10 Star Wars Facts You Probably Already Knew Deep Down

You probably already knew that the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola were all real-life pals. And as a cheeky salute to his moviemaking friends, Lucas found a way to throw the odd reference to his legendary director mates' work into his Skywalker Saga.

With that in mind, it turns out that you were right to feel like you were somehow watching a rather iconic death scene unfolding once again during the opening stretch of Return of the Jedi.

Episode VI co-writer Lawrence Kasdan suggested the idea of Leia killing off the despicable Jabba the Hutt to Lucas, only for the Star Wars creator to decide that this would be the perfect opportunity to throw a nod to The Godfather into the latest chapter in the epic adventure.

So, Lucas settled on the strangulation of the giant space slug, with this moment being a direct homage to mob enforcer Luca Brasi's grisly end in Coppola's gangster classic.

The way the camera lingers on a struggling Jabba as the life is squeezed out of him clearly mirrors the savage choking seen in that 1972 masterpiece. And the fact this was an entirely intentional tribute of sorts confirms something you likely always subconsciously assumed anyway.