All the Easter Eggs and References in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

One of the most iconic weapons in sci-fi gets an origin here. Of course, we were introduced to the Death Star itself, and the full power of the battle station in the original Star Wars movie (which is also somehow the fourth one). Peter Cushing’s Governor Tarkin (or, more formally, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin) orders the destruction of Senator/Princess Leia’s homeworld, the peaceful planet of Alderaan. More on that planet, and its ruling family, later.
In-universe, though, there are earlier glimpses of the Death Star. In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the original plans are given to Count Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus) by Archduke Poggle the Lesser, leader of the Geonosians. The “people” of Geonosis were an insectoid species who had aligned themselves with the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Of course, Count Dooku was playing both sides of the conflict under the command of the future Emperor, so those plans weren’t safe for very long.

The recent Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, prequel to the movie, reveals that construction on the weapon was begun over Geonosis while the nascent Empire searched known space for the mysterious, force-attuned kyber crystals that also power lightsabers. Except they needed really, really big ones for the really, really big gun being built. They also, we learned from the same book, needed the help of principled but naive scientist Galen Urso (that’s Mads Mikkelson’s character; Jyn’s dad in the movie). Urso was the closest thing in the galaxy to an expert on the crystals, so his old pal from the Star Wars U’s version of the gifted and talented program worked for years to gain his support.
(Tarkin’s pivotal role is likewise expanded in the novel of the same name from James Luceno.)
We also get a brief glimpse of the station in the final moments of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, as the Emperor and newly minted Sith Lord Darth Vader (“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”) gaze lovingly at the skeletal frame of the doomsday weapon-to-be. In all, it’s over twenty years (in-universe) from design to the official and explosive ribbon-cutting over Alderaan.
Old Allies

Most of the main characters in Rogue One are new, though there are several returns: Darth Vader, of course, we’ve seen before; though he’s very effective (and terrifying) in his few scenes here. Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma first appeared in Return of the Jedi, but a younger version (played by Genevieve O’Reilly, who has reprised the role for Rogue One) showed up in Revenge of the Sith: then a Republic senator from Chandrila, she met with Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala to discuss the increasingly skeevy chancellor. She also put in a number of appearances in the Clone Wars TV series, and, as New Republic Chancellor, has bit roles in most of the canon books set in the years prior to Force Awakens, including the Aftermath trilogy. The beardy older fellow she’s with is General Jan Dodonna, who will plan the X-Wing attack on the Death Star in A New Hope.
Bail Organa, likewise a Republic senator, consort to the Queen of Alderaan, and later a founder of the Rebel Alliance, he was the adoptive dad of Princess Leia. He showed up in the last two prequels as well as several episodes of Clone Wars. Add him to Tarkin’s body-count. Speaking of Tarkin: the digitally re-created Peter Cushing gets a number of scenes in Rogue One, and the effect is almost, if not entirely, seamless. C-3P0 and R2-D2 get cameos, having appeared in all eight SW movies to date. We also get to see many of the X-wing pilots from A New Hope, as well as (you surely didn’t miss it) a quick bit of inspiration from Princess Leia, who escapes aboard the Tantine IV. Given that Vader watches the ship escape from the battle, it’s no wonder that he’s incredulous at the beginning of A New Hope.
“Consular ship?” Right.
“You just watch yourself. We’re wanted men.”
The old Jedi city on Jedha included a number of call-backs (an Imperial Probe Droid, for instance), but the movie’s best blink-and-you’d-miss-it moment was when our heroes ran (literally) into Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba (the walrus-looking guy). You’d recall them from the Cantina scene in A New Hope; they pick a fight with Luke, prompting ol’ Overkill-Wan Kenobi to take off Evazan’s arm.
Orson Krennic appeared in that recent prequel novel, Catalyst, along with Galen, Lyra, and baby Jyn Urso. We’ll count them as new characters, regardless, along with the rest of the ad hoc Rogue One squadron.
“Save the Rebellion. Save the Dream.”

One of the more interesting returns is Forest Whitaker’s character Saw Gerrera. A story arc from the fifth season of Clone Wars introduced a much-younger Saw and his sister Steela, who together lead a resistance cell on the planet Onderaan. This was prior to the Empire, so his planet had technically been taken over by Count Dooku’s separatist Confederacy, a puppet monarch having been installed. Saw and the insurgents were trained and advised by Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Though they were successful, victory was bittersweet. Steela died in the fighting.
The intervening years have obviously not been entirely kind.
“It’s Rogue. Rogue One.”
Just a few odds and ends:

The force-sensitive kyber crystals were mentioned in early drafts of the original Star Wars, though this is their first appearance in a live-action feature. Scene-strealing former Imperial droid K-2SO is voiced by Firefly/Serenity‘s Alan Tudyk. The droid’s snarky, snotty demeanor isn’t at all without precedent: in particular, BT-1 and 000 from Marvel’s Darth Vader and upcoming Dr. Aphra series’ have plenty of attitude.  And by “attitude,” I mean a gleeful love of killing and torture alongside a disdain for almost anything alive. The tone of the movie reminded me very much of Star Wars: Battlefront: Twilight Company, a recent book that follows a group of front-line Rebel soldiers (the same writer, Alexander Freed, also penned this movie’s novelization). Galen Urso’s planned backdoor into the Death Star provides as solid answer to fans who have long questioned why Luke’s single well-placed shot was able to destroy the battle station.
Finally: that planetary shield with the single door that you have to go through to get in or out? They totally got that from Spaceballs.
What’s your favorite Rogue One easter egg?