Easter Eggs, Bloopers, and Cut Scenes ... Oh, My! Nitpicking Episode II by Toryn Farr Updated 5/27/02 For the detail-oriented Star Wars fanatic ...

WARNING: Total spoilers for Episode II. Duh.

5/23 update is in red.
5/24 update is in green.
5/27 update is in maroon.

First let me warn you up front: if you want to ruin your movie-going experience, read this article.

Yes, that's right. Once you are alerted to the various bloopers, easter eggs, and other cool stuff to look for, you will no longer be able to sit blithely in the cinema and let yourself be carried to the galaxy far, far away. You will be constantly jolted out of your suspension of disbelief noticing nitpicky little details. So, this is your last chance to turn back. Escape now.

Still here? All right, this is the deal. This is a work in progress. I will post everything I spot or hear rumors about. You will email me if you catch more, or if you can definitely disprove something I've listed. I promise to put attributions for everything I didn't spot myself, if I know them. You let me know what I've left out. Deal?

Easter Eggs and Other Cool Stuff To Look For

Easter Eggs are hidden images. But sometimes there are things that are not so much hidden as just obscure. I'll list both. In fact, anything I think is cool to notice will be put here. If you don't think it's so cool, I don't care. Don't email me. [g]

• Did you catch Zam Wesell's face changing for a brief moment as she's trying to shake Anakin off the outside of her speeder?
• Supposedly TIE fighters and X-Wings can be seen flying about during the Coruscant chase. I haven't spotted them.
• Cameo appearances in the Outlander Club (bar) include Anthony Daniels (C3P0) as blue-uniformed Lieutenant Faytonni, Ahmed Best (Jar Jar) as Faytonni's compatriot Achk Med-Beq flirting with George Lucas's daughter Katie as a lilac-skinned Twi'lek (pictures from Making Of documentary #5). Supposedly Doug Chiang is outside in the crowd wearing black with his hair spiked. I can't be sure, but this could be him (from the same documentary). The person in question is on the left side of the screen just as Anakin picks himself up after Zam's speeder crashes on the street. After having looked at a picture of Chiang, I think there's no way the guy in the film is him unless Chiang had extensive collagen injections.
• If you look at the large projection screens in the bar, you can see podracing on the left, nuna-ball in the center, and another sporting event (some sort of creatures racing) on the right.
• Watch Elan Sleazebaggano use prestidigitation to twirl his death stick out of sight after Obi-Wan's mind trick. Here's a video clip.
• Isn't it cool how they show maintenance droids replacing Padme's window during the packing scene? Nice touch.
• One of the new Jedi Council members is named after ILM guru Rob Coleman -- Coleman Trebor (Robert backwards). He's the one with the blue dinosaur head who gets killed by Jango. Here's a picture from the "Clone War" trailer.
• A YT-1300 (Millennium Falcon), or perhaps three, can be seen on the far left when Anakin and Padme's transport docks on Naboo. I believe you can see them in this image from the "Breathing" trailer. Now that I have watched it again, I think maybe the ships above and to the left are really the YT-1300s. The scale is hard to pin down. If I'm right, you only see 1.5 of these ships in the frame.
• Did you notice that the name of the little Jedi Padawan who dims the shades for Yoda is Liam? A nod to Liam Neeson, I'm sure.
• Is George Lucas one of the busts in the Jedi Archives? I haven't been able to spot him, but that's a rumor going around. The bust that Obi-Wan is standing in front of at the beginning of the scene is Count Dooku's (picture from SW Insider #55). I have looked several times for this, and I don't think it's true.
• George Lucas's son Jett is the young Jedi padawan who waits patiently in the background for librarian Jocasta Nu to get through helping Obi-Wan look for Kamino in the Jedi Archives.
• If you translate the name tag of Dexter's waitress droid, it reads, "Flo."
• A funny little moment - Dex uses one of his extra hands to hitch up his pants while hugging Obi-Wan.
• Watch R2D2 climb steps! He is following Anakin and Padme onto a bridge just after they arrive on Naboo. He can also be seen earlier descending the steps from the bus before they get on the transport.
• As Jango enters his ship after fighting Obi-Wan, he bangs his head on the door. Is this a tribute to the headbanging Stormtrooper in Episode IV?
• When Anakin and Padme are riding the rickshaw, Artoo is following them on the ground. You can also see R5-D4 (the exploding droid from ANH) pass them on the street.
• Just before Anakin goes to rescue his mother, he and Padme are shown as shadows on the side of the Lars homestead. Anakin's shadow looks very much like Darth Vader. Click here for a picture from the "Forbidden Love" trailer.
• After Anakin kills the Tuskens, we see Yoda meditating. He hears Qui-Gon's voice saying, "No, Anakin! No!" We can also hear the sounds of Tuskens and a lightsaber, along with the sound of Darth Vader breathing.
• During Anakin's confession to Padme in the Lars garage, it looks like a junked landspeeder (Luke's?) is in the background. Now that I have looked again, this doesn't really look like Luke's speeder to me. Makes sense. Who still has a junked car in their garage twenty years later?
• Right after Anakin says, "Someday I will be the most powerful Jedi ever," it looks like they reversed the direction of the film for a second.
• During the same scene, when Anakin is facing away from Padme, he has tears streaming down his face, but whenever he turns to look at her, the tears are gone.
• Padme brings Anakin blue milk in the Lars garage (picture from "Forbidden Love" trailer). You'll recall Luke and his family drank blue milk also.
• As Padme and Anakin fly away from Tatooine, and as they land on Geonosis, keep your eye on the big display screens on the ship consoles -- they are showing the topography outside the ship. This isn't an easter egg, but it's just something cool to watch for.
• You can see a gray-haired human applauding in one of the senate pods that looks suspiciously like George Lucas. He's at the top of the screen right after Palpatine says he will lay down his special powers once the crisis is over. Check out this picture from the "Clone War" trailer. Is it George? You decide.
• I take it you all caught the cameos of the Death Star, and the Chancellor's red (Imperial) guards? Here is a picture of the latter from the "Clone War" trailer.
• The red-and-black pattern on the ceiling of the Lars dining area reminiscent of Darth Maul's tattoos is nothing new -- it was there during A New Hope as well as on the ceiling of Anakin's hovel in Episode I.
• The bulbous "shaak" creatures from the meadows of Naboo were supposedly inserted other places in the film, including the asteroid field and the final ground battle (this one's on fire). I haven't spotted these yet. I think I saw the Shaak in the asteroid field. If I'm right you can see it in the bottom center portion of the screen as Slave I emerges from the tunnel through the asteroid.
• During the final battle, a Super Battle Droid is so eager that it actually knocks other droids aside to get into the action.
• I think I spotted Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard in the arena battle. He is a fair-haired Jedi kicking droid butt in the background right after the Reek mows down Jango. Ray Park is also supposed to be there.
• Rumor has it one of the Jedi who toss lightsabers to Obi-Wan is really Steve Sansweet, the Star Wars supercollector. It doesn't look like him to me. The one who tosses a lightsaber to Anakin is supposedly Joey Fatone from N'Sync. I've looked repeated at this, and the faces just flash by too fast to be sure.
• As Count Dooku's solar sailor unfurls and leaves Geonosis, in the background you can see one of the Trade Federation spheres re-docking with a "Death Donut" (ship from the blockade of Naboo).
• The number 1138 can supposedly be spotted on the back of a clone trooper during the final battle right after the Trade Federation ship crashes. Again, I've not spotted this yet.
• If you really have a lot of extra attention to spare, take a look at shadows and reflections in this movie. The ball Anakin levitates is reflected in the window. Obi-Wan and the Kaminoans are reflected in the glass as they walk. Shadows of ships moving over terrain or CG creatures are handled perfectly. Lightsabers create light and are reflected from surfaces like walls and floors. It's really quite astounding.

Bloopers

I must note that this movie has far fewer bloopers than The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan's Mysterious Morphing Braid accounted for quite a few last time, but as far as I can tell, this time around Anakin's braid behaves itself admirably (except for one incident). Some of the bloopers may have logical explanations. Others may have explanations if you like grasping at straws. I care about the former, but not the latter. Email me if I am totally off base on any of these:

