Now that the series’ fourth episode (entitled “The Gathering Storm”) is available on Disney+, let’s continue from last week in our quest to spot and list all the Easter Eggs, allusions to other media, and Star Wars references in The Book of Boba Fett.
1 – Bantha Bones: Boba Fett rides his own Bantha past a familiar-looking skeleton baking in the Tatooine desert heat. It may be the same one we saw (from the opposite angle) in The Mandalorian episode “The Marshal.”
2 – Jabba’s Garage: Believe it or not, this location first appeared in the Star Wars: Battlefront video game. It’s where the sail barge Khetanna is usually stored, but in this episode it houses the Slave I… so now we know where Fett left it prior to the events of Return of the Jedi.
3 – Weequay: Many of the palace guards of this species first seen in Return of the Jedi. The pirate Hondo Ohnaka is also a Weequay, and we met another one who served as bartender of Mos Pelgo’s cantina in The Mandalorian.
4 – Triple Moons: In the Legends continuity, Tatooine’s three moons were named Ghomrassen, Guermessa, and Chenini.
5 – “The Gunslinger”: The flashbacks in this episode of The Book of Boba Fett cross over with a first-season episode of The Mandalorian, wherein Fennec Shand is shot and left for dead by would-be bounty hunter Toro Calican. Boba Fett also sees the flares shot into the night sky by Toro and his hesitant partner Din Djarin.
6 – Spurs: The audio from the shot of Boba’s boots approaching Shand’s body has been changed from The Mandalorian– it no longer contains Fett’s trademark “spur” noise first heard in The Empire Strikes Back, which makes sense because he’s not wearing those same boots. But why was the noise there in the first place? As we’ve seen in some behind-the-scenes footage of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, it was intended to tip off hardcore fans to Boba Fett’s eventual return.
7 – The Mods: Last week I failed to pick up on the fact that the Mos Espa street gang was inspired by the British “mod” culture of the 1950s and 60s. That point is further driven home here by Fennec Shand using that name… and the fact that they continually upgrade their bodies with cybernetic modifications.
8 – Aurebesh: The text around the arch of the mod-parlor reads “MERA PLA” (probably part of a larger phrase that is not fully visible) and the graffiti on the wall next to the entrance reads “UMWELT” (maybe a name, but not one that’s shown up before).
9 – The Mid Rim: Boba Fett says that Fennec Shand is from this region of the galaxy, located between the Expansion Region and the Outer Rim.
10 – “Sand People”: Fett uses this term for Tusken Raiders that was first heard in the original Star Wars film. I wonder which they prefer.
11 – Firespray Gunship: No, Boba Fett does not call his ship the Slave I, but that name has also never been spoken aloud in live-action Star Wars before. Instead he refers to it by its Firespray class, which has been canon for many years.
12 – Bib Fortuna: The Twi’lek who once served as Jabba the Hutt’s majordomo’s name has been dropped in this series before, but I neglected to mention it in my Easter Egg list. He’s mentioned again here and we also see a flashback to his assassination by Boba Fett in The Mandalorian’s second-season finale.
13 – Mapping Drone: Fennec Shand’s device reminded me an awful lot of a similar piece of tech used in Ridley Scott’s 2012 Alien prequel Prometheus.
14 – “Gotra”: Shand uses this word to describe what is basically a mafia family. It originated from the real-world Sanskrit language and has been used before in the current Star Wars chronology to refer to the “droid gotra”– a Coruscant-based group that supports droid rights.
15 – EV-9D9: One of the droids in the palace kitchen looks and sounds a lot like the one that checked C-3PO and R2-D2 into the droid torture chamber in Return of the Jedi, but in the subtitles here he’s only referred to as the Sous-Chef Droid.
16 – COO-Series Cook Droid: First seen working in Dex’s Diner in Attack of the Clones, another model of this droid apparently also prepares food in Jabba’s (former) Palace.
17 – Sorgan Frog: The droid chefs are cooking up a stew made from the same creature Grogu wanted to eat in The Mandalorian’s first-season episode “Sanctuary.”
18 – Raiders of the Lost Ark: The cook droid making a big show of his skills with his blades and then simply getting his metal throat cut by Fennec Shand immediately brought to mind the famous scene in Lucasfilm’s first Indiana Jones movie in which Indy easily dispenses of a fearsome-looking Cairo swordsman.
19 – LEP-Series Service Droid: These little guys first appeared in The Clone Wars animated movie, and here one of them is used as a ratcatcher. I also thought it was funny that he can turn off his own power button.
20 – GNK-Series Power Droid: A four-legged version of the infamous “Gonk” droid can be seen wandering around the palace garage during Boba and Fennec’s heist.
21 – Skiff: This vehicle used in Return of the Jedi can also be seen getting knocked over by the Slave I during its escape from the garage.
22 – Beskar: Boba Fett mentions that his Madalorian armor is made from the same metal as Din Djarin’s which is why the Sarclacc would find it indigestible.
23 – Sarlacc Beak: We’ve seen the Sarlacc monster previously in The Book of Boba Fett, but not this feature of its anatomy, which was added to the creature for the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi.
24 – Seismic Charge: It’s always great to see this cool-sounding weapon from the Slave I’s arsenal in use. It was first deployed in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and was also used in The Mandalorian’s second-season episode “The Believer.” Fett also fires one of the Slave I’s proton torpedoes at the fleeing Kintam Striders speed bikers.
25 – Yuzzum: Oh boy. This creature, name-dropped by Fennec Shand in this episode, was first seen in the background of Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi, but came to prominence over a decade later when the Special Edition made one named Joh Yowza a featured performer in the Max Rebo band for the song “Jedi Rocks.”
26 – Wookiees vs. Trandoshans: There’s a long, storied history between these two warrior species (long story short: the Trandoshans like to hunt Wookiees and take their pelts), so it makes sense that Black Krrsantan would not take kindly to the lizard-men winning at the Sanctuary’s gambling tables.
27 – “Years in the Pit”: Garsa Fwip makes another reference to Krrsantan’s time as a gladiator (as seen in Marvel’s Star Wars comic books from recent years).
28 – “Rip People’s Arms Out of Their Sockets”: Yes, Krrsantan does the thing that Han Solo said Wookies love to do when they’re angry, but I wouldn’t worry about that Trandoshan– like Earthly lizards, they can grow their limbs back!
29 – The Godfather: “The Meeting of the Five Families” from the iconic 1972 Francis Ford Coppolla film is recreated here when Boba Fett has a sit-down with the other crime syndicate bosses. There’s even a moment where Fett touches his cheek much in the same way that Marlon Brando did in his performance as Vito Corleone.
30 – The Mandalorian Theme: “The Gathering Storm” ends with Fennec Shand offering to buy some “muscle,” followed by composer Ludwig Göransson’s instantly recognizable theme from The Book of Boba Fett’s sister series. Does that mean Din Djarin will be popping up in the next chapter? It sure sounds like it! I wouldn’t mind it if Fennec and Boba enlisted some of their other bounty hunter buddies, as well.
I will continue to look for more Easter Eggs, allusions, and Star Wars references in the final three episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, which will be released over the next few Wednesdays exclusively on Disney+.