Star Wars has been one of the most popular movie franchises ever since A New Hope premiered in 1977. The original movie trilogy consists of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. After the release of three prequel movies, The Force Awakens came out in 2015. Here are some hidden similarities between first and latest in the Star Wars series that you may not have noticed.

Looking at the bigger picture, The Force Awakens and A New Hope have the same basic storyline. If someone were to say they watched a sci-fi film about a hero who discovers new powers and rescues the galaxy from evil, you wouldn’t be able to tell which of the two they were talking about! Like A New Hope, The Force Awakens is the story of a brave teen who joins a rebellion to save the galaxy. The heroes from both movies learn how to use the force, receive advice from a mentor who sacrifices himself and face a powerful leader of the galactic empire.

Additionally, characters introduced in The Force Awakens mirror those from A New Hope. Kylo Ren seems to be the new Darth Vader, BB8 has replaced R2D2 as the droid companion, and Han Solo fills the role of the wise, old mentor just like Obi-Wan Kenobi. The star of the original movie, Luke Skywalker, grew up on a desert planet without knowing his parents. Rey from The Force Awakens has an almost identical backstory. Anybody who has seen both films could connect the infamous Death Star to Starkiller Base, as they were both massive superweapons capable of destroying planets. In each of the movies, the giant space stations were destroyed by a risky shot from an X-wing fighter.

The next installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi, will hit theaters on Dec. 15. Although little is known about the plot, several similarities to The Empire Strikes Back can be drawn just based on the trailer. For example, it included a scene with AT-M6 walkers trekking across a winter landscape. This closely resembles the iconic opening battle in The Empire Strikes Back, which features similar AT-AT walkers in an identical snowy setting. There are a number of parallels between the classic Star Wars films and the recent and upcoming ones. If you’re planning to see the new movie, keep an eye out for more similarities!