In 1977, George Lucas took practically every movie he loved and shoved them all into a single motion picture. The blockbuster “Star Wars” not only referenced classic, art house and cult cinema, it also found the unexpected connective tissue between seemingly disparate works of art. “Star Wars” was full of direct shout-outs to sci-fi serials like “Flash Gordon,” World War II epics like “The Dam Busters,” samurai movies like “The Hidden Fortress,” and experimental Canadian short films like “21-87.”
Every “Star Wars” project since has, to one extent or another, followed suit, and Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is no exception. The latest trip to a galaxy far, far away is full of direct and indirect references to classic movies, new and old, including Oscar-winners, blockbusters, notorious but influential duds, and ultraviolent action adventures. And since it’s “Star Wars,” we wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
The Mandalorian and Grogu’s mission takes them to the moon Shakari, a planet with major metropolitan areas where the neon lights punch through the dark on bustling, heavy populated streets. The action looks like it takes place just around the corner from Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” the 1982 box office dud starring Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford, as Rick Deckard, a hard boiled detective who also hunts down fugitives. “Blade Runner” may have lost money in its initial run but it quickly became one of the most influential science fiction movies ever made, with its cyberpunk aesthetic inspiring the design of films like “Dark City,” “The Fifth Element” and “Ghost in the Shell.”
‘Chef’ (2014)
After directing two “Iron Man” movies and the big budget box office dud “Cowboys and Aliens,” Jon Favreau returned to his indie roots with “Chef,” a film about another promising artist who burned out and went back to his indie roots. It’s arguably Favreau’s best film, an honest and self-reflective film about creative inspiration and sharing what you love with your family, and the food truck Favreau’s protagonist drives appears to have been the inspiration for the food truck run by the alien snitch Hugo Durant in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” In “Chef” the signature dish is a Cubano, in Favreau’s latest it’s a similar sandwich called a “flat meat fry.” As a nice little bonus, both “Chef” and Favreau’s new “Star Wars” movie are also about a father and son bonding while on the job. Aw, that’s kinda nice.
‘The French Connection’ (1971)
When Rotta the Hutt jumps in a stolen speeder and tries to evade capture on Shakari (we have to say the darnedest sentences when describing “Star Wars” movies), Grogu and Din Djarin pursue him between the struts of an elevated train, dangerously weaving through the support beams. Some of the references in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” are subtle, and even debatable, but this sequence is a direct lift from William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning crime classic “The French Connection.” Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider star as detectives taking down an international heroin smuggling ring. In the film’s epic climax, Hackman’s quarry runs onto an elevated train and the detective pursues him on the streets below, crashing into cars in a desperate attempt to catch up.
‘Gladiator’ (2000)
Gladiator movies have a long and storied history, including classics like “Spartacus” and “Ben-Hur,” superhero movies like “Thor: Ragnarok” and modern blockbusters like Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.” The film stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a Roman general who’s sold into slavery after an evil Emperor murders his family. Then this outcast becomes the most famous gladiator in the world, and rises up against his oppressor and gets his revenge. It’s a story that seems to have inspired the tale of Rotta the Hutt, who becomes a celebrity gladiator and eventually comes face-to-face with the villains who took over his father’s criminal enterprise. And like Maximus, Rotta is blindsided in the arena by a stacked match against terrifying beasts. In “Gladiator” it was man-eating tigers, in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a cabal of deadly alien monsters, and in both films the hero who was supposed to die emerges triumphant.
‘Hard Boiled’ (1992)
If you were sitting in a theater watching “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and somebody went “oh sh*t, here we go” as soon as the heroes entered a tavern full of birdcages, trust us… that person saw John Woo’s “Hard Boiled.” A serious contender for the best action movie ever made, “Hard Boiled” stars Chow Yun Fat as a tough-as-nails cop taking down a crime syndicate and teaming up with an embattled undercover officer, played by Tony Leung. There are many iconic action sequences in “Hard Boiled” but the opener is particularly unforgettable: a shootout in a tea house filled with birdcages, where the fowl and the feathers fly as Chow Yun Fat flings himself into the air, shooting two guns like nobody’s business.
‘Hugo’ (2011)
Martin Scorsese has a cameo in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” as a food stand owner who gives Din Djarin information about the crime boxx Janu (Jonny Coyne). The stand itself is a reference to “Chef,” and probably another reference to “Blade Runner,” but Scorsese’s cameo is the real standout, the latest in a long line of unforgettable guest appearances by Scorsese in his own movies (“Taxi Driver,” “Killers of the Flower Moon”) and classics from other filmmakers (“Quiz Show,” “The Grifters”). His character’s name is Hugo Durant, which seems to be a cheeky reference to his 2011 Oscar-winner children’s film “Hugo,” about an orphan who discovers early visual effects filmmaking pioneer Georges Méliès (Sir Ben Kingsley) working anonymously at his own little stand in a 1930s train station. Scorsese may be known for serious artistic films, but “Hugo” was a mainstream family-friendly wonder, and an ode to the magic of sci-fi/fantasy cinema.
‘Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx’ (1972)
Anyone who’s seen “The Mandalorian” probably knows this story of a bounty hunter and his small child was inspired by the epic, awe-inspiring “Lone Wolf and Cub” movies. These iconic 1970s samurai films star Tomisaburô Wakayama as a disgraced executioner who goes on the run with his son, played by Akihiro Tomikawa, slaying spectacular assassins and usually, in the climax, an entire army all by themselves. But “The Mandalorian and Grogu” seems particularly inspired by “Baby Cart at the River Styx,” a film where Ogami Itto gets gravely injured, forcing his son Daigoro to hide him and nurse him back to health all by himself. Sound familiar?
‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969)
When we joked that one of the villains in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” was “literally just Telly Savalas in space,” this is the film we were talking about. The sixth official James Bond movie from Eon Productions stars George Lazenby, in his only (underrated) appearance as 007, as he uncovers a scheme involving the villainous Blofeld (Savalas) threatening the world from his icy mountaintop base. Jonny Coyne’s performance as Janu owes a lot to Savalas’ smug, charismatic turn as Bond’s greatest nemesis, and the snowy locale seems to have also inspired the setting for “The Mandalorian and Grogu’s” epic opener, where just like James Bond, Din Djarin skis down a mountain to save the day. Except Din does it with imperial mecha legs (it’s still “Star Wars” after all).
‘Seven Samurai’ (1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 action classic “Seven Samurai” is what you might a load-bearing movie. The story of an impoverished village who hire seven warriors to protect them from maruaders is such an influential motion picture that if it never existed, modern cinema would probably look very different. “Seven Samurai” directly impacted the way future action movies would be filmed, edited and structured, and “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is no exception. But the film has a direct reference as well: Din Djarin’s bounty hunter nemesis Embo (voiced by co-writer Dave Filoni) is a Kyuzo, an alien species specifically named after “Seven Samurai’s” resident swordmaster, played by Seiji Miyaguchi. Kurosawa’s hero comports himself with more dignity than “The Mandalorian and Grogu’s” cutthroat sellsword, but he’s just as deadly.
‘Top Gun’ (1986)
When Din Djarin and Grogu return to the New Republic base at the beginning of Jon Favreau’s film, the opening credits roll over footage of X-Wings and fighter pilots against the skyline. The images are striking, which is largely because they’re lifted from Tony Scott’s 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise as a rebellious pilot who learns a valuable lesson about teamwork. Scott’s film glamorized the American military so much that it led to a notable bump in Navy recruitment. Sadly, at least for “Star Wars” fans, you can’t sign up to fly for the New Republic any time soon. But hey, at least you can buy the toys.