Rebels - S1E4 - "Rise of the Old Masters"

0:23 - Kanan (to Ezra):  "Do or do not; there is no try."  Yoda says this to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back [1:09:29].  In this episode, Kanan acknowledges the saying's provinance:  "Actually, that one always confused me, too, but Master Yoda sure used to say it a lot."

2:42 - Ezra (as Kanan pulls him through the air using the Force):  "What the?"  In Attack of the Clones, an alien on Coruscant makes this same exclamation as he sees Obi-Wan flying through traffic while hanging from a droid [15:08]; Han Solo says it in A New Hope after emerging from hyperspace into a meteor shower [1:03:15]; and in Return of the Jedi, a scout trooper says this after being hit by Wicket [1:05:38].

7:29 - Hera (to the rest of the rebels):  "Good luck."  In The Empire Strikes Back, an unidentified Rebel pilot wishes Luke good luck [36:02] and Luke wishes Lando good luck [2:00:09], and in Return of the Jedi, Han and Lando wish each other good luck [Han to Lando at 50:33 and Lando to Han at 52:21].

8:22 - Kanan (to Ezra, after he loudly runs into the door):  "You're lucky every stormtrooper in the prison doesn't know we're here."  Luke makes a similar complaint to Han Solo in A New Hope:  "You know, between his [Chewbacca's] howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here" [1:08:56].

13:30 - Ezra (on his comlink):  "Spector Three, come in; it's a trap!"  Admiral Ackbar says, "It's a trap!" in Return of the Jedi [1:35:03], and Leia says it twice in The Empire Strikes Back [1:39:50].

15:32 - Stormtrooper (to other stormtroopers):  "Hold your fire!"  Obi-Wan also says this to Anakin when he tries to shoot the buzz droids off Obi-Wan's starfighter in Revenge of the Sith:  "Hold your fire!  You're not helping here!" [6:03]

20:23 - Kanan (to Ezra):  "What're you talkin' about?"  This line appears three times in A New Hope:  twice, C-3PO asks R2-D2, "What are you talking about?" [6:51 and 9:47], and later, in response to Luke's urge to rescue Leia, Han Solo asks, "What are you talkin' about?" [1:11:03].  In Attack of the Clones, Anakin also asks Padmé, "What are you talking about?" [1:43:07].

Rebels - S1E3 - "Fighter Flight"

0:30 - Ezra (to Chopper):  "Come back here, you rolling junk pile."  C-3PO similarly insults R2-D2 in A New Hope:  "Go that way.  You'll be malfunctioning within a day, you near-sighted scrap pile" [9:53].

5:03 - Zeb (to Ezra):  "So what's the plan, kid?"  Han has a similar line in A New Hope when he asks Luke, "What's your plan?" [1:11:56]

7:31 - Stormtrooper (to Zeb):  "Hands up!"  A stormtrooper also says, "Hands up!" to Han and Leia in Return of the Jedi [1:48:07].  In The Phantom Menace, a battle droid says, "Hands up!" to Jar Jar and Captain Tarpals [2:00:19], and in Revenge of the Sith, one says "Hands up, Jedi!" to Anakin [10:22].

9:37 - Zeb (after fruit splatters the cockpit of the TIE fighter he stole):  "Can't see a thing!"  Obi-Wan says the same thing in Revenge of the Sith, after the cockpit of his starfighter fogs over ("I can't see a thing" [6:11]), and Luke says the same thing in A New Hope about his stormtrooper disguise ("I can't see a thing in this helmet!" [1:13:17]) and in The Empire Strikes Back while entering Dagobah's atmosphere in his X-wing ("All the scopes are dead; I can't see a thing" [41:09]).

14:59 - Zeb (to Supply Master Lyste, who's suspicious about the stolen TIE fighter):  "That's not the TIE you're looking for."  This has the same structure as Obi-Wan's line "These aren't the droids you're looking for" in A New Hope [43:40].

15:48 - Mr. Sumar (to Ezra, as he's reaching down to the control panel to release the Imperial prisoners):  "It's too dangerous!"  In A New Hope, Obi-Wan gives this same warning to Luke as he rushes back to the farm [39:52].

17:58 - Ezra sticks a wrench into the barrel of the turret so that when it fires, the turret explodes, which is basically the same thing that Indiana Jones does with a rock and a turret on a tank in The Last Crusade [1:30:22].

