A couple of months ago, Disney’s streaming platform Disney+ launched with its flagship original series, The Mandalorian, perhaps the Mouse House’s best attempt at contributing to the Star Wars lore to date.
The series has introduced a couple of iconic characters, including the titular bounty hunter and the 50-year-old “Baby Yoda” he broke the code to protect, but it also brings us a healthy dose of Star Wars Easter eggs every week. Whether it’s a paraphrased iconic quote or the return of a familiar prop, the show has a ton of hidden winks to the audience. So, here are The Mandalorian’s 10 best Star Wars Easter eggs so far.
Mando’s bounties frozen in carbonite
Early on in the series, we got a glimpse of the Mandalorian’s ship and saw that he has a bunch of bounties on there, all frozen in carbonite, hanging on a rack in a long row.
Of course, the most famous act of carbonite freezing in the Star Wars saga arrived at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, when Boba Fett froze Han Solo in carbonite and took him to be hung on the wall in Jabba the Hutt’s palace. The Mandalorian confirmed that this is a common technique used by bounty hunters who want to bring in their bounties alive.
The streets are paved with Stormtrooper armor
The Mandalorian picks up a couple of years after Return of the Jedi, at a time when the fall of the Empire is still fresh in people’s memories. The show has found some interesting visual markers in the concept of a post-war setting, including Stormtrooper helmets – presumably taken from the corpses of the Empire’s brainwashed soldiers in a celebration of the end of the organization’s evil rule – lining the streets.
While we saw downed Imperial Star Destroyers lining the Jakku desert in The Force Awakens, there’s something a lot more unnerving about the sight of Stormtrooper armor, because it calls into question what happened to the people who used to wear it.
Pit droids
The great thing about The Mandalorian’s use of Star Wars iconography and nostalgic references is that, unlike the sequel trilogy, it’s not afraid to embrace the prequels. In the show’s fifth episode, Mando meets a couple of pit droids. We haven’t seen the clumsy, poorly designed pit droids pottering around the screen since way back in The Phantom Menace.
The owner of the pit droids was played by comedy legend Amy Sedaris, buried under a ton of makeup and prosthetics. Sedaris previously worked with The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau on Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King earlier this year.
“I’m your only hope.”
Played by Carl Weathers, Greef Karga is one of the most interesting new characters in The Mandalorian. In one episode, Karga asked Mando to trust him. Mando was skeptical, naturally, and asked Karga to give him a reason why he should trust him. Then Karga offered up some familiar words: “Because I’m your only hope.”
This is reminiscent of the message that Princess Leia left on R2-D2’s memory drive to elicit the help of Ben Kenobi: “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” Hope has always been one of the most prevalent themes in the Star Wars franchise.
The pipe from the Death Star’s trash compactor
A lot of fans missed this one on their first viewing, but once someone spotted it, it spread around the Internet like wildfire. In the background of one of the shots, a pipe can be seen propped up against a wall.
This pipe should be familiar to fans who have seen the original 1977 Star Wars movie a million times because it’s the same kind of pipe that Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie use to wedge the trash compactor open on the Death Star. The walls start closing in on them, so they use the pipe to keep themselves from being crushed.
Yousa
The character of Mayfeld has all the sharp wit and expert timing of the acid-tongued comedian who plays him: Bill Burr. In one particularly fun sequence, Mayfeld stands in for the audience as he riffs some fan theories about why the Mandalorian never takes off his helmet.
He jokingly theorizes that he wants to hide the fact that he’s a Gungan – the species of the universally despised Jar Jar Binks (who, for some bizarre reason, is George Lucas’ favorite Star Wars character) – and even throws in a “yousa” for good measure. Even in the wider universe, the Gungans are a laughing stock.
Mando arrives on Tatooine
The “adventure of the week” episodic format of The Mandalorian allows the creative team to explore brand-new worlds in the Star Wars universe. But it also allows them to return to familiar planets. In the fifth episode of the series, Mando arrives on Tatooine – the desert planet where Skywalkers Anakin and Luke enjoyed their humble childhoods – and lands in bay number 35.
A few years earlier (in the timeline), Han Solo landed the Millennium Falcon in docking bay 94 and unwittingly began his journey towards his soulmate and his true purpose in life. Later in the episode, there’s a reference to Beggar’s Canyon, where a young Anakin became a podracing champion and a young Luke raced with his friend Biggs.
Womp rat
The Internet has dubbed Mando’s adorable infant companion “Baby Yoda,” but he doesn’t actually have a name yet, much like his protector. Instead, he’s referred to as “the Child” or “the asset.” In the fourth episode of The Mandalorian, the titular outlaw suggests a new name for the character: “womp rat.”
Eagle-eared Star Wars fans will recognize this name. When the Rebel Alliance was planning its strike on the Death Star and a pilot questioned the ability to fire a torpedo into the exposed shaft, Luke Skywalker bragged that he used “to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home.”
The high ground
This sequence already contained one Easter egg, as it saw the characters getting into a fast-paced chase involving the same kind of speeder bikes that Luke and Leia used to chase the Scout Troopers on Endor in Return of the Jedi. But then, there’s a further reference to Revenge of the Sith when the Mandalorian says, “She’s got the high ground. She’ll wait for us to make the first move.”
This is similar to Obi-Wan’s famous quote: “It’s over, Anakin. I have the high ground.” Later, the Mandalorian decides to spare her life, explaining, “She’s no good to us dead.” This mirrors what Boba Fett said to Darth Vader about Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back.
A terrifying AT-ST walker attacks
In the fourth episode of The Mandalorian, the final battle sees a repurposed AT-ST walker attacking Mando and his group. These walkers were featured in the Endor battle in Return of the Jedi, but they were nowhere near as terrifying as this. They just came off as ditzy, badly designed vehicles that the Ewoks were able to take down with rocks and sticks.
In The Mandalorian, it was much scarier, with red lights coming from the cockpit as it went in for the strike at dusk. The ominous red glow through the night air gave the AT-ST walker a brand-new sense of terror.