By George Bate & Josh Bate
With the third season of The Mandalorian at an end, now is the perfect time to look back at all the easter eggs, references, and trivia facts in the eight episodes of the season.
Chapter 17: The Apostate
The Mandalorian foundling who receives his helmet at the start of the episode is played by Wesley Kimmel, who previously played the Tusken kid part of Boba Fett’s found family in The Book of Boba Fett. Kimmel is also the nephew of TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
Helmets for Mandalorian children look slightly different, with wider horizontal and vertical strips. In a neat easter egg, some of the new Mandalorian helmets sold in stores for kids to wear are fashioned after the type of Mandalorian helmets actual Mandalorian children would wear.
After defeating the dinosaur turtle (that’s what we’re calling the massive monster at the beginning of the episode), Din Djarin and The Armorer discuss the Empire’s destruction of Mandalore. In this discussion, they speak about the Empire’s tactic to destroy the planet through glassing, a process by which blaster fire from TIE Fighters crystallized the planet’s surface. This concept of “glassing” comes from the now non-canon Legends / Extended Universe continuity.
As Grogu and his dad travel to Nevarro through hyperspace, giant space whales known as purrgils can be seen also traveling through hyperspace. Purrgils were mentioned by Bail Organa recently in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and previously appeared in Star Wars Rebels. In this series, the purrgils played a key role in sending the flagship with Thrawn and Ezra Bridger into the unknowns of space.
Greef Karga addresses the fate of Cara Dune in the episode, explaining that she was recruited by New Republic special forces after turning in Moff Gideon. New Republic special forces have appeared in various canon projects, including the novels Alphabet Squadron and Aftermath.
Kowakian monkey lizards, the same species as Salacious B. Crumb from Return of the Jedi, appear in a tree on Nevarro. This is in stark contrast to the Nevarro seen in the series pilot as Kowakian monkey lizards were being grilled by food vendors.
Greef Karga makes mention of Nevarro being in the Hydian Way, which is a hyperspace route first introduced in Legends / Expanded Universe continuity.
The pirate characters causing some trouble on Nevarro wear jackets that are similar to another notorious pirate – Hondo Ohnaka. A coincidence or could Hondo be heading to the Mandoverse soon?
The droids Din Djarin visits to repair IG-11 are Anzellans, the same species as Babu Frik from The Rise of Skywalker.
The coolest new character to debut in The Mandalorian is the pirate king Gorian Shard. Shard is of species not previously seen, but definitely has elements that harken back to the Drengir from the High Republic era. Shard is played by Nonso Anozie, an English actor who previously played roles in Game of Thrones, Zoo, RocknRolla, and Cinderella.
Kalevala, the planet in the Mandalore system where Bo-Katan is staying, previously appeared in The Clone Wars.
Bo-Katan states that the mines of Mandalore are underneath the city of Sundari, which was also seen in The Clone Wars.
Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore
Grogu jumps into the arms of Pelli Motto, who is essentially his space aunt at this point. Pelli remarks, “Now who taught you how to leap like a Lurmen, huh?” Lurmen were a species seen in The Clone Wars. And, to answer Pelli’s question, Grogu learned to jump from Luke Skywalker as seen in The Book of Boba Fett.
R5-D4 made his debut in the original Star Wars film. If it wasn’t for R5 sabotaging his own motivator, R2-D2 and Luke Skywalker would have never met.
Tatooine is celebrating Boonta week in Chapter 18. Anakin podraces at the Boonta Eve classic in The Phantom Menace.
Din Djarin says that he was raised on Concordia, a location that served as the homebase for Death Watch in The Clone Wars.
Much of the episode takes place in the destroyed Mandalorian capital city of Sundari. The city previously featured in various episodes of The Clone Wars, including the final season’s Siege of Mandalore arc, although the city was in much better shape then.
Din Djarin and Grogu travel through the sewers of Sundari. This is the same place that Ahsoka Tano and Maul meet one another in The Clone Wars.
Bo-Katan tells Grogu that she knows of many Jedi. She is likely speaking of Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, all of whom she worked with in The Clone Wars. She is likely also speaking of Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus, who she met in Star Wars Rebels.
