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The Mandalorian represents the foundational roots of Star Wars. With Jon Favreau at the helm, it has got a classic Star Wars flavor. It dropped on Disney+ in 2019 and enriched the lore established over four decades of films, books, and animated series.
Timeline-wise, the show picks up five years after Luke tosses Vader down an elevator shaft in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983). The galaxy is a mess at this point as there’s no more Galactic Empire, but there’s chaos everywhere. Imagine that in-between phase where nobody’s actually in charge and all shady folks are scrambling for power. That’s where our main guy, Din Djarin (Mando), is making a living.
So, Mando is an armored-up bounty hunter with a mysterious past. He is essentially the lovechild of Clint Eastwood and Boba Fett, but with a softer side he’s not ready to admit. At first, he is just chasing paychecks, snagging bounties for what’s left of the Empire.
Then he meets the real star of the show: Grogu, aka Baby Yoda: the internet’s green, big-eared obsession. As Djarin gets more attached to Grogu, he chucks his old job. Now, he’s risking it all, running all over the galaxy just to keep Grogu safe from every creep who wants to use the little guy’s powers.
Let’s run through the main crew:
Din Djarin/The Mandalorian – Pedro Pascal nails this stoic bounty hunter. He has got baggage—his folks died during the Clone Wars, so he’s all about that Mandalorian code and never takes off the helmet. As he hangs with Grogu, you see him shift from mercenary to reluctant space dad.
Grogu (“The Child”/“Baby Yoda”) – He looks like a toddler, but he’s pushing 50. He is a green-skinned alien of the same unnamed species as Jedi Master Yoda.
Moff Gideon – Giancarlo Esposito always plays the best villains. This guy is a former Imperial bigwig who desperately wants Grogu for his science projects. Plus, he’s got the Darksaber, which is like the Mandalorian version of Excalibur.
Greef Karga – Carl Weathers starts out as Mando’s boss, but eventually, he’s riding shotgun, helping rebuild Nevarro and generally being a smooth operator.
Cara Dune – Gina Carano’s character is a Rebel-turned-mercenary who has muscles for days. She’s always down for a brawl and helps Mando out of more than one tight spot.
IG-11 – This droid starts off trying to vaporize Grogu, but after a quick reprogramming job, he’s the team nanny with a side of dry humor.
Bo-Katan Kryze – She rolls in during season 2, helmet off and all, and she’s dead set on taking Mandalore back, Darksaber or bust.
The Armorer, Kuiil, and the gang – These folks are all about Mandalorian traditions. They keep everything legit and help Mando on his wild ride.
Meanwhile, Favreau and crew also love tossing in Easter eggs with callbacks to the old movies, cartoons, and random bits of Star Wars lore. It’s like a scavenger hunt for mega-nerds.
And if you haven’t got it yet in The Mandalorian, don’t worry, we are about to dive into 7 hidden Star Wars Easter eggs that will make everything make sense.
Star Wars Easter eggs in The Mandalorian
Life Day and the Star Wars Holiday Special
The Mandalorian loves to poke fun at deep-cut Star Wars, and nothing screams deep-cut more than the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978. If you’ve never seen it, don’t. Or do, just for the trainwreck factor. Either way, the thing is considered canonically obscure.
Right in Chapter 1, you get this blue Mythrol man captured by Djarin whining about wanting to make it home for “Life Day.” That’s not some random space holiday; they pulled it straight out of the Holiday Special, where wookiees get all sentimental.
And then there’s Mando’s forked rifle, the Amban phase-pulse blaster. It didn’t just pop out of nowhere for The Mandalorian. That thing also traces back all the way back from the animated segment in the Star Wars Holiday Special. This is also where Boba Fett strolls onto the scene for the first time ever.
Anyway, he has a weapon that looks suspiciously like Mando’s blaster. After that, it’s gone from canon. Nobody saw it again until The Mandalorian brought it back, making this the first time we’ve seen this weapon in live‑action form.
The door droid from Jabba’s palace
In the very first episode, Din Djarin rolls up, and there’s this droid at the door with a popping-out mechanical eye. If you’ve seen Return of the Jedi, you’ll clock it instantly: it is almost exactly like the gatekeeper droid from Jabba the Hutt’s pad, the one that gave C-3PO and R2-D2 the third degree.
Sure, it’s a cheeky wink to the old-school fans, but it’s more than just an Easter egg. That little eyeball on a stick kind of screams techy underbelly of Star Wars.
Podracing engines and Cobb Vanth’s speeder
In Season 2, if you’re really paying attention, you’ll spot Cobb Vanth cruising around on a speeder bike that looks like it’s built from a podracer engine. Notably, its design closely matches that of Anakin Skywalker’s podracer from The Phantom Menace (1999). Yes, the yellow one.
It’s one of those sneaky nods that tie the prequel to the beat-up world of The Mandalorian. Plus, it’s a nice little reminder that folks in the Outer Rim don’t waste crap; if it’s got an engine, it’s getting used, even if it’s from a 40-year-old podracer.
Bounty hunting droids: From IG-88 to IG-11
IG-11, the bounty-hunting droid from The Mandalorian, is a love letter to old-school Star Wars nerds who remember IG-88 hanging out with Boba Fett and the gang in Empire Strikes Back. Instead of just dusting off IG-88, the showrunners shake things up.
Still, IG-11’s design and deadly efficiency totally scream IG-88.
Dr. Mandible and the Cantina creatures
In Season 2’s The Passenger, this absolute unit called Dr. Mandible shows up— a massive bug in a suit. Instantly, the fella feels like he wandered straight out of the original cantina scene from A New Hope (1977), back when Star Wars just tossed every wild creature design at the wall to see what stuck.
It’s classic Star Wars, where aliens that look like somebody got really carried away doodling insects.
Gungan references: A nod to prequel lore
In Chapter 6 ("The Prisoner"), Bill Burr’s character, Mayfeld, drops this line:
“Is that why yousa don’t wanna show your face?”
The “yousa” bit is a Gungan talk, Jar Jar Binks style. That’s one of the only times anyone’s bothered to nod at Gungan culture since the prequels. Considering how divisive Jar Jar was, it’s crazy.
This whole moment is a cheeky wink to fans and just shows that The Mandalorian isn’t afraid to pull stuff from any corner of the Star Wars galaxy, even the parts people love to hate.
Animated characters brought to life: Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
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If you blinked, you probably missed it, but hardcore animation fans were thrilled in Season 3 when Captain Carson Teva just casually chats it up with Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios, a beloved character from the animated series Star Wars Rebels.
Suddenly, there he is, all fuzzy and blue and somehow not looking weird in live action. The credits even confirmed it. Seeing Zeb make that leap from animation to flesh-and-blood is fantastic. It’s like the Star Wars universe finally decided to admit all its cartoons count for real, and now who knows who could show up next? Lucasfilm has cracked open the multiverse at this point.
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