When it comes to the Star Wars universe, there’s quite a bit of content to pull from. Because Lucasfilm wants to make sure that Boba Fett is properly ingratiated into the canon of this particular universe, director Robert Rodriguez packed quite a few of the callbacks into the first episode of the season. Some of it was stuff that Boba was specifically present for in the past. Others were nods to what fans of the series have seen even in the character’s absence.
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The Bacta Pod
While the inclusion of this particular tool in The Book of Boba Fett is used to help Boba recover after he spent days (or weeks, it’s not entirely clear) in the desert Star Wars fans likely recognized the Bacta Pod from much earlier in the franchise. This medical tool is the same one that brought Luke Skywalker back from the brink in The Empire Strikes Back. That makes this a bigger easter egg than viewers might think at first, as Empire was the first time that Boba Fett was seen in the movies.
Stranger in a Strange Land Episode Title
Not all the easter eggs in The Book of Boba Fett Episode 1 dealt with Star Wars history. The title in fact, was a very obvious call back to two pieces of literature. The first was the bible, specifically a phrase spoken by Moses in Exodus 2:22 when his people were walking through the desert. It’s also the title of one of the preeminent science fiction novels in history, Stranger in a Strange Land. The Robert Heinlein novel involves a character who is stranded on a Mars that is mostly desert. There is a scene in that book where the hero shares a bit of water with another as a sign of brotherhood, much like Boba did with the chief of the Sand People near the end of the episode.
Jabba’s Barge
One of the biggest fan service easter eggs in the entire first episode of The Book of Boba Fett comes when the former bounty hunter is emerging from the Sarlacc’s stomach and crawling through the sand. In the background, viewers can just make out some wreckage. However, this isn’t any old piece of wreckage that was claimed by the desert. This time around, that crashed ship is none other than that barge that so much of the action at the beginning of Return of the Jedi took place. This particular barge exploded during the fight that also sent Boba hurtling into the Sarlacc pit in the first place.
The Helper Droid
The droid that is helping Boba and Fennec Shand welcome visitors to their newly acquired palace is known as 8D8. It turns out that this isn’t the first time that this particular droid has made an appearance in the Star Wars universe. However, the first time audiences saw him, he was practicing a rather ignominious profession as a torture droid. It seems extremely likely that putting him in this new job was quite intentional, as it serves to show the “new leaf” that has been turned over in Jabba’s former palace now that Boba is in charge.
New (Old) Look Sarlacc
It appears that episode director Robert Rodriguez threw a bit of shade George Lucas’s way in the premiere of The Book of Boba Fett. Lucas is a well-known tinkerer when it comes to his first trilogy and some of the rereleases. That tinkering included changing the way that the Sarlacc looked from the first time it was on screen, to the new editions of the same movie. The rereleases eventually added a beak-like protuberance to the creature in the pit. However, when Boba Fett manages to blast his way out of the creature’s stomach the wide shot shows that there is no beak. It seems as if Rodriguez decided to go with the original look of the creature and basically try and wipe out the changes that George Lucas made.
The Return Of Max Rebo
One of the more lighthearted easter eggs in The Book of Boba Fett was when the former bounty hunter and Fennec Shand visit one of the clubs they now own in Mos Espa. Among the entertainment that is of a tamer variety is some live music being performed by none other than Max Rebo. The blue creature was last seen playing his music in Jabba’s palace. It looks like he’s had no trouble finding work even after his boss died.
Using A Chain To Kill A Monster
Much like the sharing of water with one of the Sand People, one of the more interesting easter eggs is about symbology more than anything else. During the big fight that allows Boba to likely win his freedom, he uses a chain to strangle the monster that is overpowering everyone around. It feels like a very obvious nod to Return of the Jedi and the way that Princess Leia eventually kills Jabba the Hutt. The fact that he manages to get behind the creature and strangle it using the same kind of moves that felled Jabba. There are all kinds of connections here, including the fact that both killings took place in the same desert and that Boba was actually in attendance at the party that Jabba threw on his barge and was then eventually killed.
Mos Espa
There are actually two cities on Tatooine that are well known among Star Wars fans. Mos Eisley might be the best known, as it’s where Luke visits with Obi-Wan, but Mos Espa, the city that Boba goes to in this first episode is also plenty infamous. It’s where Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) was born.
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