Editor's Note: The following contains mild spoilers for Andor. In one of the more amusingly awkward scenes in the fifth episode of Andor, “The Axe Forgets,” the former Pre-Mor officer Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) returns home to his mother, Eedy (Kathryn Hunter). Syril is embarrassed, as he’s been blamed for the crisis on Ferrix. He’s just looking for a sense of comfort, but he doesn’t exactly find this from his mom. As Syril tries to put his mind at ease, his mother lectures him on the importance of applying himself and suggests that he reach out to his Uncle Harlo to find a new position.

Star Wars fans may have noticed that Syril is chowing down on a somewhat familiar breakfast food: cereal with blue milk. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) drinks a glass of blue milk during a similarly awkward scene back in Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope. Luke is in the exact opposite position that Syril finds himself in. Luke uses the family gathering to ask his Uncle Owen Lars (Phil Brown) about joining the Imperial Academy, but he’s told to simply stay at home and avoid any galactic adventures.

In the original film, this is just a small detail meant to make the Star Wars universe feel like a slightly warped version of something audiences could relate to. It’s actually one of the reasons the first film became such a phenomenon; Luke was a relatable character for younger viewers because he was going through the same existential teenage struggles that they were. However, blue milk has gradually become a recurring in-joke in the Star Wars universe that has appeared in the Expanded Universe and several amusing parodies.

Blue Milk Tasted Awful on Set Originally

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Image via Lucasfilm

On set, the drink itself was not an easy one for Hamill to stomach. He said that “the warm, oily, sickly-sweet milk dyed blue from the movie was gag-inducing.” Since the original film was shot in Tunisia, the crew needed to use “lifelong milk” that didn’t need to be refrigerated and could be brought on camping trips. Although Hamill was told that he didn’t have to drink the mixture on camera, he felt that as an unknown actor, he needed to signify his commitment to the role. Hamill admitted that he pretended to like the taste, even though it “triggered your gag reflex.”

The early Star Wars Expanded Universe novels established that blue milk was a common household item in-universe. It’s referred to by a few different names; The Truce At Bakura mentions that it comes from Tatooine’s banthas, and Rogue Planet identifies it specifically as “Tatooine milk.” However, novel series like The New Jedi Order explain that blue milk is found throughout the galaxy, and not just on backwater desert planets like Tatooine.

In order to keep everything within the same continuity, George Lucas brought back blue milk for Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) are served blue milk when they return to the Lars Family Homestead searching for Anakin’s mother, Shmi (Pernilla August). An interactive feature on the official Star Wars website indicated that blue milk was also served at Dexter’s Diner, the 1950s-style restaurant that Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) visits looking for information.

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Blue Milk Has Been Parodied Often

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Image via Disney+

Blue milk has also inspired some of the most creative Star Wars parodies. A parodical short film entitled “Blue Milk” that parodied a popular Welch’s grape juice commercial won the “best parody” category at the 2006 Star Wars Fan Film Awards hosted by AtomFilms. Blue milk pops up in many of the Lucasfilm-sponsored satires; Phineas and Ferb have some “blue ice cream” in 2014’s Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, and “Gary the Stormtrooper” has a glass in the Star Wars: Robot Chicken television special.

Disney has made blue milk a mainstay in the new canon, with several references to the drink in Star Wars Rebels, The High Republic project, and Andor’s predecessor, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In 2017, Lucasfilm celebrated the 40th anniversary of the original film with the anthology novel From A Certain Point of View. From A Certain Point of View retold events surrounding A New Hope from the perspective of background characters; it was promoted using #OperationBlueMilk.

The most obvious callback came in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, where the older Luke seems to stick with his favorite childhood beverage. When Rey (Daisy Ridley) visits Luke on Ach-To, he milks a thala-siren to produce a green liquid. It was thankfully a tastier experience for Hamill; he said that the green milk was made from coconut milk with green food coloring.

Star Wars fans who want to try the drink for themselves are in luck. The Galaxy’s Edge theme park at Disney serves both a frozen plant-based blend of coconut and rice “Blue Milk,” an alcoholic “Blue Milk Cooler,” and a non-alcoholic “Blue Bantha” cocktail. Hamill got to try the milkshake for himself and gave it his sign of approval.