Unlike Din Djarin, Bo-Katan wields the darksaber with relative ease. This is because Bo-Katan previously wielded the darksaber, as seen in Star Wars Rebels.
Chapter 18 concludes with a jaw-dropper of an easter egg. Swimming in the living waters of Mandalore is none other than an actual Mythosaur. According to Mandalorian legend, Mythosaurs were massive creatures that once inhabited the planet and were used by Mandalorian warriors in battle. The mythosaur is reflected on the symbol of Mandalore, which dates back to 1980 with Boba Fett’s armor in The Empire Strikes Back.
Chapter 19: The Convert
TIE Interceptors attack Bo-Katan and Din Djarin at the start of Chapter 19. TIE Interceptors were first seen in Return of the Jedi.
Din Djarin pilots his N-1 starfighter vertically before reaching a peak and then floating back down. This is similar to imagery from Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), although the parallel may not be intentional.
We had a social media post recently asking fans what they think Grogu’s first words will be. It looks like Kelly Knox (may have) hit the nail on the head. Bo-Katan and Din both say, “This is the way” and then Grogu babbles four syllables. Were these Grogu’s first words?
Coruscant features prominently in Chapter 19. This was the galactic capital during the time of the Republic, was first seen in live-action in The Phantom Menace, and was first named in Timothy Zahn’s classic Legends novel Heir to the Empire.
Imagery of Coruscant in Chapter 19 directly evokes some of Ralph McQuarrie’s Return of the Jedi concept art for what would later become Coruscant.
Dr. Pershing speaks to a crowd in the Galaxies Opera House, the same place that Palpatine told Anakin the tragedy of Darth Plageuis the Wise in Revenge of the Sith.
Dr. Pershing’s speech reveals some of what he and Moff Gideon were up to in the past seasons of The Mandalorian. Pershing makes mention of Kaminoan cloning technology, which dates back to Attack of the Clones and now plays a substantial role in The Bad Batch.
The taxi droid speaking to Dr. Pershing mentions the Skydome Botanical Gardens as a sight to check out on Coruscant. The Skydome Botanical Gardens featured in the Legends novel Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson.
A former Imperial officer who received amnesty from the New Republic makes mention of Moff Gideon facing the New Republic War Tribunal for his contributions to the Empire. The tribunal first featured in Legends and was mentioned in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt.
The communications officer played by Katy O’Brian is now given a name – Elia Kane. O’Brian most recently appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Jentorra.
Travel biscuits previously appeared in Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided and the Legends novel The New Jedi Order: Balance Point by Kathy Tyers.
A rendition of John Williams’ “March of the Resistance” theme from the sequel trilogy can be heard in the background of the Coruscant carnival Pershing and Kane visit.
Cinematographer Dean Cundey makes a cameo appearance at the Coruscant carnival. Cundey served as cinematographer for episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and is also known for his iconic work on Halloween, The Thing, and Back to the Future.
Dr. Pershing and Elia Kane visit Umate, the highest mountain in Coruscant. This location is where Chancellor Lina Soh visits in Charles Soule’s novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi.
The droid interviewing Dr. Pershing makes mention of the Coruscant Accords. These were guidelines worlds needed to adhere to in order to join the Old Republic in previous Legends stories.
Dr. Pershing is punished for his treachery with a Mind Flayer. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons or Stranger Things may recognize this name.
Chapter 20: The Foundling
Chapter 20 was directed by Carl Weathers, who previously directed Chapter 12: The Siege in Season 2 and stars as Greef Karga in the series.
Grogu trains by lifting ‘rocks’ (actually crab-like creatures) with the Force. Grogu sees Luke Skywalker lift frogs in The Book of Boba Fett and this concept of “living rocks” is referenced by and joked about by Rey in The Last Jedi.
Carl Weathers references a classic shot from Apocalypse Now in his episode.
In one of the more unpredictable moments in recent Star Wars history, the Jedi revealed to have rescued Grogu from the Jedi Temple is…Kelleran Beq, played by none other than Ahmed Best. Best played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, but returned to play a new character named Beq in the game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge.
Umate can be seen once again on Coruscant as Beq and Grogu escape.
Beq takes Grogu onto a Naboo starcruiser, and their escape is assisted by soldiers from Naboo wearing armor similar to that seen in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
Bo-Katan leads other Mandalorians in a hunting party to find Ragnar. Bo-Katan states that the mountains they need to scale aren’t any higher than those she trained on on Kyrimorut. Kyrimorut appeared in the Legends book Republic Commando: True Colors.
The foundling Ragnar is revealed to be Paz Vizsla’s son, continuing the honored Vizsla family line notable for the likes of Pre Vizsla and the original Mandalorian Jedi Tar Vizsla.
The creature who stole Ragnar meets its end after being eaten by the water creature seen earlier this season in Chapter 17. This evokes the “There’s always a bigger fish” moment in The Phantom Menace.
Bo-Katan adds the Mythosaur to her armor at the end of the episode. As The Armorer notes, any Mandaloiran can wear this signet. This signet dates back to The Empire Strikes Back as it appears on Boba Fett’s armor.
Chapter 21: The Pirate
The infamous “Who shot first?” debate from the original Star Wars is referenced in a conversation between Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga and Nonso Anozie’s Gorian Shard. Shard angrily claims Greef and Din Djarin killed several of his pirates and Greef replies, “He shot first.” A vengeful Shard replies, “Well, now I will shoot first.”
In his conversation with Greef Karga, Gorian Shard makes a reference to the card game Sabacc.
One of Gorian’s pirates is an Ugnaught, a species introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. The most notable Ugnaught is Kuiil, who played a prominent role in Season 1. Playing into the pirate theme of Gorian’s gang, this Ugnaught is dressed like Smee from Peter Pan.
At the New Republic base on Adelphi, several directors of The Mandalorian can be seen having a drink at the bar. These include Deborah Chow, who helmed Obi-Wan Kenobi and two episodes of The Mandalorian’s first season, Rick Famuyiwa, who executive produced this season, and Dave Filoni, whose character Trapper Wolf can be seen wearing Filoni’s famous cowboy hat. These three directors previously appeared together in Chapter 6: The Prisoner.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who TheHoloFiles had the pleasure of interviewing for The Mandalorian’s second season, returns as Captain Carson Teva in Chapter 21.
Teva is accompanied at the bar by a Star Wars character Rebels fans are intimately familiar with. Chapter 21 marks the live-action debut of Garazeb Orrelios, most commonly referred to as Zeb. The character is voiced again by Steve Blum and is rumored to appear in the upcoming Ahsoka series.
Din Djarin gives a callback to a line from Season 1 in Chapter 21. When Greef says the pirates outnumber them 10-to-1, Din says, “I like those odds.” This is the same thing Din said when The Client’s four stormtroopers cornered Din in Season 1.
Chapter 21 is directed by Peter Ramsay, who co-directed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Chapter 22: Guns for Hire
The Mon Calamari Viceroy’s son at the beginning of the episode is played by Harry Holland, Tom Holland’s younger brother.
Jack Black, who also stars as Bowser in the new The Super Mario Bros. Movie this week, plays Captain Bombardier in the episode. Black previously expressed his love for Star Wars and The Mandalorian with this amazing rendition of the show’s theme song.
Playing Bombardier’s wife and the Duchess of Plazir-15 is Lizzo. The famous musical artist is known for her hit records, but has also previously acted in 2019’s Hustlers.
Back to the Future’s Doc Brown himself makes his Star Wars debut in Chapter 22. Christopher Lloyd plays Commissioner Helgait, a scorned former Separatist who is behind the battle droid attacks on Plazir-15.
As a Separatist, Helgait’s role in the episode touches on a number of political plot threads from Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars. Most overtly, Helgait praises the late Count Dooku for his role in leading the Confederacy of Independent Systems that broke away from the Galactic Republic.
Helgait says the Star Wars spin on “The pot calling the kettle black,” which is “The Quadra calling the Stifling slimy.” This line was first spoken by Boba Fett in Chapter 16 of The Mandalorian and was also used by Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett.
Bryce Dallas Howard returned to direct Chapter 22 and included her husband Seth Gabel in a small role! Gabel, known for his roles in Fringe and Salem, plays the Bartender Droid.
