Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is jam-packed with Easter Eggs and callbacks to previous films in the franchise. However, it also referenced the animated corner of the galaxy far, far away. Aside from a few vocal cameos from actors who lent their talents to shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, The Rise of Skywalker also features live-action renderings of ships that originally appeared on those series. Visual effects artist Neal Scanlan confirmed this during a recent interview with Yahoo.
A few fans have already pointed out some of these vessels, including the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels. But according to Scanlan, there are even more ships that viewers have yet to spot. And we have director J.J. Abrams to thank for including them.
“J.J. was very keen on us getting some of that Star Wars history and nods to other series in there, because he loves that stuff so much,” said Scanlan. “The Fireball from Resistance is in there, and there are some other ships from the other animated series. You throw them in the giant fleet, and they get a lost a little bit in the mix.”
RELATED: Billie Lourd Played Leia in a Rise of Skywalker Scene
The Fireball is regularly featured on Star Wars Resistance. Presumably that means Resistance‘s Kazuda Xiono was present for the final battle.
In addition to fan-favorite ships, the movie also featured cameos from a few unsung heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Denis Lawson briefly showed up onscreen as Wedge Antilles for the first time since Return of the Jedi in 1983. We even got to see Lando Calirissian’s former co-pilot, Nien Nunb, piloting the Tantive IV. Unfortunately, Rae Carson, who penned The Rise of Skywalker’s novelization, recently confirmed on Twitter that Nien died during the battle.
Were you able to spot any other ships from the Star Wars animated universe in The Rise of Skywalker? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Star Wars: Age Of Resistance – Heroes
