In case we haven’t annoyed Star Wars fans enough with our previous crazy theories about the Saga, here’s another one to chew on and hopefully not spit out in disgust!

A lot of people simply assume that E.T. has all of his powers naturally, and are things any other member of his race could do. However, take a step back for a moment and examine those powers. Also, think about the fact that ET may have been magical and mystical, even among members of his own race. If you look at it in that only slightly-meta regard, then ET may have a lot more in common with a certain force-wielding order than he does with simply being an alien.

10. Why Did The Aliens Come Back For ET?

Once ET’s location was known, a rescue party was immediately dispatched. This is kind of a non-typical response, as far as governments go. People are already talking about flying crews to Mars and leaving them there. Hostages in hostile situations sometimes literally stay in the control of the hostage takers for years. One alien lost on a dirtball planet might not be inconsequential, but it isn’t exactly an emergency either.

However, if ET had real value to the society (as a possible Jedi knight or master certainly would,) then the importance of locating and retrieving him at all costs seems just a little more plausible. After all, it is entirely possible that ET was special, even within his own race.

9. The Halloween Scene Is Essentially A Jedi Mind Trick

People may not give kids a whole lot of credit, but are you seriously going to think that you can put a sheet on an alien, and no one will notice that something seems just a little bit out of the ordinary? Really? There was no sound, stance or odor that just happened to give him away? There was no dark outline in there at any point and time? At no point when candy was being delivered, no one checked out the wrinkled, seemingly thousand-year-old hand? How did this all never manage to come up? Is it at all possible that ET’s free hand was actually waving during the scene? If you can convince people that “These are not the droids you’re looking for,” then you might be able to get away with “I am just a snot-nosed kid like everyone else on this block.”

8. The Robe

As any one coming out of a bathroom will tell you, there are a number of different ways in which to wear a bath towel. Very few of these fashion statements will actually make you look like a Jedi, unless of course you already are one.

Look at the way that ET manipulates the wearing of the towel around him. This is a being who is clearly used to wearing a robe. Honestly, ET in the towel does not look much different from a Jedi in ceremonial dress. In addition, ET does not seem nearly as comfortable naked as he does when wrapped in the towel robe. That may very well be because that is the dress which he is used to wearing.

7. The Midichlorians May Have Physical Manifestations

It is entirely possible that The Force could have entirely different effects on different alien physiologies. More to the point, what if ET wielding the Force caused midichlorians to become visible? We already know that Jedi not only pay attention to midichlorian counts, but can also measure them. Is it such a huge jump in logic that midichlorians would become visible in some races when in effect? Specifically, ET’s finger and stomach both glow. These are not properties immediately visible in other members of his race. There might simply be a physically visible manifestation when ET is using of the Force.

6. ET Phone Home

Not even an interstellar McGyver could take a Texas Instruments toy and a few household items, and reach a star ship light years away. We are dealing with aliens, but what was ET doing with that “phone” again exactly? Consider the following for just a moment: Luke can call out to Leia through space. Jedi can feel other Jedi (or other force-sensitive people) across far distances. What if we are not dealing with advanced communication at all? What if ET was phoning home by merely creating an object or totem to enhance his natural Force abilities of long-range communication? The signal that ET sent out may have simply needed amplification, and ET had to create a device to do it.

5. ET’s Lifeforce Is Tied To Eliot’s

This is going to seem a bit radical to some people, but why are the Jedi essentially not allowed to love? Think about it. Everything that the JEDI do has a reason. Isn’t it possible that, through the Force tying luminous beings together, that the life force actually becomes intertwined? Think about the following scenario: at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin is dying. He reaches out his hand to make a connection. As a direct result, Padme starts to die after giving birth to Luke and Leia. Why does she die?

Afterwards, Palpatine informs Vader that he himself has killed Padme. Vader screams “No!” and is in despair. Have you ever noticed that, when it comes right down to it, the Sith do not actually lie? Vader knows he killed Padme. How did he do it? Vader used her lifeforce to survive long enough to get to the surgery, leaving her with nothing. ET does the same thing with Elliot. When the connection is broken, Elliot gets better, and ET has to take it the rest of the way.

4. ET Uses The Force On The Flower

Think about the scene where ET revives a flower back to life. Now, remember what Yoda says in The Empire Strikes Back: “My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.”

Think about that for just a moment. All we have really seen the Force used for (in most cases) in combat. Pay attention to what Yoda says about it though. There are many more applications than simply karate gymnastics. Through the Force, ET connects to the flower and makes it re-grow. ET makes a connection between himself and the flower as equally luminous beings. Sharing the Force, they both grow. It actually seems to be a beautiful application of the non-combat part of the Jedi job description.

3. Does Every Member Of ET’s Race Levitate Objects?

Can we review for a moment one of the most iconic scenes in film history? ET levitates and flies a bicycle across the sky. Lets assume for a moment that the aliens are not naturally super-powered, just like we are not naturally super-powered. Levitation of objects is a pretty common practice among the Jedi order, since the Force exists everywhere and all. Yoda could apparently pick up and fly an X-Wing over a low level. If ET was a Jedi master, then why would it be hard to fathom that he could actually sit in a bike and levitate it across the sky for a period of time as well?

2. Steven Spielberg Allowed It To Be So

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial was a smash success, and actually sold more tickets than Avatar. However, there was no sequel. As popular as the film was, the character was barely licensed or used for marketing. Why? Well, ET is a deeply personal movie to Steven Spielberg, which focuses on his feelings about growing up with an essentially absentee father. Do you really think that Spielberg would allow ET to be used as a joke or a simple sight gag? No; if ET was going to appear anywhere, there needed to be a fantastic reason. Establishing ET as part of the Star Wars universe might well be just such a reason. And speaking of …

1. ET Is In The Phantom Menace

It’s just a brief Easter Egg in the Senate scene, but this does establish ET’s race is very much in the Star Wars Universe. On these alien Senators, you do not see any kind of glowing fingers or glowing bellies, do you? How do we know that such traits are even common among that race? If you acknowledge them as being in the Star Wars Universe, and accept that glowing appendages are not a normal occurrence among them, then you acknowledge them as being possibly Force-sensitive, and that one of their own could definitely rise to the level of Jedi Master.

If that’s not enough of a mind-screw, ET visiting Eliot on our planet, a mere 30 years ago, establishes that we are in the Star Wars Universe, and there might well be creatures among us with force-sensitivity. So the next time you see some little tyke walking around wielding a toy lightsaber, they might not be playing after all. They might be practicing.

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