Over on Disney+, The Mandalorian Season 3 has just wrapped up. Once again we got to see Din and Grogu set out on numerous adventures within the Star Wars universe. This time they set out to finally reunite all the Mandalorians that had split into different factions and even return them to their rightful home of Mandalore. As usual, this season was jam-packed with all sorts of references and Mandalorian Easter Eggs. What did you end up missing?
WARNING!!!! There will be spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3 and previous Mandalorian seasons!
When Din jumps to hyperspace Grogu gets to see what it looks like out in space during travel. Within the lights and clouds of this super fast travel, we can see some shadows of what looks like some sort of animals traveling along hyperspace. These creatures are known as Purrgil. They are sort of space whales that can also travel in hyperspace. This is the first time they have appeared in live-action, but the Purrgil have actually shown up before in an episode of Star Wars: Rebels named The Call.
The astromech droid R5-D4 once again makes an appearance in Peli Motto’s workshop. This time she actually lends him to Din to use on the surface of Mandalore. R5-D4 actually gets to go out on its own adventure this time around. It showed up before in A New Hope. Uncle Owen almost bought this droid before it malfunctioned, and he got R2-D2 instead. In an older Star Wars anthology book titled From A Certain Point Of View, it was said that this droid actually purposefully malfunctioned as it knew that R2-D2 had to get the message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The appearance of R5-D4 has been such a great Mandalorian easter egg ever since his first appearance on the show.
Peli Motto’s workshop also shows another returning droid from the Star Wars universe. Previously we had seen that Peli has a BD unit that works with her around the shop. This is a nod to the in-canon video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The main character of Cal Kestis has a BD unit that helps the player throughout the game. The game is the first time this type of droid was shown in the Star Wars franchise.
After Din and Grogu arrive on Mandalore, they begin to walk through the ruined city of Sundari. This city played a major role in seasons of the animated series The Clone Wars. In season seven of the show, a large chunk told the story of The Siege Of Mandalore. There was an invasion of Republic forces that were trying to overthrow the newly returned Darth Maul. He had led a takeover of Mandalore and was serving as its ruler.
When Dr. Pershing is placed into a mind-scrambling device, he exclaims that ‘it was a trap.’ The Mon Calamari officer doesn’t seem phased by this decree. This is a fun reference to Admiral Ackbar from Return Of The Jedi. Famously he declared that ‘It’s a trap,’ when the rebels were ambushed.
We get the first in-universe appearance of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. Everyone had been speculating what Jedi it was that helped Grocu escape from the Jedi temple when Order 66 went into effect. Many thought it would be revealed to be Mace Windu it turns out that it was actually Kelleran Beq. Some may not recognize the character, but he was actually created to be the host of a real game show from Lucasfilm. On Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge the Jedi Master would help lead children through the many aspects of what it takes to be a Jedi. Here he finally makes an appearance helping this padawan escape. He’s also played by Ahmed Best who most fans would know as the voice of Jar Jar Binks. This is a deep-cut Mandalorian easter egg, but it’s fun to see them incorporating such characters into the actual canon of Star Wars.
Another character from Star Wars: Rebels makes their first live-action appearance this season. Zeb Orrelios shows up in a scene with Carson Teva. It’s a quick scene but confirms that Zeb has signed up with the New Republic as part of its defense fleet. This seems to point at more Rebels characters showing up in the upcoming Ahsoka show. With numerous discussions of Admiral Thrawn reappearing, it seems the groundwork is being set for quite a bit of Rebel’s lore being involved with upcoming Star Wars properties.
Din helps defeat the pirates on Nevarro, and his good friend Greef Karga offers him a piece of land for his help. He really wants Din to become the new Marshall of their town. Din ends up turning it down, but Greef keeps telling him it is there for him. He states it’s an area called Bullcoh Canyon. This is a reference to Jeremy Bulloch who was the first actor to play Boba Fett. Thus, also being the first Mandalorian in the Star Wars franchise.
When Din and Bo Katan go to investigate the reports of some Mandalorians camped out on a world ruled by a rich prince and princess, they are talked into investigating some droids that have been malfunctioning and turning hostile. They go to a crime scene where some security droids are marking the area. The sound they are making is the same siren that is in the movie Minority Report when the pre-crime units arrive on the scene.
This season marks the first live-action appearance of Brendol Hux. He first appeared in the Junior Novel Servants Of The Empire: The Secret Academy. Fans might be more familiar with his son Armitage Hux who was an antagonist in the sequel trilogy of movies. Armitage was played by Brian Gleeson. For this appearance on The Mandalorian, Gleeson’s brother Domhnall was cast as the elder Hux. It’s fun to see that they are keeping it all in the family for these characters.
What Mandalorian easter eggs did you spot? Let us know in the comments below.