Rebels - S1E2 - "Droids in Distress"

3:24 - C-3PO (to R2-D2):  "Secret mission?  What secret mission?"  He says the same thing, also to R2, in A New Hope:  "Secret mission?" [6:50]

4:04 - C-3PO:  "The odds of our mission becoming a complete debacle-"  He also gives the odds of various situations in The Empire Strikes Back:  "R2 says the chances of survival are 725 to 1" [12:15], "Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!" [38:50], and "Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer-" [1:07:19].

4:50 - The decorative border in the hangar seems to be derived from a similar design in a Ralph McQuarrie concept painting for the exterior of Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi:

8:41 - Stormtrooper:  "Hands up!"   A stormtrooper also says, "Hands up!" to Han and Leia in Return of the Jedi [1:48:07].  In The Phantom Menace, a battle droid says, "Hands up!" to Jar Jar and Captain Tarpals [2:00:19], and in Revenge of the Sith, one says "Hands up, Jedi!" to Anakin [10:22].

9:58 - C-3PO (to R2):  "The mission is doomed, and so are we!"  He also says "We're doomed" twice (both times to R2) in A New Hope [3:04, 16:02], once (to Han, Leia, and Chewbacca) in The Empire Strikes Back [1:00:38], and once (to R2) in Return of the Jedi [10:03].

10:38 - C-3PO:  "I am C-3PO, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2."  He introduces himself and R2 in almost the same way in A New Hope:  "And I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2" [20:25].

14:22 - C-3PO (making a distress call):  "This is C-3PO, human-cyborg relations..."  He uses the same phrase when he introduces himself to Padmé and to R2-D2 in The Phantom Menace ("I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations" [39:03 and 39:26]), to Luke in A New Hope ("And I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations" [20:25]), and to Lando in The Empire Strikes Back ("I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations" [1:21:31]).  He's about to say the same thing in Return of the Jedi, but EV-9D9 interrupts him, so he gets only as far as "I am C-3PO human-cy-" [11:21].

17:17 - C-3PO (to the stormtroopers):  "Wait, don't shoot!  Don't shoot!  You're here to rescue me!"  He also says this, to Jawas, in A New Hope:  "Don't shoot!  Don't shoot!" [16:27].

19:39 - C-3PO:  "Will our torment never end?"  He has a similar line in A New Hope:  "Will this never end?"  [16:28].

19:43 - Hera:  "Chopper, get us outta here."  Han Solo also says this in A New Hope, although directed to Chewbacca:  "Chewie, get us outta here!" [55:26].

21:26 - This shot of R2 and Bail Organa matches a shot of Leia and R2 in A New Hope [5:08], albeit in mirror image:

[source]

Rebels - S1E1 - "Spark of Rebellion"

Part I

2:06 - Commandant Aresko (to stormtroopers, referring to a merchant):  "Take him away."  In The Phantom Menace, Nute Gunray commands, "Take him away," to a pair of battle droids, referring to Sio Bibble [1:18:19], and in Attack of the Clone, Jango Fett says, "Take him away" to battle droids, referring to Anakin [1:42:30].

2:18 - Taskmaster Grint (to Ezra):  "Move along, Loth-rat."  In A New Hope, a sandtrooper says the same thing when, prompted by Obi-Wan's influence through the Force, he directs Luke into Mos Eisley:  "Move along.  Move along." [43:51].

5:30 - Sabine (to Ezra):  "Good luck!"  In The Empire Strikes Back, an unidentified Rebel pilot wishes Luke good luck [36:02] and Luke wishes Lando good luck [2:00:09], and in Return of the Jedi, Han and Lando wish each other good luck [Han to Lando at 50:33 and Lando to Han at 52:21].

5:54 - Screenshots don't do justice to the dynamics here, but this shot has the same basic composition as a shot in Return of the Jedi [59:34].  The camera pans with the rebels' speeders (Ezra, Kanan, and Zeb in this episode; Luke and Leia in the movie) and then stops to reveal two Imperial troopers already mounted on speeder bikes who take off in pursuit.

6:21 - Zeb suddenly slows his speeder bike so that the Imperial troops who were chasing him pass him, which is what Luke does in Return of the Jedi [59:47].

6:27 - Imperial trooper (after Kanan feigns giving up):  "What the?"  In Attack of the Clones, an alien on Coruscant makes this same exclamation as he sees Obi-Wan flying through traffic while hanging from a droid [15:08]; Han Solo says it in A New Hope after emerging from hyperspace into a meteor shower [1:03:15], and in Return of the Jedi, a scout trooper says this after being hit by Wicket [1:05:38].

