LEGO Star Wars designers: 'the Empire is powered by Octan'

A reference in LEGO Star Wars 75440 AT-AT is just a part of an inside joke from the LEGO Star Wars designers involving the Empire and Octan.

LEGO Star Wars 75440 AT-AT is full of references and interior details, as you can see in our review, but it turns out that one of them goes much deeper, extending into the wider LEGO Star Wars portfolio. There's an Octan tank towards the back of 75440 AT-AT, referencing the LEGO-original fuel company, which has appeared everywhere from The LEGO Movie to headwear.

During a recent interview with the designers behind the January 2026 LEGO Star Wars sets, Brick Fanatics was informed that this Easter egg is just a small part of a recent inside joke, and more details regarding the scrutiny that references go through before being placed in a LEGO Star Wars set.

"We do have a bit of flexibility, and we have some traditions with LEGO Star Wars humour," explained Jackson Hughes, designer for 75440 AT-AT." There's the pink brick that we often put in models, or the inside joke that the Empire is powered by Octan, and we sometimes throw in the red, green and white Octan colours. You'll see that as an Easter egg in 75440 AT-AT, but that's sort of a long-running LEGO Star Wars joke.

Other sets featuring an Octan reference within LEGO Star Wars include only relatively recent models, 75313 AT-AT and 75419 Death Star, as well as 75381 Droideka, the latter of which isn't an Empire model.

The LEGO Star Wars designers also explained, just before this segment of the interview, what the process of picking references for LEGO Star Wars sets is like and why they sometimes have to be left out of a build.

"It can't necessarily be a cool Star Wars Easter egg; it should be something that's related to the set in some way," Jackson said.

"You can't just spell out your name, of course, like that's not relevant at all," added Niels Bundesen, designer behind 75441 Venator-Class Attack Cruiser.

"You figure out what could be cool with the team, and you figure out if it's relevant and if it's also possible. If let's say you need more bricks to solve something, but you're spending lots of bricks for an Easter egg, you have to ask, would you rather solve the model or have the Easter egg and a half okay-ish model. You have to prioritise."

Since the Octan reference has been established, it falls under the traditions category and is easier to include in LEGO Star Wars sets. It only requires a minimum of three pieces, too. You can find the latest occurrence of this Easter egg in 75440 AT-AT now for £59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99. Read up on our review of the model here.

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