New photos from The Mandalorian reach back into obscure Star Wars history

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Now that production on The Mandalorian is officially underway, we're beginning to see more and more of Jon Favreau's upcoming live-action Star Wars TV series. "After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe," reads the official synopsis. "The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic." After the first official image from The Mandalorian was released close to two weeks ago, Jon Favreau recently took to Instagram to drop two new images on us which may look familiar to long-time fans.

The first image looks to be a piece of technology which first appeared in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. During the evacuation of Cloud City, one of its citizens was seen running through the hallways clutching what appeared to be an ice-cream maker. That split second character was later given a name (Willrow Hood) and a backstory which explained that the "ice-cream maker" was actually a computer memory core. I can't imagine that this prop will have any large significance in The Mandalorian, but it's a neat blast from the past nonetheless.

Speaking of blast from the past, the second image moves a little further back to the STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL, or, more specifically, the animated segment which first introduced Boba Fett to the world. The weapon which he used in the HOLIDAY SPECIAL, called an Amban phase-pulse blaster according to Wookieepedia, does look quite a bit like the one in the photo Jon Favreau posted. If you look closely at the butt of the weapon, you'll recognize it as the one slung over the back of the unknown main character from the first look image.

The Mandalorian will be written and executive produced by Jon Favreau, with the first episode set to be helmed by Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels). Further episodes will be helmed by Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), Rick Famuyiwa (DOPE), Bryce Dallas Howard (SOLEMATES), and Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK).