The Book of Boba Fett‘s climactic war against the Pykes grows ever nearer, but first it’s time for a reunion with some old friends. In fact, Din Djarin encounters much of his supporting cast from The Mandalorian in “From the Desert Comes a Stranger,” while on his quest to deliver a gift to Grogu. Meanwhile, Cobb Vanth is back and trying to uphold the law in Tatooine’s small towns in his own way. But the Pyke Syndicate has other ideas. Here are all the Star Wars references, easter eggs, and cameos we spotted in this episode…
Cad Bane and Corey Burton
– The blue Duro bounty hunter who appears near the end of the episode is a Star Wars staple. Cad Bane debuted in The Clone Wars, clashing with the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and taking the young Boba Fett into his gang. More recently, he appeared in The Bad Batch hunting the clone Omega, the last person made from Jango Fett’s genetic template (in contrast to Boba, the first). – Cad Bane’s species, the Duros, were first seen in the famous cantina scene in A New Hope.
Who Plays Luke Skywalker in The Book of Boba Fett?
– Graham Hamilton and Scott Lang stand-in as Luke’s body doubles in The Book of Boba Fett, as opposed to Max Lloyd-Jones, who played the Jedi Master on The Mandalorian. Mark Hamill once again lends his voice, although that also sounds like it’s been digitally manipulated to sound like a younger Luke. – Luke’s appearance here matches Return of the Jedi almost exactly, including the glove covering up his cyborg hand. – The episode samples John Williams’ original theme music connected to Luke.
Luke’s Jedi Academy
– The Jedi Academy is all Sequel Trilogy, though, being the same one seen in flashbacks after Ben Solo/Kylo Ren destroyed it. – Luke’s training with Grogu mirrors his own. Obi-Wan Kenobi similarly threw him into the deep end against a training remote in A New Hope. The parallels to The Empire Strikes Back are even stronger, with Luke carrying Grogu the way he once carried Yoda and teaching him similar balance and meditation skills.
Grogu and Order 66
– Luke’s attempt to conjure up Grogu’s memories of “home” actually return the baby to the destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during Order 66. Grogu was a front-row spectator for the events of Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin Skywalker led his clone legion against the Jedi. This is a traumatic memory for Grogu and a key reason why he cut himself off from the Force before the events of The Mandalorian. – Grogu is faced with a binary choice at the end of the episode. There is a long tradition of Jedi characters who are faced with a massive choice, a fork in the road, that will lead them to their fate. Before Grogu had to choose between Mandalorian armor and the weapon of a Jedi, Anakin had to choose whether to help Mace Windu or Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, Luke had to choose whether to strike down his father in hatred or spare him, and Rey had to choose between her dark heritage or the light side. This isn’t particularly new in fiction. The big choice is a major part of the hero’s journey, a trope that’s at the very core of Star Wars as well as the archetypes that inspired George Lucas in the first place.
Barriss Offee?!
If you pay close attention, you can see what looks like Barriss Offee’s crest from the Clone Wars emblazoned on a wall during the Order 66 flashback inside the Jedi Temple. Some fans are already speculating this may mean that the disgraced Jedi padawan had something to do with Grogu’s rescue from the temple. After all, we still don’t know how he escaped Order 66…
How Did Yoda Get His Lightsaber Back After Revenge of the Sith?
Luke offers Grogu Yoda’s lightsaber. While it was not shown in the Original Trilogy, the Jedi Master used his weapon plenty during the Clone Wars and in his climactic battle with Darth Sidious. Unfortunately, he lost his original lightsaber during that duel. So how does Luke have Yoda’s weapon now? Well, it’s revealed in Marvel’s Age of Rebellion story “The Trial of Dagobah” that Yoda built himself a new lightsaber while in exile on the swamp planet. It’s this second saber that Luke finds among Yoda’s things after the Jedi Master’s death.
Cobb Vanth
The Tatooine marshal first appeared in live action in the season two premiere of The Mandalorian. But his connection to Boba Fett’s armor actually started in the novel Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, in which he appears briefly and gets Boba Fett’s armor in trade from the Jawas. Cobb Vanth is once again played by the brilliant Timothy Olyphant, who’s even better the second time around.
Tatooine, Freetown, and Krayt Dragons
– Near the beginning of the episode you can see moisture vaporators like the ones on Luke’s homestead in A New Hope.
