Although The Mandalorian season two’s second episode didn’t drop any huge plot reveal for the overall arc, it was a fun little “side quest” that felt like a huge nod to the Alien franchise. But of course, there weren’t just nods to that other venerable sci-fi series. There were a metric ton of Easter eggs to past Star Wars. Both from canonical sources and from non-canonical Star Wars Legends material.
In today’s Nerdist News, Dan Casey breaks down all the surprises we caught in “The Passenger.” It goes without saying, but there are big ol’ spoilers from here on out.
Somehow, Jon Favreau and Ant-Man director Peyton Reed managed to load the episode up with tons of references, all of which prove that the folks currently running The Mandalorian are hardcore Star Wars fans through and through. On Tatooine, we see the Mos Eisley cantina once more, and Amy Sedaris’ character is playing Sabacc, the most famous card game in the galaxy. The insectoid “Dr. Mandible” is the first Legends reference in the episode, as his species looks to be one of the Killik. These critters first appeared in the Dark Nest trilogy of novels back in the day.
Lucasfilm
But maybe the biggest “hey, I recognize that thing!” Easter egg is the giant arachnid creature which nearly kills Mando and Baby Yoda. It is inspired by the same piece of Ralph McQuarrie Empire Strikes Back concept art for a giant white spider from the planet Dagobah. Ultimately, we didn’t really see any crazy creatures on Dagobah (except for the one that tried to eat Artoo). But for many of us who grew up going over the pages of The Art of Star Wars books, we recognized the sucker right away. It’s great to see it come into the canon officially. More McQuarrie inspiration? That is always a good thing if you ask us.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm