The Mandalorian is a hit with all ages -- but chances are that only the adults in the audience
will notice these nods, references, and details. From references to classic works of foreign
cinema to Star Wars trivia, here are the things only adults notice in The Mandalorian.
Although it takes place in a galaxy far, far away, the Star Wars franchise can be viewed
as a study of spaghetti westerns and samurai movies. George Lucas has openly acknowledged
the direct influence films like Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress and Sergio Leone's The
Man with no Name trilogy had on his "space cowboy" stories.
Likewise, Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau has also cited the two genres and directors
as major sources of inspiration for his show — he's even been quoted as saying Din Djarin
is a "deconstructed version" of Clint Eastwood's iconic Leone character. Another major Mando
inspiration is the film series Lone Wolf & Cub, sometimes known as Shogun Assassin in the
US. This classic story follows a disgraced shogun's executioner forced onto the path
of an assassin, who must take his young son with him. He pushes the little one around
in a tricked-out baby cart. Sound familiar?
Although The Mandalorian pulls heavily from the somber tones of spaghetti westerns and
samurai films, it has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments too — particularly ones poking fun
at the Star Wars franchise itself. These sarcastic memes are all too familiar to mature fans,
who have been dismantling all the irregularities and quirks of their beloved franchise for
years.
One of the more memorable of these tongue-in-cheek scenes occurs in "Chapter 12: The Siege,"
while Mando, Greef Karga, Cara Dune, and the unnamed Mythrol are infiltrating an old Imperial
base on Nevarro. The crew "encourages" the Mythrol to walk out on a precarious ledge
over lava to access some machinery controls, to which he replies that there's no guardrail.
The stark lack of safety railings on Empire ships is something Star Wars fans have been
joking about since the first film was released in 1977, and was most notably mocked in the
Star Wars parody episode of Family Guy, "Blue Harvest."
"So anyway, I says forget the dental plan, forget sick leave. I just want a railing.
You know? One railing. Right here.”
Another hilarious moment of self-deprecation in The Mandalorian happens during the cold
open of "Chapter 8" which shows two stormtroopers missing repeatedly while firing at a piece
of scrap within close range. The scene's playing on the age-old trope of their notoriously
bad blaster aim.
For a guy who never shows his face, Din Djarin is a huge chick magnet. Younger viewers may
not notice, but mature audiences will pick up on the fact that, excluding Cara Dune,
the few non-Mandalorian females he's crossed paths with have either been instantly attracted
to him, or had some sort of romantic history with him.
In "Chapter 4: The Sanctuary," Din crosses paths with a young widow named Omera, who
seems to want the warrior to settle down with her. Bad boy Mando also seems to have broken
the heart of Xi'an, a knife-throwing Twi'lek he works with in "Chapter 6: The Prisoner."
She threatens to use her blades against him for whatever shenanigans he pulled on her
in the past.
Adults will likely appreciate the sheer irony of seeing comedian Bill Burr cast in a Star
Wars-related role. Longtime fans of his podcast know that the snarky Bostonian has long riffed
on the franchise, as he never forged a personal connection with the original trilogy when
it was released in his youth.
Burr stirred up controversy within the Star Wars fandom for remarks he made in 2015, declaring
that when he did finally watch the original trilogy in his mid-20s, he wasn't impressed.
"I read a quote that you had, this was a while back. I think you called Star Wars 'a cheesy
self-help book put in outer space with Muppets.'”
"With outer space. Yeah. I absolutely did."
To be fair, Bill makes fun of everyone and everything equally, even his beloved sports
teams. Still, it may seem curious that Jon Favreau would cast a devout Star Wars hater
in The Mandalorian. As it turns out, Burr claims Favreau chose him precisely for this
reason, stating he thought it would be "funny."
Gina Carano's background makes her the ideal candidate for playing Cara Dune, the most
recent addition to Star Wars' collection of fierce brunette heroines. Before she started
acting, Carano was a Muay Thaifighter who launched her career as one of the first mainstream
female mixed martial artists, competing back when the sport started blowing up in the 2000's.
