An Easter egg in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' pays homage to the original movie

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" introduces fans to the Death Star 3.0, an icy planet called Starkiller Base where the First Order is stationed.

Here's a look at the base's exterior in the film's poster:

Disney/Lucasfilm

According to StarWars.com, the base exists deep in the "unknown regions" and serves as a weapon platform.

It's capable of harvesting energy from its system's star, storing it within a magnetic field, and funneling the energy into a powerful beam that can obliterate an entire planet in one shot.

Disney/Lucasfilm

As it turns out, there's an Easter egg buried right in the base's name: Starkiller was the original last name of our beloved protagonist, Luke Skywalker.

In a 1975 script titled, "Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One: The Star Wars," George Lucas dreamt up an 18-year-old hero, Luke Starkiller, trained in the ways of the Force by his Uncle Owen.

Starkiller's described as a "sensitive artistic type" who practices using a laser sword on his small moisture ranch.

Disney/Lucasfilm

The name stuck through the first couple months of production.

During a Q&A on Twitter in October, actor Mark Hamil revealed the only time he says his character's name on-camera, he used Luke Starkiller.

Luke Starkiller.My name in Tunisia & London, months into prod. Filmed the "I'm LS here 2 rescue U!" scene w/ it. sad https://t.co/XPYaWjtbRG

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) October 26, 2015

Eventually, Lucas ditched the name Starkiller for Skywalker.

"That I did because I felt a lot of people were confusing him with someone like Charles Manson," Lucas explained in the 2007 book, "The Making of Star Wars." "It had very unpleasant connotations."

Charles Mason helmed a cult in the late 1960s, and was responsible for the death of a beautiful, famed actress, Sharon Tate, among others. The murders were still fresh in people's minds into the '70s, when "Star Wars" arrived in theaters, making a name like Starkiller hard to swallow.

Disney/Lucasfilm

More than four decades later, the negative connotation faded and the phrase returned to the franchise, giving a nod to the movie that started it all.

When news of the Easter egg first slipped at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams revealed the name Starkiller Base was indeed "in honor of" Skywalker.

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