventures in “Club Obi-Wan” but besides the near-constant visage of Harrison Ford, and his running away — Jones-like — from a rathtar — I hadn’t recalled too, too many Indy Easter Eggs in Star Wars.
But hey, I’m human. And that’s why Alex and Mollie rock.
10 Indiana Jones Easter Eggs in Star Wars
Awesome vid, right? I am loving their Indiana Jones Explained videos.
My Favorite from the Vid
Looking through these “lesser-known” references from the Damons, it was hard to choose a favorite from the 10.
However, here’s my pick:
“In the Season 4 premiere of Star Wars: Rebels, there’s a big truck chase on the planet Mandalore,” explained Alex. “The sequence was inspired by the truck chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the tank chase from The Last Crusade.”
My Favorite Crossover: Goodbye Han, Hello Indy
However, my all-time favorite Indiana Jones/Star Wars crossover was in a Legends comic and wasn’t in the video.
In 2004, Dark Horse Comics published “Into The Great Unknown,” a 10-page story that marked the first Lucas-approved (if non-canonical) meeting of Han Solo and Indiana Jones. It was also a massive bummer!
This not-so-cheery tale, which was written by Star Wars comic scribe W. Haden Blackman and illustrated by Joe the Barbarian’s Sean Murphy, appeared in Star Wars Tales #19. In this short story, Han and Chewie are on the run from the Imperial fleet and, as a desperation move, force the Millennium Falcon to complete a blind hyperspace jump.
The jump deposits them in our solar system (which Han doesn’t recognize), and the Falcon crash lands in the American Northwest. Han comments on its resemblance to Endor and the two smugglers set out to find a settlement. A Native American tribe sees the duo and riddles Han with a flurry of arrows. After Chewbacca butchers Han’s assailants, Han dies, leaving the Wookiee on Earth all by his lonesome.
While it was sad, the ending was somewhat poetic, with Han’s alter ego finding him and deciding to leave Chewie to wander the forest.
I remember that story distinctly…
But here’s where reality gets distorted: I am heading to Galaxy’s Edge in a couple weeks, and I can’t wait to find this: