If you've been a Star Wars fan for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the 1978 fan film Hardware Wars, which was a recreation of the first Star Wars movie made on a budget of about $20 using whatever was lying around. We posted it here at least once. It set the standard for all Sweded fan films to follow.
Released in 1978, filmmaker Ernie Fosselius released a crude-but-endearing 13-minute short film that recreated the original Star Wars, only with appliances. Characters Fluke Starbucker (with his flashlight lightsaber) and Augie “Ben” Doggie meet an ace pilot named Ham Salad who flies them all around in a giant iron that battles flying toasters.
I went to see The Last Jedi Saturday evening. Without giving away any spoilers, there is a moment where my brain went haywire when I saw a spaceship that looked just like a vintage steam iron. Wait, what? Yes, it was a deliberate reference to Hardware Wars. Director Rian Johnson admits to it, and was delighted that some fans knew what they were seeing. He talked to Mike Ryan about the easter egg he slipped in just for older hardcore fans at Uproxx. The post there contains no major spoilers.