Every Film in Marvel's Phase 2 Includes This STAR WARS Reference

As the owner of both Marvel and Lucasfilm, it's safe to say that The Walt Disney Company is going to have a very, very good year at the box office in 2015. Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out in just a few days, and the most recent trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke a record as the most viewed trailer in a 24 hour period, so anticipation is through the roof for both of these films. It's doubtful that we'll ever see a true crossover between those two franchises (unless you count Patton Oswalt's spectacular Parks & Rec rant), but that doesn't mean that there isn't any homage paid to the classic sci-fi film series.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that every movie in Marvel's Phase 2 slate included a nod to the Star Wars movies in the form of someone getting his or her arm or hand cut off.

So is this a spoiler for Ant-Man… not really. I’m obsessed with Star Wars. Who’s not? I’m 40 years old. I’m in the movie business. I went to USC. So I’m obsessed with Star Wars - and it didn’t start out as intentional, but it became intentional, including that beat that you referenced. It sort of happens in every Star Wars movie, but I was sort of looking at it, ‘Okay, is Phase Two our Empire Strikes Back?’ Not really, but tonally things are a little different. Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie. Every single one.

This is something that happens with alarming frequency in the Star Wars universe, and when you take a look at the following breakdown, it makes sense that Feige is referencing George Lucas' movies. Pretty cool stuff. Keep an eye out for similar things in Age of Ultron and Ant-Man when they debut this year.