Book of Boba Fett trailer has one huge prequels Easter egg you missed
An old droid gets a new lease on life.
The Book of Boba Fett trailer promises to deliver what the prequels failed to. Diplomacy and mediation proved tedious in Attack of the Clones, but the Boba of this Disney+ spinoff aims to rule an empire of his own through political maneuvering grounded in mutual respect.
That strategy is in stark contrast with Jabba’s more militant approach, as the first trailer for the series lays out. But there’s more than just diplomacy returning from the prequel years. A key droid in the trailer may be inspired by a rejected concept from The Phantom Menace, proving a long-standing Star Wars theory. Here’s what you need to know.
One shot from the Book of Boba Fett trailer appears to show a droid that resembles one previously seen in concept art for Phantom Menace, according to Redditor rebelfriend_for_life. A spider-like creation with a disc-like head, the droid in question hands Boba his iconic helmet in the first few seconds of the trailer, as Boba says in voice-over, “I’m not a bounty hunter.”
This droid didn’t make the cut for The Phantom Menace but was still featured in concept art. If it’s the same droid, the ‘bot’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett makes it the latest in a long line of examples of recent Star Wars projects revitalizing rejected concepts from the franchise’s past.
For example, Chapter 10 of The Mandalorian centered around Din Djarin delivering a Frog Lady to the water moon of Trask, where the pair end up facing off against ice spiders. Those adversaries bore a strong resemblance to concept art from Empire Strikes Back. (The creatures also had a small role on Rebels, but Mando marked their live-action debut.)
So what does this mean for The Book of Boba Fett? Now’s the time for a concept-art deep dive, because this series could be pulling ideas from the development processes of any Star Wars media, be those from the original trilogy, prequels, or the newer entries in the Skywalker Saga.
Concept art provided inspiration for The Mandalorian’s ice spiders.
If this pattern continues, we could even see unused concept art for The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett be featured in one of the many upcoming Star Wars series slated for a Disney+ release. Yes, pulling from past projects is cool, but fresh ideas — especially in science fiction — are necessary, even if they’re merely offering inspiration for the future.
This droid may be a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but it’s a good reminder that, no matter how much Boba Fett may change, Star Wars will always pay homage to its roots.
The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Disney+ December 29, 2021.