• After the Queen's ship explodes, Padme runs to Corde. In the background you see two Naboo starfighters parked on the landing pad. However, only one starfighter was shown landing on that side. I looked at this again, and it turns out this is correct. I was thinking Corde's head was toward the starship, but she's turned the other way. So the two ships on the landing pad are correct -- that is the side Padme and Typho come from.
• Whenever the scene is in the Chancellor's office, take a look at the traffic out the window. The same configuration of ships pass by again and again. You can see it if you look for a big "shark"-like transport with two smaller ones beneath that catch up to it. I counted nine repetitions during the first scene, and five more when Palpatine is talking to Anakin.
• The elevator Anakin and Obi-Wan take up to Padme's apartment is on the far right end of the building. However, when they get out, they turn right.
• Speaking of the elevator, it must have been one of the "pickup" scenes filmed after principal photography. Obi-Wan's beard is much grayer and trimmed differently in this and several other shots during the movie. Annoying.
• When Zam Wesell's speeder crashes on the street, you can't see anyone in it. A moment later she is shown hopping out.
• In the bar scene, Anakin's braid is on the wrong side of his head at one point. This is just before Obi-Wan administers an arm-ectomy to Zam.
• While Padme is packing, she comments to Anakin about how mentors always see our flaws. At that point she is holding a red-colored folded garment. The camera angle changes and she is putting a dark blue or black bundle into the suitcase.
• The younglings keep changing position while Obi-Wan is talking with Yoda. Keep your eye on the one with a lizard head.
• When the fully grown clones are shown in the commissary, there is no food in any of the plates or bowls, even though some clones are shown using utensils as if they are cutting or eating food.
• When Obi-Wan is on the balcony on Kamino viewing the clone troopers marching about, the film is reversed. You can tell because his tunics are layered the wrong direction.
• When Jango first fires his blasters at Obi-Wan, there are one or two boxes at the foot of the ramp. A moment later when Boba rotates the ship to shoot at Obi-Wan, the boxes are gone. They do not reappear.
• Anakin slices the "pear" during the dining scene on Naboo. A few seconds later, the pear is shown sliced in a completely different place.
• Padme takes a bite of the pear, but it actually goes into her mouth on its own. It looks like a piece just separates itself and goes into her mouth. Boy, that Anakin is a talented guy, eh? After watching this again, I decided it's not that bad. It simply looks as if the fruit takes absolutely no force for Padme to bite it, which makes it look fake.
• Obi-Wan calls the nifty bombs Jango drops "seismic" charges. They are also called "seismic" charges in the novelization. But in the screenplay they are called "sonic" charges. At any rate, there is no sound in space, despite the cool effect. [g]
• Although Shmi has been a captive for a month, her fingernails are still very short.
• You can see the edges of the fake wounds applied to Shmi's face.
• When Obi-Wan is trying to send a message to Anakin, you can supposedly see the word "Panavision" on his screen. I looked for this but didn't see it. Perhaps it's in Aurebesh.
• Padme presses a button on the console of her ship to retransmit Obi-Wan's message to Coruscant. A few moments later, she presses the exact same button to get a star chart. When she is shown a second later, her hand is on the console, but the row of buttons is nowhere to be seen.
• During the arena battle scene, Padme gets a big, reddish stain on her knee after she is thrown from the Reek. Her outfit is spotless again a few moments later.
• Threepio's enters a line of droid bodies and gets a new head -- but why was there an empty space in the line for his body? He should have knocked another droid body aside to get in line.
• Anakin's pillar has a chain on it before he gets there, but it mysteriously disappears before the Geonosian hoists another chain to the top.
• Why do Padme and Anakin hold their hands above their heads before the chains are tightened?
• If you watch the background Jedi in the arena battle, sometimes they are swinging at nothing. There are also several Droidekas that seem to be wandering around aimlessly rather than firing at the Jedi.
• In a close-up shot of Mace Windu riding in the Federation transport after the arena battle, the film is reversed. You can tell because his tunics are layered the wrong direction.
• When Padme awakens after falling out of the troop transport, she tells the trooper, "We've got to get to that hangar." She cannot possibly have any knowledge of a hangar at that point.
• In the hangar duel, Obi-Wan's lightsaber is blue, and Anakin's is green. Anakin is holding his green lightsaber in his right hand. Obi-Wan throws a blue lightsaber to him, which Anakin catches in his left hand. But a moment later Anakin is fighting with the green saber in his left hand and the blue saber in his right. He then loses the green saber from his left hand, and continues to fight with the blue saber.
• Yoda tosses his gimer stick aside as he begins to fight with Dooku. During the fight the stick is not visible on the floor. But after the fight, he picks it up again.

Cut Scenes

There are dozens of little bits of dialogue cut from the movie from the time of filming to the final release. I don't plan to list them all. I will, however, list anything significant that appears in the screenplay, the trailers, or publicity for the film which did not make it into the movie.  I have combed through the Making Of documentaries, the Select photos, various TV shows, interviews, etc. looking for images and footage. Whenever possible I will list the source, but if I miss something, let me know. Many of these scenes are depicted in detail in the comic adaptation.

