Continuing in an exponentially massive undertaking from the last several weeks, I’ve put together a list of a whopping 65 Easter Eggs, allusions to other media, and Star Wars references from The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 5 – “Return of the Mandalorian".
1 – Din Djarin / “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”: Yes, the protagonist from The Book of Boba Fett’s sister series The Mandalorian took the spotlight here, and he even got to say his catchphrase pretty much right off the bat.
2 – Beskar Spear: Djarin obtained this in The Mandalorian Chapter 13 – “The Jedi,” and we’ve now learned that in addition to being able to block a lightsaber blade, it can also pierce Beskar armor.
3 – The Darksaber: “It gets heavier with each move.” / “You are fighting against the blade.” / “If it falls into the hands of the undeserving, it will be a curse unto the nation.” / “You won it in combat.” We got lots of exposition about this weapon, which first appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and has since popped up in Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian.
4 – Ardeshir Radpour: A stuntman on The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action series, Radpour plays the Klatooinian boss Kaba Baiz.
5 – Tracking Fob / Bounty Puck: Din Djarin is still using the tools of the bounty hunting trade we saw early on in The Mandalorian.
6 – “Return of the Mandalorian”: The title of this episode reminds me of something… but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
7 – Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: The image of Djarin carrying Baiz’s severed head in a sack is taken right out of Sam Peckinpah’s 1974 neo-Western.
8 – 2001: A Space Odyssey: Now the big rotating space station ring is being interpreted by some as a nod to the Halo video game series, but it made me think of astronaut Dave Bowman jogging around the cabin of the Discovery One spaceship in Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece. There’s also a similar-looking location in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, but this concept seems to be a fairly common one in science fiction.
9 – Ishi Tib / Cerean / Quarren: These three alien species from a wide variety of Star Wars media can all be seen sitting at the dinner table in the scene where Djarin delivers the head to the client who hired him.
10 – Mandalorian Covert: The Mandalorians we met in The Mandalorian have relocated to this new location, and they’ve denoted the entrance to their hideout with some infrared markings that include rough outlines of a Mandalorian’s visor and a Mythosaur skull.
11 – The Armorer / Paz Vizsla / “This is the way.”: Din meets up with some old allies and tells them he is sorry for their sacrifice, meaning all the Mandalorians who were killed on Nevarro because of his decision to take Grogu. And you might remember these guys have a catchphrase too.
12 – Bacta Spray: We’ve seen this used previously in The Mandalorian Chapter 8 – “Redemption” and a handful of other Star Wars stories.
13 – The Empire Only Lasted 30 Years: She’s right, but she might even be overestimating by a few years. If you figure Luke (who’s the same age as the Empire) was 19 in A New Hope, that means he’d be about 23 to 25 in Return of the Jedi, when Emperor Palpatine was killed. But if you count the Battle of Jakku at the end of the Galactic Civil War, let’s be generous and say Luke is around 26 at that time. Still, the point is that the Mandalorians definitely win with 10,000 years of history behind them.
14 – Tarre Vizsla: He was the first Mandalorian to be inducted into the Jedi Order and created the Darksaber. He also became the ruler of Mandalore 1,000 years before the Skywalker Saga. He founded house Vizsla– Pre Vizsla from The Clone Wars and Paz Vizsla (both characters voiced by The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett creator Jon Favreau) are his descendants.
15 – The Forge: Din Djarin helps the Armorer rebuild the smelting and welding station that she once used to craft his armor. She uses the same tools (both in her work and in battle) that we saw in The Mandalorian.
16 – Moff Gideon: The villain from The Mandalorian gets name-checked in this episode.
17 – The New Republic Tribunal: Din says Gideon should be executed by the New Republic, which seems a little harsh for a society supposedly built on a commitment to peace. This tribunal is reminiscent of the real-world International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg after World War II, and was first established in Chuck Wendig’s Star Wars: Aftermath novel trilogy.
18 – Mythosaur: These were giant creatures once ridden by ancient Mandalorians, and an image of the beast’s skull has become a recurring symbol of Mandalorian culture. Based on the Armorer’s comments about a prophecy in this episode, I’m guessing we’ll see one in the flesh before The Mandalorian series is over.
19 – Sundari: In a flashback, we see the planet Mandalore and its domed capital city in the process of being destroyed by the Empire.
20 – Bo-Katan Kryze: The Armorer says Bo-Katan wants control of Mandalore “based purely on blood” and that her claim to the throne (seen in Rebels) was invalid because the Darksaber was “gifted to her and not won by Creed.” She also says that Kryze’s clan “lost sight of the way,” meaning that they weren’t as steadfastly adherent to the strict Mandalorian code as the Armorer’s sect.
21 – The Moon of Concordia: In The Clone Wars, this is where the Mandalorian splinter group known as Death Watch made their secret hideout.
22 – The Great Purge / Night of a Thousand Tears: The night when the Empire massacred thousands of Mandalorians is known by a couple different names, and the flashback scenes depicting it here reminded me of the visions of the future from James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi thriller The Terminator.
23 – TIE Bombers: First seen in The Empire Strikes Back, the Empire uses these ships to decimate Mandalore.
24 – KX-Series Security Droid: We got to know a reprogrammed one named K2-SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but they weren’t all so friendly and humorous.
25 – Viper Probe Droid: Again, these were first seen in The Empire Strikes Back.
26 – Grogu: Djarin says he has met Jedi and the Armorer tells him he has completed his quest, referencing the events of The Mandalorian Chapters 13 and 16 – “The Jedi” and “The Rescue,” when he and Grogu encountered Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker. The Armorer also informs Din that “Jedi must forgo all attachment,” discouraging him from furthering his connection to the little green guy.
27 – Chain Mail: It looks like the Armorer might be building this medieval-inspired garb for young Grogu out of the reforged metal from the Beskar spear.
28 – Bindle: That tied-up package sure looks an awful lot like Grogu himself, doesn't it? Do you think the Armorer did that intentionally? Either way, it’s very cute.
29 – Mando’a: Mandalorians have a language of their own, both written and spoken, and the Armorer uses it here during Din Djarin’s training.
30 – Rising Phoenix: Djarin gets to use his jetpack when he gets knocked off the catwalk during saber practice, which was built for him by the Armorer herself.
31 – Saber Duel: The staging of the beginning of the duel between Din and Paz is reminiscent of a lot of Star Wars lightsaber duels (in addition to a Wild West showdown at high noon), only this time it was the Darksaber vs. a vibro-knife.
32 – “Have you ever removed your helmet?”: Din readily admits to having taken off his headgear, which he did three times– once in front of IG-11, once with Migs Mayfeld, and once for Grogu. The Armorer casts him out of her sect, but tells Djarin “one can only be redeemed in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore.”
33 – Security Checkpoint: This reminded me a lot of going through a TSA checkpoint at any airport. An RX-series droid tells Din he “can’t board a commercial flight with your weapons,” so he checks his Whistling Birds, grappling hook, holdout blaster, lightsaber, and other gear in a crate.
34 – Mudhorn Signet: We get a nice closeup look at the signet Din earned from the Armorer. A Mudhorn was chosen because he and Grogu defeated one together in Chapter 2 – “The Child.”
35 – R4-Series Astromech: One of these droids can be seen rolling through the transport aisle serving drinks.
36 – Rodian Child: I don’t think we’ve seen one of these since Wald in Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
37 – Mos Eisley Archway: The entranceways to this settlement look just like the ones we saw on Jakku in The Force Awakens. They were both inspired by Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art for the Original Trilogy.
38 – Star Liner Travel: We got the name of the line of transports who bring passengers from off-world to Tatooine.
39 – Aurebesh: The lettering on the crate just reads “tag.”
40 – BD Unit Explorer Droid: It was very exciting to see this droid from the same series that gave us Star Wars: Jedi – Fallen Order’s trusty sidekick BD-1.
41 – Womp Rat: Is this the first time we’ve actually seen one in live-action? I believe it might be.
42 – Treadwell: This droid has been around since the original Star Wars film, but we’ve also seen him in The Empire Strikes Back and The Mandalorian.
43 – R5-D4: He blew a bad motivator in A New Hope and then got hired by Peli Motto in The Mandalorian.
44 – Blunderbuss: Peli’s shotgun looks a bit like the Jawa’s blasters, but those tend to shoot ion blasts (to deactivate droids) instead of straight-up lasers.
45 – Jurassic Park: The bit where Motto almost gets dragged away by the womp rat reminded me of the opening scene of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster. Considering director Bryce Dallas Howard is also part of the Jurassic franchise, I wouldn’t be too surprised if she snuck this in as an intentional reference.
46 – “Mando”: Peli calls our protagonist by his nickname, which I’m pretty sure was coined by fans who dress up as “Mandalorian Mercs.”
47 – “Here to slay another dragon?”: A reference to the last time Din Djarin visited Tatooine, in The Mandalorian Chapter 9 – “The Marshal.”
48 – Razor Crest: Din’s tank-like previous ship got destroyed in The Mandalorian Chapter 14 – “The Tragedy.” Here we get confirmation that the ship’s name is also its model.
49 – “Fire up the grill.”: We’ve seen Peli Motto cooking up some Krayt Dragon meat before in The Mandalorian Chapter 10 – “The Passenger,” but here she plans to eat some womp rat before it gets gamey. Gross.
50 – N-1 Starfighter: A prominent ship in The Phantom Menace, the Naboo Starfighter was used by Anakin Skywalker to fight off the Trade Federation. “She’s off the grid,” says Peli Motto. Much like the Razor Crest, this ship isn’t registered with the Empire.
51 – Queen of Naboo: I don’t think we know which queen originally commissioned the N-1 for use by the Naboo Royal Guard, but it likely predated both Amidala and Jamila (pictured above).
52 – Used Car Salesman: Peli Motto sure acts like one of these guys when trying to persuade Djarin to purchase the N-1 starfighter… “No skin off my dip-swap.” DID YOU KNOW that iconic protocol droid C-3PO was initially intended to sound like a used-car salesman, until Mark Hamill convinced George Lucas to retain actor Anthony Daniels’s voice?
53 – Fathier: Motto says that the N-1 will be “faster than a fathier” when they’re done repairing it. Fathiers were the horse-like creatures being raced in Canto Bight in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
54 – Docking Ring: These were used for small one-pilot ships to jump into hyperspace during the pre-Empire era. Peli Motto notes that the N-1 doesn’t need one.
55 – Jawas Are Furry: Peli apparently used to date a Jawa, which is… interesting, so we get some more tidbits about the diminutive species. She also seems to speak fluent Jawaese. I bet a lot of this stuff was improvised by actress Amy Sedaris.
56 – Cryogenic Density Combustion Booster: After 45 years, we have a name for that big metal pole that Princess Leia and Han Solo use to brace the garbage-masher walls in the original Star Wars. (We’ve also seen one of these leaning against a Nevarro City wall as an Easter Egg in The Mandalorian.)
57 – Droid Port: Peli says she “hogged out” the port where an Astromech would usually sit in the N-1 starfighter. I can just picture little Grogu sitting in that dome back there in a future episode of The Book of Boba Fett or The Mandalorian. Come on, you know it’s gonna happen.
58 – Beggar’s Canyon: The scene where Djarin first takes the N-1 out for a spin features a few more callbacks to The Phantom Menace. First, there are a few shots lifted from the scene where young Anakin gets his podracer engine working, then Din flies out to Beggar’s Canyon and we see a couple locations from the podrace itself.
59 – “Smooth as a Gonk’s scomp jack.”: Anytime you see a droid connect with one of those waist-height computer wall sockets to get or give information, that’s a scomp link.
60 – “She tracks like a Railspeeder.”: A railspeeder is the name of that train from the heist in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
61 – Superman: The Movie: Several members of the Laughing Place staff were reminded of this scene from Richard Donner’s classic 1978 superhero film when the Rodian kid looks out the transport window to see Din Djarin speed by in his N-1 starfighter.
62 – X-Wing Starfighters: Another scene from “The Passenger” episode of The Mandalorian is echoed here, but this time when Mando makes a break for it the New Republic pilots just let him leave instead of having to do more paperwork.
63 – Max Lloyd-Jones and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee: Speaking of New Republic pilots, the first one speaking in this episode is named Lieutenant Reed and is played by Mark Hamill’s stand-in from The Mandalorian’s second-season finale. The second is Carson Teva, who is a recurring character in a couple episodes of that series.
64 – “An incident involving Imperial remnants.” – This is a reference to the explosive events of The Mandalorian Chapter 12 – “The Siege.”
65 – “Wizard.”: Saving the best for last, Din Djarin uses an expression of amazement we first heard spoken by Anakin’s friend Kitster in The Phantom Menace. But recent books and comics in the Star Wars: The High Republic publishing initiative have established that the phrase in this context was invented by Jedi Padawan Rom Jomaram.
I’ll be looking for more Easter Eggs, allusions, and Star Wars references in the final two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, coming soon to Disney+.