This Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Planet Is a Reference to Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress

With the coronavirus pandemic causing movie theatres to close, films are starting to be released early on digital. Last week, Disney decided to drop Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a little early for fans who are stuck at home. The movie's digital release has lots of special features, including The Skywalker Legacy, a feature-length documentary that chronicles the making of the final movie in the sequel trilogy. Recently, Nerdist shared eight of the most interesting facts learned from the documentary ranging from an array of John Williams-related easter eggs to a look at the film's practical effects. It was also revealed that Kijimi, the planet where the film's main characters meet up with Zorri Bliss and Babu Frik, was actually a reference to Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress.

"It's no secret that the films of Akira Kurosawa had a huge influence on the making of Star Wars," Nerdist wrote. "George Lucas has long sited the Japanese director as one of his biggest inspirations, and movies like Seven Samurai noticeably paved the way for the look and feel of the galaxy far, far away. Happy to carry on that tradition in The Rise of Skywalker, the art team referenced another iconic Kurosawa film for the planet of Kijimi. The set was a nod to The Hidden Fortress, the 1958 action-adventure film about two peasants who escort a man and woman across enemy lines–without realizing the man is a general and the woman a princess."

The bonus extras included in the digital release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker can be seen in their entirety below:

• The Skywalker Legacy – The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
• Pasaana Pursuit: Creating the Speeder Chase – Dive into the making of the movie's epic landspeeder chase and discover how this spectacular sequence was brought to the screen.
• Aliens in the Desert – See what it took to create the Pasaana desert scenes, from the sheer scale and complexity of the shoot to its colorful details.
• D-O: Key to the Past – Explore the ship that connects Rey to the mystery of her missing parents and get to know the galaxy's newest, irresistible droid.
• Warwick & Son – Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, dons the Ewok costume once more; this time joined by his son Harrison.
• Cast of Creatures – The team behind the film's memorable creatures reveal the puppetry, makeup, prosthetics and digital magic that bring them to life!

Digital Exclusive:

• The Maestro's Finale – Composer John Williams reflects on his body of work for the Star Wars saga and shares insights on scoring Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 31st.