Get ready to be really excited Day of the Tentacle fans.

Take a close look at the Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition snapshot in the header image. The Tentacle idol featured in the center shouldn’t exist. It wasn’t included in the original PC release of the title (something anyone can easily check by fiddling with the visual toggle). Interestingly, the Tentacle idol -- which we can only assume is the dreaded Purple Tentacle -- is replacing two other LucasArts characters: Sam and Max.

What does this mean? There’s a couple of likely avenues to explore: LucasArts is hinting at a new release of either Maniac Mansion or Day of the Tentacle or Telltale Games (creators of the episodic Sam & Max series) is indeed working on an episodic series revolving around Day of the Tentacle.

During E3 2009, Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors told VideoGamer that a Day of the Tentacle series was feasible: “I would say feasible is a good word,” he said before adding, “To me I always think of the big three as, and maybe it’s just because of when I was playing and when I was first starting at LucasArts, I always think of Sam & Max, Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island as the big three franchises. Having access to Steve and access to Dave Grossman and everything else … I really love Day of the Tentacle.”

I asked LucasArts about my curious find last night. A representative told me this morning via e-mail, “I think we’d like to keep some easter eggs and their meanings mysterious for now.”

Mysterious indeed. Either way, it seems almost inevitable that we’ll get another Day of the Tentacle release. Now, if that’s an HD update or an episodic series is something that neither TellTale nor LucasArts is willing to tell us about just yet.

But we’ll remember the little guy up top and poke around a bit more.

[Update: Telltale is telling us this has nothing to do with a Day of the Tentacle episodic series.]