A Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Easter egg that lay hidden in plain sight for decades has recently been uncovered.
The expansive Star Wars world was created by George Lucas in the 1970s and has continued into the present day with dozens of feature films and series spawning from the sci-fi world.
The immersive Star Wars universe has provided plenty of opportunity for Easter eggs and references across its films, a few of which have even made it into the real world.
Hidden George Lucas Star Wars Easter Egg Explained
The recently discovered Easter egg in question can be seen in Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace, aka the 1999 film that kickstarted the prequel trilogy.
The reference was pointed out by Caroleen "Jett" Green, a former Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) matte painter who worked on the Star Wars film. In a conversation with Clayton Sandell, Green reveals that George Lucas' face subtly appears in one scene in The Phantom Menace.
The Easter egg can be spotted around 2 hours into the film during a scene on Naboo in which Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and her forces are surrounded by battle droids.
By looking closely at the archway in the background of the scene a face can be seen carved into the stone plaque. By zooming in significantly on this frame, the face is revealed to resemble George Lucas.
Green explained to Sandell that she noticed a gap in the structure while working on the scene and thought it would be a neat addition to add Lucas's face:
"I decided to get a picture of George, and I put it on this plaque. I thought, ‘Well, that’ll be cool. By the time you shrink that down, his face is just a blur.’ "
The digital artist recounted how Lucas and his team approached her after learning of the Easter egg, but after a tense moment, the director agreed to "leave it in:"
"George is really quiet. He looks at it, and he goes, 'Oh, naughty, naughty.' I said, 'Yeah, but it's you! It's your face.' And then there's silence again. And I'm just sitting there with everybody. And for some reason, I can't describe the feeling, but— I knew that I wasn't going to get in trouble.
And then. George says, 'Okay. Leave it in.'"
According to Sandell, rumors of Lucas' appearance in The Phantom Menace have circulated the fandom for nearly 25 years now, but this reveal marks an end to the mystery.
Will George Lucas Cameo in Star Wars Again?
This is not the only time Lucas has appeared in Star Wars. The legendary director appeared briefly in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith as the Pantoran chairman Baron Papanoida.
Papanoida appeared again in other Star Wars projects, most notably in an episode of the animated series The Clone Wars, where he was voiced by Corey Burton.
There was some speculation that Lucas may receive a cameo in The Mandalorian, but this never transpired.
Despite largely retiring since selling Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas has remained influential in the development of many Star Wars projects, so it is not too far-fetched of an idea that he could cameo in another project in the future.