• Scene 006 (from screenplay): Palpatine announces to the Senate that Amidala has been assassinated. There is an uproar, then Padme shows up and gives an impassioned speech against the Military Creation Act, stating that it can only lead to war. This was to come right before the scene in Palpatine's office where he says, "I will not let this Republic ... be split in two."
• Scene 011 (from screenplay): After Jar Jar greets Obi-Wan in Padme's apartment, he also greets Anakin in his inimitably stupid and fawning way.
• Scene 015 (from screenplay): Walking down a hall of the Jedi Temple, Mace Windu and Yoda have a worried discussion about the growing disturbance in the Force and the dark side. This Select image was to be part of that scene. You can also see a bit of footage from it in the Making Of documentary #10 -- here's a picture.
• Scene 016 (from screenplay): Anakin is meditating in Padme's apartment right before Obi-Wan comes back in. See this Select image.
• Scene 028 (from screenplay): The probe droid shocks Obi-Wan to try to make him let go. He disconnects a wire, which cuts the power. He free-falls as he works to re-connect the wire.
• Scene 030: (from screenplay): The droid drags Obi-Wan across the top of a building. Zam spots him and starts shooting at him, but he manages to twist away, saying, "I have a bad feeling about this."
• Scene 030: (from screenplay): A good portion of the chase scene and dialogue has been cut, including racing into a tram tunnel and having to flee back the way they came, Zam firing at them as they are alongside, Obi-Wan climbing onto the front of the speeder to clear a flag from the engines, Anakin crashing into some pipes and stalling the speeder, etc. The look of the scenes has also changed. Here is a picture of the building Zam flies into from the "Clone War" trailer -- it's different in the film.
• Scene 031 (from screenplay): Outside the bar, after Obi-Wan says, "This weapon is your life," a couple of  lines were cut. Click here to see a video of the missing lines (from the "Forbidden Love" trailer).
• Scene 032 (from screenplay): After Anakin tells Obi-Wan he's like a father, Anakin goes on to say, "I love you. I don't want to cause you pain."
• Scene 038 (from screenplay): There is more dialogue between Anakin and Padme, the most interesting of which is where he asks her not to call him "Annie" because it makes him sound like a little boy. Also, Dorme and Padme laugh at Anakin after he gives his whining "It's not fair" speech. She says she can see what he's thinking, and he teases her about having Jedi powers.
• Scenes 042-043 (from screenplay): Obi-Wan takes the toxic dart to an SP-4 Analysis Droid, but the droid cannot identify it.
• Scene 047 (from screenplay): As Obi-Wan is studying a bust of Count Dooku, Jocasta Nu approaches and they begin talking about him as the most recent of the "Lost Twenty" Jedi who have left the order. Here's a picture from SW Insider #55.
• Scene 049 (from screenplay): On the transport, Padme witnesses Anakin having a nightmare. There is also some dialogue cut, including discussion of his dreams about his mother.
• Somewhere between Scene 051 and Scene 061: Mace Windu watches Obi-Wan get into his starfighter and they discuss Anakin again (novelization). See this picture from the Making Of documentary #2.
• Scene 053 (from screenplay): As Anakin and Padme walk through Theed, some dialogue about Padme's career was cut, along with the prophetic line from Anakin, "I feel things are going to happen in our generation that will change the galaxy in profound ways."
• Scene 054 (from screenplay): The discussion of politics in Queen Jamillia's throne room has been cut considerably.
• Scenes 055-060 (from screenplay): All the scenes of Padme's home and family have been cut. This is a huge and significant cut. I don't recall seeing Padme wearing this blue dress in the film (from the "Forbidden Love" trailer), nor this headdress (from the Making Of documentary #11). I am guessing these photos are from the family cut scenes.
• Scene 066 (from screenplay): Some of Anakin's more painful flirting was cut from the scene overlooking the lake at Padme's retreat.
• Scene 072 (from screenplay): In the meadow scene, Padme throws fruit at Anakin, and he begins to juggle it. Click here to see a picture from behind the scenes footage at IGN Film Force. Also, click here for another intimate moment that never made it to the film from the Making Of documentary #11.
• Scene 073 (from screenplay): After they roll in the grass, Anakin pulls Padme to her feet and they ride a Shaak.
• Scene 075 (from screenplay): As Obi-Wan enters Jango's apartment, he notes the lock mechanism on the door.
• Scenes 087-088 (from screenplay): Obi-Wan goes to Jango's apartment, opens the lock, finds him gone, and uses a computer there to find out where he is.
• Scene 089: This Select image shows a part of the Obi-Wan vs. Jango fight that did not make it into the movie. You can also see more footage that got cut from this scene in the Making Of documentary #9 and #10. You can see pictures from them here and here, respectively.
• While Anakin is gone looking for his mother, at one point Padme was supposed to be the one who put coverings on Threepio. This was changed to a scene in the novelization where Shmi does it at some point before the film.