The idea of a droids-only bar is in stark contrast to the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope, which specifically barred droids from entering.
Chapter 22 easter eggs also reference the prequels! The B1 and B2 battle droids at the heart of Chapter 22 made their debuts in the prequel trilogy. They’ve since appeared in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.
One of the species at the Duchess’ dinner gathering is the same species as the Frog Lady, a fan favorite from The Mandalorian Season 2 played by Misty Rosas.
Mando and Bo-Katan’s investigation takes them to Ugnaught droid smiths. Ugnaughts first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, but the most prominent Ugnaught is Kuiil. Kuiil appeared in The Mandalorian Season 1 and sacrificed himself to ensure the safety of Grogu. Kuiil’s characteristic “I have spoken line” is used by Din Djarin as a sign of respect.
Chapter 23: The Spies
Elia Kane walks through the foggy underbelly of Coruscant. Several shots clearly evoke Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, both which starred Star Wars legend Harrison Ford.
Moff Gideon holds a meeting with his shadow council, which teases a number of interesting easter eggs. One member of this meeting is Captain Pellaeon, who is played by Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Candyman). Pellaeon made his debut in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s right-hand man.
Speaking of Thrawn, the Chiss Imperial leader is mentioned several times throughout this meeting. Especially after the recently released Ahsoka trailer, it’s clear Thrawn will be an important character moving forward.
Also present during this meeting is Brendol Hux, father of General Armitage Hux (played by Domhnall Gleeson) in the sequel trilogy. Brendol Hux plays roles in a number of Star Wars books, including Aftermath: Life Debt and Phasma. Making this easter egg even cooler is the fact that Brendol Hux is played by Brian Gleeson, older brother of General Hux actor Domhnall Gleeson.
Brendol Hux is revealed to be in charge of something called Project Necromancy. In Legends, Sith necromancy was an aspect of Sith magic used to reanimate the dead.
Shirley Henderson, who voiced and puppeteered Babu Frik in The Rise of Skywalker, returns to voice the Anzellan droid-smith who makes IG-12.
The Mandalorian survivors encountered by Bo-Katan’s group as played by Charles Baker and Charles Parnell. Baker is best known for his role as Skinny Pete in Breaking Bad, while Parnell has played roles in The Last Ship and Top Gun: Maverick.
Bo-Katan explains how the darksaber ended up in Gideon’s possession, as seen in Chapter 8 of The Mandalorian’s first season. Bo-Katan surrendered the darksaber to Gideon under the promise that Gideon would spare Mandalorians. However, as seen in The Book of Boba Fett with the Night of a Thousand Tears, Gideon was not true to his word and systematically eliminated all Mandalorians.
Gideon is seen later in the episode wearing Beskar armor that clearly evokes the original Star Wars baddie Darth Vader.
Gideon requests and later receives Praetorian Guards. These are the same guards used by Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi. The term Praetorian actually originates in Ancient Rome. The Praetorian Guard was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as bodyguards and intelligence agents for Roman emperors.
Chapter 24: The Return
The doors that R5 opens for Din are reminiscent of the red shields at the end of The Phantom Menace that Darth Maul uses to hold Obi-Wan at bay as he fights Qui-Gon.
Gideon’s plan to clone himself is similar to a plot from Legends involving Grand Admiral Thrawn. In the Expanded Universe, Thrawn developed a clone of himself to rule the Empire in case the real Thrawn were to die. Similar to Din Djarin flooding the cloning chamber to get rid of Gideon’s clones, Luke Skywalker does the same to kill Thrawn’s clone.
Grogu saves Bo-Katan and Din Djarin by creating a shield around them and using the Force to keep flames away. Grogu does something similar in the finale of Season 1.
Grogu taking the name of his father figure Din Djarin is similar to Rey adopting the Skywalker name in The Rise of Skywalker.
Several Star Wars directors make cameo appearances at the New Republic bar at the end of the episode. Sporting the characteristic cowboy hat is Dave Filoni, while next to him is Peter Ramsay, who co-directed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Chapter 21 of The Mandalorian.
Check our review of The Mandalorian – Season 3 below!