The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a handful of films releasing early on digital. Among those is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which includes a feature-length documentary, revealing that a planet from the movie was a reference to Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.
Star Wars fans know that Akira Kurosawa's films have had a huge influence on the franchise. George Lucas revealed that the Japanese director was one of his biggest inspirations. So, to continue on that tradition in the ninth and final installment of the Skywalker Saga, the art team referenced another movie from Kurosawa. In The Skywalker Legacy (via Nerdist), it was revealed that the planet of Kijimi was a nod to the 1958 film Hidden Fortress.
Kijimi was the planet where Poe took Rey and the rest of the group to seek for some help. This is where they meet Keri Russell's Zorii Bliss along with the adorable droidsmith Babu Frik. As for Kurosawa's movie, The Hidden Fortress is about two peasants who escort a man and a woman, not knowing that the man is a general and that the woman he is with is a princess he sought to protect.
Star Wars taking an inspiration from the 1958 classic film is unexpected but Lucas incorporated this movie into his by taking the two lowest characters, the droids, tell the story much like what the two peasants did in The Hidden Fortress. The little details and references placed in The Rise of Skywalker really adds that full-circle moment from Lucas' film to J.J. Abrams'.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 31st.
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