fake r2d2 in star trek

Remember when George Lucas hid E.T. creatures in Star Wars: Episode I? Well apparently JJ Abrams did the same kind of thing in Star Trek, hiding the robot R2-D2 from Star Wars in one of the scenes (yes, the photo above is an obvious photoshop). I watched the film twice and definitely didn’t notice the little droid anywhere, so it must be a really obscure easter egg. I also haven’t seen any mention of the “cameo appearance” made anywhere online.

But Paramount Pictures has announced a contest, giving away an official prop from the film to one of the people who actually spotted the beeping droid. What scene in the new film Star Trek features the robot “R2-D2″ from Star Wars?  Email your answer to facebook@paramount.com with “STAR TREK Easter Egg Sweepstakes” in the subject line. Full rules are listed on Facebook.

Paramount Pictures has also announced that NASA astronaut Michael Barratt will have the opportunity to watch the film aboard the International Space Station, while he and two crewmates fly 220 miles above Earth. How cool is that?  You can read more in the official press release after the jump.

HOUSTON — Moviegoers likely will sit in crowded theaters to watch the new “Star Trek” movie, which premiered on May 8, but not NASA astronaut Michael Barratt. He will have the opportunity to watch the film aboard the International Space Station, while he and two crewmates fly 220 miles above Earth. The only thing missing will be the popcorn.

Paramount Pictures transferred “Star Trek” to NASA’s Mission Control in Houston, which then uplinked the film to the space station on Thursday, May 14. Barratt plans to watch the film on a laptop computer inside the Unity module.

“I remember watching the original ‘Star Trek’ series and, like many of my NASA coworkers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space,” said Barratt. “‘Star Trek’ blended adventure, discovery, intelligence and story telling that assumes a positive future for humanity. The International Space Station is a real step in that direction, with many nations sharing in an adventure the world can be proud of.”

There is a collection of DVDs and uplinked movies aboard the space station. The DVDs were delivered during previous shuttle and station missions and will remain aboard for the enjoyment of future crews.

Some crews have had movie nights as regular activities. Former station astronaut Greg Chamitoff and his crewmates viewed the entire “Star Trek” series as a regular weekly event.

Aside from watching movies and television shows, space station astronauts have a number of options for their leisure and personal time, such as reading books or magazines, listening to music, and playing musical instruments and board games. Chamitoff played chess in orbit with ground teams from station control centers around the world and the public. During one game, the public voted on the next move, choosing from four possibilities that students from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Wash., suggested.

Films, books and music are important aspects of psychological support for astronauts on long-duration missions.

Barratt launched to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in March. He is scheduled to return to Earth on space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-127 mission in June. His station crewmates are Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. All three will become part of the station’s first six-person crew, Expedition 20, when three new crew members arrive on May 29.

  • lol, for a second I thought the pic was actually from the film! Very good photoshoping. 10 bucks says that R2D2 is somewhere hidden in the bar scene.
  • I'm pretty sure I saw him in the teleportation room. Whatever that's called.
  • As a Star Trek fan, I am furious that Abrams would disrespect the franchise by adding Star Wars characters into a Star Trek film. Star Wars is our swarn enemy!
  • Ya, but you have to admit, Star Wars is far superior to Star Trek...
    Its only logical...
  • RyanAndrew11
    It's not a war. It never was a war. One is just better than the other (Star Trek will always and forever dominate.)
  • Scott
    Not liking a movie makes perfect sense... calling a movie "your enemy" is asinine.

    Unless of course Star Wars raped and killed your family... in which case on concede my point and offer humble apologies.
  • jason
    im srry but star wars is way better and all the people below me are nerds because of the way the message sounds who gives a shit its kool theres a cameo and just like every other star trek or starwars fan
    u went to see the starwars films in theatre just as i did with star trek
  • Aww. It's okay, though, because I totally wore a Starfleet shirt to a Star Wars fan club meeting once. On purpose.

    I love both franchises. I have a new Star Trek phaser on my desk right next to a Gentle Giant sculpture of Leia. WE CAN LIVE TOGETHER IN HARMONY! ;)

    Seriously though, I like them both. The fans of each can be quite different sometimes, though. I think Star Wars' major lack of science appeals to a broader audience than Star Trek. Or it did before the new Trek movie, anyway.

    (I, for one, love the science stuff in Star Trek, so that's not an insult.)

    As I just said on another post here, I always felt Star Trek was science-fiction and Star Wars was a fantasy/mythology in space. There's room for both because both are awesome in their own ways. :)
  • R2-D2 is probably chillin on top of the enterprise like its an x-wing
  • Marco
    Or chillin under the ship like he did on the Mothership in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You see him hanging there at first instant you see the Mothership.
  • Peter
    Star Wars was infiltrating... taking notes, since the franchise has forgotten how to make anything good in 30 years.
  • bonerjamz
    It costs billions of dollars to put people into space, I'd appreciate it if they didn't float around watching movies about space. That kind of laziness is reserved for normal underachieving jackoffs like ourselves.
  • Scott
    Hehe
  • It's not possible for people to just go up to the space station and work 18 hours a day. It would literally drive them insane. I can pretty much guarantee you that NASA and other space exploration organizations maintain a certain level of "cost effectiveness" with their astronauts. They need some kind of relaxation to balance out the immense pressure and difficulty their actual work probably offers.
  • Better R2 than 3PO. That little droid has heart!
  • Niko
    I bet he's in one of the Enterprise scenes because that ship's color scheme would definitely help our endearing, robot friend hide in the background.
  • freemachine
    WARNING, THIS IS A TRAP! I bet the R2 unit is on that Russian telesynch, which SWIM told me was excellent in quality. What if it's like a more subtle digital finger print, where R2 appears in different locations. If you enter the sweepstakes in the US, and then list R2's location, the Smoke Moster will appear at your front door. TRUST ME, DON'T DO IT!
  • Dude that Russian telesync was absolute shit, it was missing 40% of the screen due to lousy cropping....is what I would be telling you if I had seen it, which I clearly have not. =D
  • freemachine
    Yeah, the guy I talked to said that it clipped off the left hand side so you missed the location captions, but other than that it was pretty clear for a TS and the audio was pretty good too.

    On another note, the theater was crammed last night; second week in a row. This movie is going to make so much friggin' money! I'm glad, because I love Star Trek (though I'm far from a trekkie/trekker) and I even liked Nemesis and was totally disappointed that it's failure at the box office put the franchise on hold. I'm already jonesing for the sequel.
  • I've seen it twice so far and I'd like to see it again but no more cash to burn. Personally I've always been a big fan of Trek, but I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore fan since I didn't watch the last two TV shows at all. But I have seen all the films. I liked all the Next Gen ones purely for the fact that I came into the show with Next Gen, so being a big fan of those characters it's a no-brainer that I'd enjoy the films.

    Also a big fan of ST 5, if you can believe it. But yeah man this film was fantastic, I hope JJ sticks around on the next one.
  • Ginna
    The perfect scene for R2 to pop up in would be the Federation Outpost where we meet Scotty. Stacks of junk lying about for him/it to be sitting behind.
  • Zach
    That's exactly what popped into my mind. On that note, were those tribbles in the cage behind him?
  • ScubaBuddha
    Yes that was a tribble. I just watched ST11 again and watched the outpost scene carefully, but say no R@. I think it might be impossible to find him untill it comes out on DVD.
  • dave
    I heard Tom Servo is in the movie too
  • Weyland_Yutani
    I'd see the film 12 times to find that.
  • could be the bar scene, lots of quick shots / moving camera...

    btw - there was a quick shot of two guys sitting at a bar table after kirk gets punched that reeked of it being someone star trek history (from the speed of the shot)

    - however, i have only seen the movie once, so this is still speculation...
  • Captain Molotov
    Star Wars > Star Trek
  • Hallenbeck
    although revamped Star Trek > Star Wars Episodes 1-3
  • wha?
    imo, star wars episode 3 > star trek.
  • Really?

    Maybe a few select scenes...
  • shawn
    you wish, lol
  • Chris
    He's made small cameos before, including Close Encounter and one of the Indy movies.
  • This is an extremely clever way to encourage people to return to the theatre for repeat viewings. After reading the story my first thought was to go straight to the cineplex and plunk down ten more dollars.
  • i bet he's hidden in one of those crazy space fights, attached to one of the ships.
  • Afa
    *high five!?*
  • Are you guys sure it's a visual cameo? I'm pretty sure I heard R2 when two characters got into an elevator.
  • fibrowitch
    Yes that was a tribble in the cage behind New Scotty. And as far as hiding an R2D2 unit some where on the Enterprise. If this is true, I really will need to puke.

    It is a good movie, but like all odd numbered Star Treks, it's bad Trek.
  • Weyland_Yutani
    I'd look somewhere in the green spacechick's room. Probably mugging on a dresser or lying under the bed.

    All hot college girls have Star Wars toys. Everyone knows that.
  • ryanaintg2y
    hahaaha they'd have a miniature solid metal R2 D2
  • shawny walker black
    What about it being a numbered cameo? for instance, what if a serial number was "r2d2" like C3P0 "cameo"on the plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
  • ryanaintg2y
    George Lucas uses the numbers and letters C3PO a lot it was in a couple of his movies...just watch...you'll see them...in Star Wars the Cell Number of Princess Leia had C3PO in it...i'm not sure whether it was in that order or not....
  • i just got back from watching it AGAIN lol and idk but i have a feeling R2 shows up at the end when Spock boards the bridge of the Enterprise and asks Kirk, "Permission to come aboard?"

    its like RIGHT after he says that line, the camera is moving lightly to the left and there is like some glossy bronze metal bar that passes by the camera and you can see a woman sitting down looking at Spock and i swear i saw R2 standing on the platform next to her.

    it happens REALLLLLY fast and its a reflection, not even a background shot or anything.

    so the reflection off the glossy bronze bar...idk if im right but you guys can look out for it
  • MandarinOrange
    I heard from someone who saw the cameo that it was defiantly him (ie a visual) and was on screen in the background for several seconds.
  • xxx
    http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/6417/72466113.jp... Just as the Enterprise leaves spacedock!!!
  • ScubaBuddha
    Just watched it again looking fro R2 this time. No luck. Might have to wait for the DVD to be able to check each frame. I think he is either in the Starfeet Command hanger, Enterpises engineering section, "Hoths" Starfleet outpost, or maybe the Enterprises "drydock" in the beginning.
  • buddhascuba
    it's attached to thestarfleet rubble over vulcan when the enterprise exits warp
  • MandarinOrange
    Same here, except it is $8 where I live and $6 tomorrow.
  • theß
    when they arrive at Vulcan and find the debries field from the previous massacre, you can see R2D2 floating around.

    easy to spock... spot.
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