Star Wars may be set a long time ago, in a galaxy far away, but one Easter egg has just placed it in Earth’s distant future for Star Trek. They’re two of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of all time; one the brainchild of George Lucas and the other of George Roddenberry, each with powerful and timeless messages. Star Wars is as much science-fantasy as anything else (the Force is more of a mystical concept than one rooted in scientific principles), but even Star Trek has frequently embraced mysticism.
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Looking back, it’s staggering to realize just how long these two epic franchises have lasted. This year is Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary; yes, it’s officially been 60 years since the USS Enterprise began its five-year mission of exploration. Meanwhile, next year is Star Wars‘ 50th anniversary, celebrated with a blockbuster movie and the theatrical return of A New Hope‘s original cut. Now, in a surprising twist, Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary show has just given us a Star Wars Easter egg too.
Is That An X-Wing in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy?
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is everything a 60th anniversary show should be, blazing a new trail for the Federation while also featuring countless deep-cut Easter eggs and references. It’s set in the late 32nd century, in the aftermath of a galactic disaster called the Burn, with the Federation working to reestablish itself as a galactic power after a period of retreat. The stars of the show are the cadets of the newly-reopened Starfleet Academy on Earth, and episode 7 gives them some downtime after a tragedy. A major meteor shower is about to pass through Earth’s atmosphere, and ships flock to Earth for the sight.
All this leads to a key scene at 49:04, where starships fly over San Francisco. There’s a very distinctive sound of flight, and attentive viewers will spot a familiar shape flying from right to left. It looks like an X-Wing, it sounds like an X-Wing; while it may not actually be one, it’s certainly evocative of the celebrated starship, and there’s absolutely no way that wouldn’t be intentional. ComicBook has reached out to Paramount for comment.
This Isn’t the First Time Star Trek Has Referenced Star Wars
In truth, this is hardly the first time Star Trek has ever referenced Star Wars. One of the first examples was in Star Trek: First Contact‘s opening Borg battle, which was created under ILM’s John Knoll. He couldn’t resist adding a Star Wars Easter egg into the action; the Millennium Falcon is part of the Battle of Sector 001, flying alongside Captain Picard’s USS Enterprise. Knoll has been a key player in the Disney Star Wars era, and he crafted the space battles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. According to Knoll, all those First Contact lessons are the reason Rogue One‘s Battle of Scarif is so stunning.
That wasn’t the only Star Wars Easter egg in First Contact, though. In that film, the crew of the Enterprise travel back in time to ensure the historic first meeting between humans and Vulcans takes place without Borg interference. It would happen because of Zeframe Cochrane’s warp experiments, spotted by a Vulcan survey ship and taken as evidence humanity was ready for the titular “first contact.” That survey ship was called the T’Plana Hath, with the second word deliberately riffing on the planet name “Hoth” from The Empire Strikes Back.
Fast forward to the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies, and you get even more Star Wars Easter eggs. There are actually two scenes where you can see Artoo-Detoo himself, one in 2009’s Star Trek and the other in 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness. Appropriately, Abrams would actually make his way over to Lucasfilm to launch the Star Wars sequel trilogy with 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, returning to end it with 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Behind the scenes, these two epic franchises are a lot more closely linked than anybody tends to realize.
Those are only the most well-known; there are also several homages in Star Trek: Voyager, which featured a character named Kashyk (named after the Wookiee homeworld, with a couple of extra Ys dropped), while Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced an “Army R2D CPO” who realistically needs no explanation. TNG‘s best Star Wars Easter egg was surely in the Season 2 episode “Up the Long Ladder,” where a viewscreen mentions a diplomatic mission to Alderaan. So Starfleet Academy is simply continuing yet another time-honored tradition.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
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A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools.