After earning an MMA record of seven wins, one loss, and zero draws, Carano transitioned
into acting in 2008 with the role of Natasha Volkova in EA's real-time strategy video game,
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Her ability to perform her own stunts and make action
look realistic on-screen has kept her busy with various action roles since.
Yet another influence bound to be missed by younger viewers can be seen in "Chapter 9:
The Marshall," in which Mando travels to the frontier town of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine seeking
out other Mandalorians to aid him on his quest. Mando gets sidetracked helping the Marshall
destroy a local sand-dwelling monster that has been plaguing his town, known as a greater
krayt dragon.
Krayt dragons are initially mentioned in Star Wars: A New Hope, when Obi-Wan Kenobi scares
off a group of sand-people attacking Luke Skywalker by imitating its eerie howl. A krayt
dragon's bleached skeleton can also be glimpsed poking out of the Tatooine sand behind C-3PO
early in the film. However, this terrifying beast's appearance in The Mandalorian references
the 1990 sci-fi horror cult classic, Tremors. In that movie, giant worm-like creatures called
"graboids" lurk underground, waiting to strike their next victim when they least expect it.
While innocent young minds go no further than admiring Grogu's cool powers and cuteness
factor, adult minds can't help but wonder where Grogu came from.
So far, the only other creatures encountered like Grogu in Star Wars have been Yoda and
Yaddle. Could Grogu's existence explain the latter's sudden disappearance from the Jedi
High Council?
That all remains fan theory for now, but regardless of who sired the being formerly known as Baby
Yoda, the twisted adult mind can't help but wonder how such creatures would accomplish
procreation. Awkward it would be, yes? A pleasant image, it is not.
Unless you know some kids with very strange and mature tastes, they likely missed a quick
Mandalorian reference to the classic comedy, Office Space. The film parodies all the negative
aspects of toiling away at the dreaded nine-to-five cube farm.
From horrible bosses and wasting away in traffic, anyone who has ever worked a less-than-desirable
job can relate to this movie. Office Space also makes fun of unnecessary corporate bureaucracy
and paperwork, symbolized by the dreaded "TPS reports" in the film.
"It's just that we're putting new cover sheets on all the TPS reports before they go out
now so if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great."
These reports seem to have made their way into the Star Wars universe, because Mayfeld
mentions them in "Chapter 15: The Believer." It's such a quick line, and easy to miss:
"Let's go fill out those TPS reports, so we can go recharge the power coils."
And you thought the Empire was evil before...
Chapter 15 is loaded with Quentin Tarantino references. Mayfeld and Mando find themselves
in a dangerous situation while posing as Empire personnel, when officer Valin Hess insists
they join him for a drink. They risk exposing themselves while swapping small talk, but
they can't break rank by refusing Hess' offer, so they agree.
The suspenseful scene is reminiscent of the hair-raisingly intense "bar scene" in Inglourious
Basterds: Both feature characters infiltrating enemy cultures while attempting to blend in
as natives, and both situations soon explode into a violent catastrophe. Mando and Mayfeld's
frolic at the Empire bar might also remind an adult viewer of a scene from Django Unchained,
when Dr. Schultz gives Calvin Candie a bullet rather than a requested handshake.
Just like Schultz, Mayfeld is so overcome with loathing he can't help but pull the trigger,
and thus puts his companion in grave danger. Also like Candie, Hess has a thick Southern
accent, and a sinister yet lackadaisical demeanor.
A towering villain requires an actor of serious skill. Luckily, The Mandalorian's Valin Hess
is played by a highly accomplished actor adults will likely recognize: Richard Brake. Brake
succeeds in making his character absolutely hateful, but then, as grown-ups know, he has
a lot of experience in that department.
Brake started his acting career in 1993, with a small part as a reporter in a British comedy-drama
TV series, Jeeves and Wooster. Since that time, Brake has performed in dozens of projects
and at least 30 films spanning all genres. One of his more memorable roles to date has
also been one of his most brief — he was cast as the Night King in the fourth and fifth
seasons of Game of Thrones.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite
shows are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.