Star Wars fan theories have been around almost as long as the franchise itself and honestly, with a film franchise that is reaching 40 years at this point with not only the numerous films that have come out, but also the books, comics, video games and so forth, you can find fan theories on just about any story, character, planet, etc. However, one that may seem odd comes from a film that isn’t even part of Star Wars to begin with.
It has often been theorized that the titular character of Stephen Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial might actually come from Star Wars’ galaxy far, far away. Specifically, the little alien might actually be one of the guardians of truth and justice, the Jedi.
For those who don’t know, E.T., released in 1982, has two Star Wars easter eggs. One being a scene where Elliot is playing with Star Wars action figures and the other, being the most famous, is a bit where E.T. is trick or treating. In this scene, he sees a kid dressed up as Jedi Master Yoda. At the sight of this, E.T. calls out, “Home!” At first this was seen as just a cute little joke, but that all changed in 1999, when George Lucas released Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In the film, there’s a scene where we get to see the Galactic Senate of the Republic. In this scene, while brief, one of the alien species participating in the hearing is something resembling that of the same species E.T. himself belongs to. This establishes that yes, E.T.’s species is part of the Star Wars universe. But how does that make E.T. a Jedi?
Well in Star Wars, the ability to become a Jedi is not restricted to certain species. Any species can have individuals that display to use the Force. In the film, E.T. is shown to use remarkable abilities including making flowers come back to life and levitating Elliot’s bicycle in what is arguably the film’s most iconic scene. The Force in Star Wars does allow for an individual to levitate objects.As for the other remarkable ability, the only known force user able to save living things from death was Darth Plagueis the Wise. While the theory doesn’t really say anything about this, this does make me wonder if E.T. actually has more of a connection to the Sith than the Jedi. That’d be fascinating.
It’s hard to say if Spielberg had originally intended this when making the original film and considering LucasFilms has no ownership of E.T., it’s unlikely that they’ll ever go further with it. Still it is rather interesting to think about.
Source: Film School Rejects
What do you think about this theory? Be sure to tell us in the comment section below!