J.J. Abrams Star Wars easter egg gives nostalgic nod to George Lucas original?

The latest Star Wars trilogy may not have been everything the fans wanted, but it does seem to feature some cool easter eggs for fans. Reportedly, J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens featured a nod to Princess Leia's Star Wars debut through Finn's stormtrooper codename, FN-2187.

Finn's stormtrooper codename, FN-2187, was a special reference to Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. John Boyega's character Finn was never given a last name in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but he did carry the FN-2187 designation when he came in contact with members of the First Order. Here's how the codename was an Easter egg to Leia Organa's past and how it goes deeper for George Lucas.

The numeric portion of Finn's stormtrooper codename was anything but a coincidence. In fact, it was a direct callback to Princess Leia's cell number for George Lucas' first installment, 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope. 

In A New Hope, Princess Leia is being held prisoner by the empire in a cell with the number 2187. But no amount of easter eggs could save the ailing franchise. The third and hopefully final instalment of the Skywalker saga, The Rise Of SkyWalker, failed to impress fans and it may have made decnet money at the box office, yet it was nowhere near what the conclusion of a decades long cinmatic saga was expected to make. 

Reportedly, The Rise Of Skywalker earned $40 million in Thursday night preview screenings. This is considered super strong — the fifth-biggest preview night in box office history, and the film is on its way to at least $200 million for the weekend. 

But that haul is below the last two Skywalker Saga films. By comparison, 2015's The Force Awakens had $57 million for its preview night and 2017's The Last Jedi had $45 million, according to Comscore. 

Star Wars has slowly been losing its sheen with every subsequent entry in the franchise, after the bad taste The Last Jedi left in the mouth of fans, Solo: A Star Wars story was largely ignored by fans and as a result bombed at the box office. The franchise is recovering in other forms of media with the recent success of the videogame Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the phenomenal success being enjoyed by The Mandalorian and baby Yoda.