Since Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, there have been a lot of changes to what ‘actually’ happened in the Star Wars universe. Once upon a time, all of the hundreds of novels created after the original trilogy added to the story and we saw a whole host of events, from Leia becoming a Jedi, to Chewbacca’s death.

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Now, we only have a small selection of extra books, comics, games and TV series’ to learn new, expanded details about the Galaxy Far, Far Away. When JJ Abrams’ conclusion to the Skywalker Saga came out in late 2019, he packed it with a whole host of references that only fans of this expanded universe will understand.

Various Ships From Across The Galaxy Make An Appearance

Towards the end of the film, allies from across the galaxy finally come together to fight against the newly resurrected Emperor Palpatine’s First Order. The visually impressive shot was a great way for Abrams to throw in loads of ships from across the Star Wars franchise.

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This list includes The Colossus from Star Wars: Resistance, The Crucible from The Clone Wars and a ship which may be Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels. On top of all of these, there are various ships from previous films that eagle-eyed fans might have picked up on.

As Do Various Familiar Voices

Star Wars Clone Wars Animated Series - Ashoka Tano

This one isn’t so subtle. As Rey calls out for help from the Jedi of the past, we expect some visual cameos but were all universally disappointed when we only heard the dulcet tones of Hayden Christianson, Ewan McGregor, and Samuel L Jackson. However, there were many more voices buried within, many of those coming from the expanded universe. This includes everyone from Aayla Secura, Kanan Jarrus and Ahsoka Tano. While this is a cool Easter egg for expanded universe fans, it does sort of give spoilers regarding the impending deaths of the characters...

The Power Of Psychometry Features In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order 2 Job Postings

If you’ve played Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you’ll know of a power possessed by the protagonist. He is able to learn details of an object’s past (even if it was never sentient) simply by touching them through a power called psychometry.

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This particular power was never introduced in the films until Rey touched the Sith dagger and learned of its history. This is a cool way to tie the new entries into the Star Wars universe together and legitimize the new existence of this power.

The Sith Temple Should Be Familiar To Star Wars: Rebels Fans

Sith Temple on the planet Malachor in Star Wars.

Despite them having never really been mentioned before and the legendary planet of Exegol having been uttered for the first time in The Rise Of Skywalker despite its apparent importance, we discover the importance of Sith temples. However, this concept should be well-known to Star Wars: Rebels viewers, as the show takes us to a Sith temple on a different planet. Also, this particular scene might have made Darth Nihilus from Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords canon, as his mask can be seen in the background.

Force Healing Appears In The Mandalorian

Baby Yoda using the Force on The Mandalorian

Cleverly, Disney decided to release episode 7 of The Mandalorian just a few days before The Rise Of Skywalker. There is a particularly outrageous power revealed in episode 9, in which Rey heals a weird bug thing, and later Kylo Ren, with the Force. It even brings her back to life right at the end.

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Many fans were confused by how basically the whole plot of this entry into the franchise revolved around a power that had never really existed before. However, by showing Baby Yoda using it just a few days earlier, they were sort of able to throw its existence into the Star Wars universe with more confidence.

Sith Wayfinders Appear In Star Wars: Rebels

Star Wars The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker Compass Sith Wayfinder

One of the opening shots of episode 9 shows Kylo Ren on Mustafar, even if it doesn’t really look like the volcanic planet from Episode III. This in itself is a nice call-back for committed fans. However, it is what he finds on the planet that connects to the expanded universe. The Sith Wayfinder (another very convenient, previously unmentioned plot device that allows episode 9 to exist) looks almost identical to the Sith Holocrons shown in both Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

The Sith Language Is Used Elsewhere

While it may be a little less essential to the plot (it only really creates a side-quest, and also, if he was programmed by Anakin, why did C-3PO’s programming stop him from translating it?), the idea of a special Sith language had never previously been mentioned in Star Wars films. However, both The Clone Wars series and the Lords Of The Sith book series mention the ancient tongue.

We Got To Meet Admiral Ackbar’s Son, Who Was Introduced In Star Wars: Allegiance

For some inconceivable reason, Rian Johnson chose to kill Admiral Ackbar in the background of a scene and barely mention the demise of such a hero. They could have had him in the role of Holdo and allowed him to make an incredible sacrifice for the case he so bravely fought for... but no.

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Anyway, in the Star Wars: Allegiance comic series, we meet his son Aftab. As JJ Abrams no longer had access to Ackbar himself, we get to meet his son for the first time in a live-action Star Wars.

Chewie Finally Got His Medal

Star Wars Chewbacca Medal Bravery

This particular moment doubles up as a reference to the original trilogy and the now non-canon expanded universe of the 1990s. We see Maz Kanata giving Chewie a medal, which rectifies the age-old issue of his exclusion during the ceremony at the end of A New Hope. However, it doubles as a reference to the comics, which explained that Chewie was eventually given a medal, which he threw away.

Rey’s Powerful Use Of The Force Is Borrowed From Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The final entry on this list does not relate to the canonical Star Wars expanded universe. However, Abrams must have felt that the power to bring down a Star Destroyer with nothing but the Force in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was so cool, that Rey simply had to learn it.

As such, those who played the game might well find it rather familiar when Rey brings down a ship (which they think has Chewie on it) using nothing but the power of the Force.

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