Part II

0:49 - The symbol on the door in the Imperial cruiser also appears in Echo Base in The Empire Strikes Back [33:36], and these particular shots even have a similar composition:

1:05 - Ezra (to Kanan and Zeb):  "It's a trap!  We gotta get out of here; it's a trap!"  Admiral Ackbar says, "It's a trap!" in Return of the Jedi [1:35:03], and Leia says it twice in The Empire Strikes Back [1:39:50].

1:42 - Stormtrooper (after the artificial gravity is turned off):  "What the?"  See above, 6:27.

4:43 - Agent Kallus (to Ezra):  "You're here to be used as bait upon our return to Lothal."  Obi-Wan uses the same expression in Attack of the Clones (speaking to Anakin, referring to Padmé):  "You're using her as bait" [11:22].

7:56 - Ezra (after hearing that the Rebel ship has returned):  "They came back!  I don't believe it."  The context is quite different, but Luke also says, "I don't, I don't believe it" in The Empire Strikes Back, after Yoda uses the Force to get his X-wing out of the swamp [1:13:10].

15:42 - Wilhelm scream (stormtrooper)

16:14 - Ezra (to Kallus):  "I don't know where you get your delusions, buckethead; I work alone."  Leia has a similar line in The Empire Strikes Back, talking to Han:  "I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain" [17:20].

19:00 - The color palette is simpler, but in Ezra's home there are a few hexagonal panels like those seen in the homestead garage in Attack of the Clones and A New Hope:

19:10 - Kanan (to Ezra):  "The Force is everywhere.  It surrounds us and penetrates us.  It binds the galaxy together."  Obi-Wan similarly describes the Force in A New Hope:  "It's an energy field created by all living things.  It surrounds us and penetrates us.  It binds the galaxy together." [34:41].

20:35 - Obi-Wan (in a holocron recording):  "And in time a new hope will emerge."  This is obvious, but I'll note it anyway:  "a new hope" is also the title of the first movie.

Revenge of the Sith

After the crawl, the first shot of the movie pans down to reveal the top of a Jedi cruiser:

This is nearly the opposite of the shots from underneath Star Destroyers that start the movies in the original trilogy.  Instead of the oppression of the Empire, this seems to give the impression of the stability of the Republic, although when the camera follows Obi-Wan and Anakin's ships beyond the cruiser, the battle raging beneath it is revealed.

Later in the movie, there's a shot that's closer to the opening of the original trilogy movies.  A Jedi cruiser flies overhead, but in the opposite direction of the Star Destroyer in A New Hope:

That the shots are becoming more similar illustrates that the events of Revenge of the Sith are leading into those of A New Hope.  There's still a difference, though, because the Jedi are working towards peace and justice in the Republic; they're not yet "all but extinct" in the "dark times" of the Empire, as Obi-Wan tells Luke.

---&---

When Palpatine tells Obi-Wan and Anakin, "Get help.  You're no match for him [Count Dooku]; he's a Sith Lord!" he's still maintaining his façade as chancellor (they don't know that he too is a Sith Lord), but his comment may illustrate his hubris.  As the chancellor, at least, he thinks that a single Sith Lord (and the apprentice, at that) is more powerful than two Jedi.  Luke points out his flaw in Return of the Jedi when he tells him, "Your overconfidence is your weakness."

---&---

When Anakin says, "I'm not the Jedi I should be.  I want more, and I know I shouldn't" in his conversation with Padmé, he turns away while saying, "I know I shouldn't," as if he can't bear to maintain eye contact with her while admitting this fault.

In the featurette titled "The Chosen One" on the bonus DVD, there's even behind the scenes footage of George Lucas directing this scene, and he specifically tells Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin, to turn away during that line.

---&---

Most of the names of the Sith lords come ultimately from Latin.  Maul is from molere, which means to grind.  Tyrannus is the Latin word for tyrant.  Sidious seems to come from insidious, which is from the Latin insidiae, which means ambush or trickery.  Even Plagueis, who is only mentioned, has a Latinate name; it's similar to plague, which comes from plangere, to beat or to strike.  Vader is the exception.  While it's pronounced differently, vader is the Dutch word for father.

In the same way that Vader's name comes from a different language family, his motivation for becoming a Sith lord is different from the others'.  Sidious's goal is clearly the acquisition and maintaining of power.  ("Unlimited power!")  The motivations of Maul and Tyrannus really aren't explored to a great degree, but they seem similar to Sidious's.

Vader, on the other hand, throws in his lot with Sidious and becomes a Sith lord primarily to save Padmé from his premonitions of her death.  He does want power (over death), but his desire for power isn't a selfish one like Sidious's is.