Star Wars fans catch Easter eggs faster than the Millennium Falcon on Kessel Run day, but somehow, a George Lucas cameo hid in plain sight for 25 years.
At 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 17 seconds into The Phantom Menace, Lucas’ face is secretly etched onto a stone archway in Queen Amidala’s palace on Naboo. This sneaky tribute was the work of Caroleen “Jett” Green, a matte painter with an insane resume (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, Labyrinth, Titanic, Star Trek — basically every cool movie ever). While working on the set extensions for the Naboo royal palace, she noticed an empty space on an arch and thought, “You know what would look great here? My boss’ face.” She figured the detail would be too small to notice. She was absolutely right—until she spilled the beans decades later.
Lucas’ response? A very chill, “Oh, naughty, naughty.” before deciding to leave it.
While Lucas later made an official live-action cameo in Revenge of the Sith as Baron Papanoida, this technically makes The Phantom Menace his first on-screen appearance. But now that we know artists were sneaking him into set designs… who’s to say he’s not lurking somewhere in other Star Wars movies?
[Via Clayton Sandell, Nerdist]