• Scenes 106-109 (from screenplay): Anakin stops at a campfire and finds the bodies of three dead farmers. Padme paces outside, then hears an animal howl. She goes inside and confides her fears to Threepio.
• Scenes 110-111 (from screenplay): Obi-Wan climbs the side of a tower on Geonosis and has to fight off some lizard-like Massifs (here's a picture of a model and a picture of Obi-Wan in action from the Making Of documentary #6). Obi-Wan looks through his binoculars and sees thousands of battle droids marching onto Trade Federation ships in the distance. Here's a picture from the SW Insider #56.
• Scene 125 (from screenplay): Padme and Beru share a conversation in the kitchen of the Lars homestead.
• Scene 126 (from screenplay): After Anakin confesses to killing the Tuskens, he expresses his remorse, and says that a Jedi should be able to control his anger. Padme tries to comfort him.
• Scene 137 (from screenplay): After Obi-Wan's hologram message is interrupted by battle droids, the Jedi and the Loyalists have a conversation about what to do. Much of this has been cut, including Yoda stating that there are thousands of Jedi in the galaxy, but only 200 available to help. Jar Jar also pipes up and volunteers to propose the emergency powers amendment. Here is a video of one cut line from that scene, from the "Clone War" trailer, and a picture from that scene.
• I'm not sure where this one fits (Select image). At some point Padme is watching Anakin jump off something. She is wearing the white outfit, so they are on Geonosis. This must be sometime before they fall and are separated.
• Scene 146 (from screenplay): After they are captured, Anakin and Padme are taken to a conference room where Count Dooku tries to get Padme to join the Separatist cause. She pleads with him to release Obi-Wan.
• Scenes 147-148 (from screenplay): Jar Jar proposes the amendment, and is alternately jeered and cheered by the delegates. This was cut so that you only hear Jar Jar in the background as Yoda and Mace meet.
• Scene 150 (from screenplay): A courtroom, with the Geonosian leader Poggle the Lesser and the Separatists sitting in judgement. They inform Padme and Anakin that they have been convicted of espionage.
• Scene 151 (from screenplay): A couple of Padme's lines from her confession of love were cut.
• Scene 152 (from screenplay): As the monsters approach our heroes, Obi-Wan says (according to the screenplay), "Take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left." Apparently at least some prints of the film have replaced this with, "Relax. Take a deep breath. Concentrate." If you look at Obi-Wan's lips, he is actually saying the first line. They just dubbed the new line over it.
• Scene 153 (from screenplay): There is extended dialogue between Mace Windu and Count Dooku that is cut, most notably Windu's remark that "one Jedi has to be worth a hundred Geonosians," and Dooku's reply, "How well do you think one Jedi will hold up against a thousand Battle Droids?"
• Scene 154: Threepio's puns ("What a drag," "I'm beside myself") are not in the screenplay.
• Scene 154: The battle between Mace and Jango seems to have changed substantially from the stolen storyboards leaked many months ago. See this Select image for a picture of Mace trying to calm the Reek. There is also a video clip of this in the Making Of documentary #10 -- here's a picture.
• At one point, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, and I believe Aayla Secura were supposed to lead a separate mission to destroy the droid control ship (according to a pilfered call sheet). They succeeded, but it did not turn off the droids. You can see evidence of this cut scene when the trio of disarmed Jedi are escorted into the center of the arena after Dooku temporarily turns off the battle droids.
• Scene 170 (from screenplay): There are a few variations in dialogue and action during the hangar battle. Most notable is the first part of the battle with Yoda, when the tiny master was to hold his ground for a while and tire Dooku out before beginning his assault. Also, in the end Obi-Wan and Anakin were to help Yoda hold up the crane that is falling toward them. The part where Obi-Wan catches lightning on his lightsaber is not in the screenplay. At some point it was planned for Count Dooku to wield two lightsabers. Here is a picture, and another, of the Dooku scene from IGN Film Force's behind the scenes video. Here is a picture of Anakin in action from a part of the scene that was not used, also from IGN Film Force.
• Rumor has it that Boba Fett was supposed to take Jango's helmet and rocket pack and fly out of the arena.
• Here is a tender scene that never made it into the movie, for obvious reasons! [g]

My list is hardly comprehensive. Try theforce.net for more. They have an excellent Deleted Scenes page and another for Hidden Images and Cameos. To see the Making Of Episode II videos, trailers, and documentaries on the official Star Wars site, go here. Some updates were taken from Episode-X's hidden images page.

Discuss this article on our message boards.

(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her preschooler is napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)

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