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Star Wars Fans Identify Flags Hanging from Maz Kanata’s Castle

By Elaine Tveit

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One of the new locations we got a glimpse of in the latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer was a castle-like structure with flags on the facade (presumably Maz Kanata’s castle of riffraff). Calithlin from Star Wars News Net’s Cantina has done some impressive detective work and (with a little help) identified most of the symbols on those flags. What’s fascinating is that they are all homages to different eras of the saga, including the prequel years.

Image by Calithlin

First, Calithlin identifies a couple of flags associated with Mandalore and Boba Fett (Fett fans rejoice). The first (12 in the picture) is the Mythosaur Skull, and the second is the Boba Fett wheat symbol (11).

Here are a couple of pictures of the symbols for reference.

Next up are five podracer flags (#2A, B, and C; #15 & #8; #3A, B, C, and D; #5A and B; #16; and #1). Interestingly, #15 and #8, and #5A and B belong to Sebulba and Anakin Skywalker, respectively.

Below are photos of the original podracing flags for reference.

Calithlin identifies this next flag’s (#7) symbol as a riff on Ziro the Hutt’s belly tattoo. I know, ew.

Next up is a symbol for a little less unsavory personage’s band of pirates: Hondo Ohnaka’s gang.

#4A and B, #6A, B, and C, #9, #10, and #13 were a little harder to identify; in fact, Calithlin didn’t even bother to take a stab at #4A and B or #9, which you can see below.

Calithlin did, however, hazard guesses for the remaining three, which appear to be accurate. #6A and B together look like the symbol for Wan Sandage’s podracer, #10 looks like a portion of Sabine Wren’s helmet, and #13 could be the Tatooine flag featuring the planet’s twin suns (see these symbols at The Cantina here).

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Even if not all of these guesses are correct, it’s obvious that on the whole, these flags are meant to be an homage to Star Wars canon preceding Episode VII. That’s a comforting sign, because with J.J. Abrams’s emphasis on practical effects, practical effects, practical effects, it almost seemed like his approach to the sequel trilogy was that the prequels were a bad aftertaste Disney wanted audiences to forget. Clearly, though, that’s not his or Disney’s stance, at least not completely.

Big thanks to Calithlin, LRSVDR, and Darby from The Cantina for working to identify these flags. Credit goes to Calithlin for all of these photos.

Recognize any symbols in these flags that weren’t covered or haven’t been suggested yet? Comment below or tweet at me.

Next: J.J. Abrams Heard Mark Hamill Pitch Evil Luke Skywalker in 2005

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