A Luke Skywalker reference in The Mandalorian and Grogu was added during filming, Jon Favreau has revealed.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is still in theaters, and now you can listen in on Favreau's director's commentary with the TheatersEars app. As you might expect, the commentary is revealing all kinds of interesting details about the film.
During the movie, when Mando is injured and Grogu must fend for himself, we see Baby Yoda seated on a tree trunk and meditating. It's a call back to Grogu's stint training as a Jedi Padawan with Luke Skywalker, as seen in The Book of Boba Fett: in episode 6 of that show, we saw Luke and Grogu meditating together.
According to Favreau (via Laughing Place), he had the idea for the meditation scene in The Mandalorian and Grogu on the day of filming, and he used some spare time to capture the moment. He explained that he thinks Grogu learned to meditate from Luke, and the former-Padawan could be "continuing Jedi training on his own."
During The Book of Boba Fett, Luke gave Grogu the choice to either continue his Jedi training or return to Din Djarin. Grogu chose Mando, and now Grogu is officially a Mandalorian apprentice.
"He's not on the typical Jedi path of a youngling, but he has trained with some of the best Jedi teachers that there are," Favreau told us of Grogu's Jedi journey before the film's release. "We know for sure he's studied with Luke Skywalker. There's implications that he may have crossed paths with Yoda, because he does recognize the name, is what we imply. And he also was there at the Jedi Temple before Order 66.
"So, it's a big part in talking to Dave Filoni, and by extension, to what he learned from George [Lucas], which is that the Force is about training," he continued. "It's about refining, just like an athletic ability or any skill. And we do see that, although Grogu is not serving under somebody who is teaching him, he still clearly is meditating and going through some version of the Jedi discipline. So, I think that his Force use has definitely leveled up a bit. Luke Skywalker didn't study under Obi-Wan for very long, but still refined his skills. So, I think that that's part of the path that's available to Grogu, as per what we've already learned from the previous Star Wars films."
This might not be the only reference to Luke in the movie, either: one fan spotted what could be R2-D2 being lifted from an X-wing in the background of the movie's opening credits.
In the same director's commentary, Favreau also revealed that he sought George Lucas's permission for a specific aspect of the film, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order provided inspiration for a major action sequence, and the movie's best line was improv.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now. You can check out our The Mandalorian and Grogu review to read our verdict on the film, or see our guide on how to watch the Star Wars movies in order to get caught up on the galaxy far, far away.
