The Mandalorian's Ahsoka Tano Episode Featured Another Yoda Easter Egg That Fans May Have Missed
With Chapter 13, "The Jedi," The Mandalorian delivered arguably its best episode yet, largely thanks to the introduction of Rosario Dawson bringing The Clone Wars' Ahsoka Tano to live-action for the first time. Not only was it one of the coolest and most gorgeous debuts in all of Star Wars-dom, but Ahsoka also dropped a ton of expositive knowledge that fans have been waiting ages for, such as Baby Yoda's real name and his abridged backstory. What's more, her knowledge led to Yoda being specifically referenced for the very first time in the show, though the Jedi Master's name wasn't the only callback to the original trilogy.
Any Star Wars fans who were watching the episode at a louder volume – as opposed to having to keep things relatively quiet in the middle of the night when "The Jedi" first hit streaming – may have noticed something familiar about the background music in that moment. Executive producer, episode director and Ahsoka Tano creator Dave Filoni was pumped that The Mandalorian composer found a way to bring another Yoda element into that moment, saying this to Vanity Fair:
While recognizing that temporary callback to The Empire Strikes Back isn't necessary to enjoy The Mandalorian's info-bomb scene, and also doesn't offer any further insight into the name Grogu, it's definitely an awesome wink-and-nod to fans who could recognize John Williams' Star Wars themes under any and all circumstances. It would have been superb had that scene also set up a deeper specific connection between Yoda and Grogu, I guess we can remain content with Ludwig Göransson's always engaging score.
Dave Filoni also talked about that moment being a more distinct tribute to the character of Yoda himself and all the great minds that came together to bring the wrinkled li'l dude to life. In his words:
For those who want a quick comparison point, or anyone who just wants to go on a mental vacation to Dagobah, you can check out "Yoda's Theme" within the video below.
Yoda almost definitely won't be showing up in person (so to speak) during The Mandalorian's run on Disney+, but that doesn't mean Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau don't have other major Star Wars franchise cameos in mind for future episodes. We're already hoping to get Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan back in Season 2 or Season 3 (or even digitally and arbitrarily inserted into Season 1 episodes), and Ahsoka Tano opened up this fictional world even further by also namedropping Thrawn and later advising Mando to make a trip out to the planet Tython.
Baby Yoda is meant to visit the ruins of an old Jedi temple on Tython, where he will presumably make contact with someone else from the Jedi Order, though it remains to be seen who that might be. Not that fans have been speculating like crazy or anything. Who thinks we're going to get a Skywalker reference out of this one? Could Ezra Bridger arrive at some point?
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Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.