Warning: spoilers follow for The Last Jedi. Jump into hyperspace and away from this article if you haven’t seen the film yet.
In many ways, The Last Jedi was about saying goodbye to what we know about the Star Wars universe, or at least, letting go of the way things have always been. But in between the beats that say it’s time to move on, there are nods to the past. John Williams‘ themes and character motifs provide a strong connection to the original trilogy, underscoring emotional scenes. And little moments tie the saga together, like Luke Skywalker pulling down the gold dice from the Millennium Falcon cockpit. The spaceship accessory has been part of the hunk of junk since the original trilogy.
Look closely at the middle top of the above photo from A New Hope. The dice are hanging there. They’re not often seen in the films. In fact, they only appear clearly in the above scene and less obviously at a couple of other points in Episode IV; then they’re off-screen until The Last Jedi. But they’re enough a part of the Falcon that J.J. Abrams had them included in The Force Awakens. Reportedly, they went to eBay to find a pair for Episode VII. And Disney Cruise Line made sure to include them in their Millennium Falcon play area. The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary explains the dice were “used in the ‘Corellian Spike’ game of sabacc in which he won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian.”
They were important to the ship and to Han, so Luke bringing them to Leia as part of his Force projection on Crait is special. And given that we’ve been reminded of their existence, maybe we’ll see Han proudly hang them in the cockpit when Solo is released in five months.
Did you cry when Luke handed the dice to Leia? Do you need a pair of gold fuzzy dice to hang in your Millennium Falcon, a.k.a. your car?
Images: Lucasfilm/Disney
Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.
