When Game of Thrones ended last year, there was a desperate need among nerd cultures for a great television show to fill the void. Fortunately, just a few months later, Disney Plus unveiled The Mandalorian, the first ever live-action Star Wars TV series, and it has somehow lived up to the hype.
The reason for its immense success was the obvious care and attention that went into the show every step of the way. Behind the scenes, those involved with The Mandalorian treated the show as a labor of love. As such, there are tons of hidden details that fans might not have noticed throughout season one. Just be careful, there are spoilers ahead.
Cloud Riders
In the background of many of the various locations featured on The Mandalorian, there are a series of props and costumes both familiar to Star Wars fans and unfamiliar. If fans recognized any characters, though, that's probably because they were used in other Star Wars media.
Namely, in the background of the cantina scene in the first episode, two Cloud Riders can be seen by the names of Auromae and Chussido. These two Cloud Riders were also present in Solo: A Star Wars Story and they wore the same outfits!
Origin Of Blurgg
Also included in the first chapter of The Mandalorian are Blurggs. Granted, Blurggs receive much more screen time than the Cloud Riders do. However, they might have earned this recognition by being featured in more than just one movie over the years.
After having appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, Blurggs finally hit the big time in The Mandalorian, thanks to Kuiil, Nick Nolte's character. However, the first appearance of the Blurgg was actually way back in the '80s during Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Turns out, concept art can come a long way.
The Vibro-Knife
In the second episode of season one, an unconventional blade is seen on screen. Many of the average Disney Plus viewers might not have recognized this blade and they probably never gave it a second thought. However, for devoted fans of the Star Wars universe, this blade was a major prop milestone for the fandom.
It is actually a Vibro-knife that has been alluded to numerous times over the course of extended Star Wars lore. However, the vibrating knife that inflicts more pressure on the target came on the big screen for the first time in "The Child."
Jon Favreau's Presence
If someone subscribes to Disney Plus, they probably have at least something of an affinity for the role Jon Favreau has played behind the scenes of many properties, including a kick-off of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man and two live-action Disney remakes with The Jungle Book and The Lion King. (He also has a supposed Magic Kingdom film in the works.)
However, Favreau also played a major role in the creation of The Mandalorian. And he was not just working behind the camera. He also provided his voice to Paz Vizla, the antagonistic Mandalorian from the third episode. In case a fan recognized his voice, Favreau is the actor to pinpoint.
Loth-Cats
Vibro-knives, Cloud Riders, Blurggs. There are myriad aspects of the Star Wars canon that receive their biggest stage yet in The Mandalorian. In the Bryce Dallas Howard directed fourth episode of the show, "Sanctuary," another Easter egg becomes a noteworthy feature: Loth-cats.
Loth-cats from Star Wars: Rebels are seen during the fourth episode of The Mandalorian, which serves as their live-action debut from the space epic series. There's an even stronger connection that fans might have missed, too. Loth-cats are derived from Tooka cats and Tookas come from Tuuk, producer Dave Filoni's pet cat.
Extra Stormtroopers
The immersive storytelling in The Mandalorian was noticed by all. But the lengths the production went to achieve this was oftentimes not apparent to fans on screen. This is definitely apparent in "The Reckoning," the show's seventh episode when Stormtroopers were needed.
To meet the need for more Stormtrooper costumes, Filoni enlisted members of the famous global Star Wars cosplay group, the 501st Legion. Suddenly, their incredible costumes became canon props on the show. And two Stormtroopers featured in the climax of season one are played by Jason Sudeikis and Adam Pally, in case fans didn't notice those voices either.
Force Healing
Many of the aforementioned hidden details would only be noticed by the most eagle-eyed of Star Wars fans. This often requires an extensive knowledge of the greater universe. However, one aspect of the universe came in the penultimate episode of season seven of The Mandalorian.
It only would have been clear to fans who had also just seen the newest Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Force healing was never seen before in Star Wars, but the parallel running of the show with the release of the final installment of the Skywalker saga showed how powerful and jaw-dropping it could be. That's a masterstroke of Disney synergy. Thanks, Baby Yoda.
Enter Darksaber
The inclusion of the Darksaber in the finale of The Mandalorian's first season was one of the most noticed objects throughout the entire arc of the show. Even more than Vibro-knives, Darksabers have been anticipated by devoted fans for a while.
However, casual fans definitely did not pick up on the Darksaber. It certainly was a striking and noticeable item in the show that probably prompted some Google searches. But with so much going on in the finale, it might have gone overlooked. Rest assured, that the Darksaber was not seen in the universe since Bo Katan had it in Star Wars: Rebels.
Stranger Things In The Galaxy?
One peculiar shout-out in the season finale of The Mandalorian came in a bit of an unexpected fashion. It was not an obvious reference to anything in the Star Wars universe, but rather it seemed to harken to something from Stranger Things. This was when Cara (Gina Carano) alluded to an Empire device known as "the mind flayer."
This is not actually the mind flayer from the hit Netflix series, though. Likely, this covert detail in the show is actually making reference to the Bor Gullet. This particular interrogation tool could also be seen in Rogue One.
Holiday Special
Clearly, The Mandalorian makes references to a slew of Star Wars properties from over the years. From comic books to video games to animated series and beyond, The Mandalorian is a fan's one-stop-shop for Easter eggs in a galaxy far, far away.
However, one ostracized piece of Star Wars media, the infamous holiday special, is also alluded to in the show. For example, Life Day receives a shoutout in the pilot of The Mandalorian and Boba Fett's role in the holiday special also comes back prominently, namely in the inclusion of his costume from the Christmas season.