Released on Disney+ right on time for the spooky season, LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales is the latest Disney+ Star Wars special and is an entertaining watch for younger audiences for Halloween. As with any LEGO Star Wars special, Terrifying Tales is filled with easter eggs and references to other content, which makes the special fun for older family members.
Whether it be riffs or comments on iconic Star Wars moments, plays on longstanding audience questions and opinions, or simply little references to the Galaxy far, far away, Terrifying Tales is filled with easter eggs from start to finish.
The Qymaen Jai Sheelal Name
The second cautionary tale told to the heroes by Vaneé is "The Duelling Monstrosities" and sees Grievous and Maul, two of Star Wars' best and most popular villains, go head-to-head to retrieve the saber of Scardont for Sidious.
In the tale, Grievous is put together by his repair droid EV-A4-D (a Clone Wars easter egg in itself), who calls Grievous by his real name, Qymaen Jai Sheelal. Grievous, of course, is a Kaleeshi who became a cyborg and took the name Grievous but who was initially born with the name Qymaen Jai Sheelal, which is not common knowledge and a fun reference for more hardcore fans.
The Mustafar Trees
When Poe crashes his ship, he lands on the iconic Mustafar in a forest, surrounded by bleak-looking trees. It may be strange for some fans to see trees on the notoriously lava-clad planet, but the trees themselves reference other pieces of content.
As well as the opening scene of The Rise Of Skywalker, where Kylo battles in the same forest, the trees reference the overall extended canon surrounding the planet. After the fall of Vader and the planet pretty much falling into obscurity, the planet's ecosystem began to heal from centuries of pain and suffering, and the trees are an aspect of said healing.
Battlefront II Sound Effect
Before Poe crashes on Mustafar, he is chased down by First Order pilots, and his ship gets caught under fire. When his ship takes damage, a familiar sound effect can be heard.
The noises coming from Poe's ship are the same sounds from Battlefront II when the player's ship is on low health. This sound is, of course, not the most iconic sound effect ever, but one that avid players of Battlefront will recognize and enjoy.
"How Long Did He Train On Dagobah?"
"The Lost Boy" is the first story told by Vaneé and is a retelling of Ben Solo's fall to the dark side. In the story's opening, audiences see young Solo training and getting frustrated by Luke not challenging him and not appreciating his power.
In his frustration, Ben goes on to comment on Luke's training, saying, "How long did he train on Dagobah, like 20 minutes?" This is a point raised for laughs by Ben, but for those sequel trilogy fans who endure a lot of Rey criticism for her lack of training, it is a point with a lot of merit.
Stormtrooper Luke Bangs His Head
One of the most iconic goofs in Star Wars history comes in A New Hope when a relatively tall and clumsy stormtrooper noticeably bangs his head off one of the doorframes in the Death Star while chasing the heroes.
This moment has been laughed about and meme'd to oblivion and got another callback in Terrifying Tales. In the third tale, titled "The Wookiee's Paw," Luke joins the Empire, initially becoming a stormtrooper who proceeds to bump his head on a door frame just like the trooper from 1977.
The Imperial Light Cruiser
At the start of "The Wookiee's Paw," Luke is a disgruntled teen on Tatooine, just as he is at the beginning of A New Hope. Before he bumps into Watto, there is a shot of the young Skywalker in which a familiar Imperial ship can be seen above.
This ship in the sky of Tatooine is a Light Cruiser, more officially known as a Class 546 Cruiser, the exact kind of ship captained by Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian. The ship also has its own popular LEGO set for fans to enjoy.
Kiss For Luck
"The Wookiee's Paw" is filled to the brim with references and easter eggs. From Vader filling the role of Yoda and Obi-Wan in Luke's training to Obi-Wan appearing in place of Wedge Antilles during the Battle of Yavin.
Undoubtedly one of the funniest comes when Vader and Luke have to swing across platforms on the Death Star, just as Luke and Leia do in A New Hope. Like Leia gives Luke, Vader hilariously kisses his son on the cheek "for luck" as the same score from A New Hope's scene plays.
A Little Short For A Stormtrooper
When Luke wishes upon the Wookiee's paw to become a pilot rather than remain a stormtrooper, Tarkin and an Imperial officer pass by and give Luke a spare pilot's uniform, fulfilling his wish.
As they walk away, Tarkin remarks that Luke is too short to be a stormtrooper anyway. This is, of course, a callback to the iconic Princess Leia scene in A New Hope where she asks Luke, "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
1138
When Vaneé's true intentions come to light, and he becomes an armored-up, super-powerful villain who controls the battle droids on Mustafar with the use of the Sith Holocron, a powerful Sith artifact. Graballa the Hutt, owner of the droids, runs from the fight and hides in a restroom.
Graballa is hunted by the zombie battle droids, with one sticking his head through the wooden door and announcing that he is B14961138815. The crucial part of the droids name is 1138, one of the most well-known and longstanding Star Wars easter eggs, prominent throughout the franchise and an homage to George Lucas' directorial debut THX-1138.
Multiple Horror Horror References
B14961138815 announces himself to Graballa by smashing through the door with an ax, popping his head through, and saying, "Here's B14961138815." It's a reference to Stanley Kubrick's iconic horror film The Shining. That is far from the only horror reference in the special, though.
"The Lost Boy" has the same title card as The Lost Boys, with the tale's plot also being similar, and there are even scenes lifted from the movie, such as the iconic hanging from the bridge image. The story also has a Ben Solo dream sequence where Ren's face appears on the walls, ala Freddy Krueger, and has a droid say, "Be afraid, be very afraid." a line lifted from The Fly. Early in the film, Graballa claims he "spared no expense," a possible homage to Jurassic Park. Grievous' repair is also somewhat similar to the story of Frankenstein's monster. "The Wookiee's Paw" references W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" and is introduced with a title card in the style of The Twilight Zone, which also did a version of the iconic story.