A Possible 'Star Wars' Reference Has Been Discovered In Marvel's Phase 3 Movies

The Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly has no shortage of Easter eggs, but one fan may have spotted a unique connection.

Reddit user KYLO733 recently shared a post, where they point out just how many times a character has been electrocuted with blue lightning within Marvel's Phase 3 movies. As they argue, this is a sort of Easter egg or homage to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, where Luke Skywalker is electrocuted in his fight with the Emperor.

Phase 3 Star Wars Reference Discovered from r/marvelstudios

"As we know, Phase Two was confirmed to have an Empire Star Wars reference of characters losing their hands." KYLO733 writes in the post's comments. "So when Phase Three started, I noticed this but waited until Infinity War until I posted. It's basically characters getting electrocuted/lightning struck, as Luke is in Return of the Jedi (3rd OT movie). I couldn't find the Black Panther or Infinity War clips but will update with pics soon (the reference is in these movies though). [It] has also happened to an extent in some the TV shows but I would have to re-watch the others."

Sure, you can argue that these instances of blue lightning aren't intentionally a Star Wars homage, especially considering how many characters have electricity-based powers already in their arsenal. But even then, the amount of times it has already happened certainly supports this fan's theory.

And beyond that, it's sort of an open secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe draws inspiration from the Star Wars franchise, based off of previous comments from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

"I read [the Star Wars Sourcebook] from cover to cover and it was a wealth of new information," Feige said in an interview earlier this year. "And one of the great things about Star Wars and one things that I think is great about the Marvel characters from the comics and what we try to emulate in the movies is if you're the kind of person that wants to go see it on opening weekend, our job is to make sure you have a great time. If you want to see it a second time, our job is to make sure there's more there. Third, fourth, fifth time, still more there. And even the deeper you go, there'll be things to reward you. And I learned that directly from Star Wars and from those West End Sourcebooks."

"We have the core group of filmmakers of the executive producer teams. Again, we've been together for almost ten years," Feige continued. "And it's a little internal group that for various reasons we call Parliament. At the least of which is we often yell at each other across tables. And keeping track of that is not as complicated I think for us as it is for Star Wars. We've got ten years, Star Wars has got like 40 plus years. But it really comes out of each individual film and what's best for each individual story that we're telling but it is the core group of filmmakers that work on all these movies that keep track of all that."

Do you think this MCU Star Wars homage is legit, or just a well-crafted coincidence? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp are now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.