I just noticed something: in TFA C3PO’s left arm is red, while the same one is rusty in AOTC. Was it a PT reference for the fans?
In a “material not included in the film” YouTube video, I saw a panel from a TFA comic book that had Chewbacca tearing off 3P0’s arm, reason unspecified. Could be unrelated, but I find it likely that it is related to some deleted scene or unfilmed part of the script or something.
This I know and it’s probably true from a story standpoint, but it could still be a PT reference behind-the-scenes.