11. R2-D2 Gets Blown Into Space - Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams was determined to get Star Wars into his films years before he took on Episode 7, even if that meant hiding them in the reboot of historical rival Star Trek. R2-D2 can be seen in both 2009's Star Trek and the 2013 sequel Into Darkness, first as part of the wreckage after the USS Enterprise warps to Vulcan and finds several Starfleet ships destroyed by the Narada, and second as part of the debris of an explosive decompression as the USS Vengeance attacks the Enterprise. Captain Kirk actor Chris Pine has admitted on several occasions that his performance was inspired by both Han Solo and Indiana Jones, whereas the film makers revealed on DVD commentaries that the first film in the Trek reboot deliberately echoed A New Hope. One scene that sticks out as a blatant nod is the young Kirk gazing down at the under-construction Enterprise much like Luke watched the Tatooine suns set. Producer David Lindelof even called this Kirk's Tatooine moment.