Jon Favreau Got George Lucas’ Permission to Bring a Lost Piece of STAR WARS History Into THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
While The Mandalorian and Grogu is very much Jon Favreau’s creation, it turns out there was one specific element that required approval from the man who started it all, George Lucas.
Fans who have been listening to Favreau’s director’s commentary through the TheatersEars app while watching the film in theaters have been treated to all kinds of behind-the-scenes stories.
One of the most interesting involves a forgotten piece of Star Wars history that finally made its way onto the big screen nearly 50 years after it was built.
Favreau explained that while he was at Skywalker Ranch filming a Razor Crest miniature in the parking lot, he learned that the original Red Jammer Y-wing starfighter model was being prepared for display at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. That discovery sparked an idea.
The Red Jammer was originally created as a reference model during the production of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, but despite being built in 1976, it never actually appeared in the movie. Favreau wanted to change that and reached out to Lucas for permission to use the model in The Mandalorian and Grogu.
The request was successful, allowing the production team to bring a genuine piece of Star Wars history into the film for the very first time.
Visual effects supervisor John Knoll spoke about the process, saying: "After a lengthy negotiation, George Lucas gave us permission to borrow the model.
“We shot two motion-control elements of it. It's in the movie and will go by quickly. Unless somebody points it out, you won't notice it, but there are two photographed elements of a 1976 original model from Star Wars, which has never been seen onscreen before."
This is exactly the kind of Easter egg hardcore fans love. The appearance is brief, but the significance is huge. A model that sat on the sidelines during the production of A New Hope has finally become part of official Star Wars screen history.
If you missed it, the Red Jammer can be spotted during the film’s finale in the Nal Hutta X-wing action sequence. The ship is piloted by filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung.
This isn’t the only place where Favreau looked to the franchise’s past for inspiration. He also revealed that Lucas’ classic film American Graffiti helped shape part of The Mandalorian and Grogu, particularly the sequence involving Din Djarin trying to squeeze more speed out of the Razor Crest by removing restrictors from his ship.
Favreau has also discussed reaching out to J.J. Abrams about bringing the Anzellans back into the galaxy after the species made its debut through Babu Frik in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The commentary also sheds light on another unexpected influence. Favreau explained that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order helped inspire one of the movie’s key sequences, showing how the creative team pulled ideas from across the larger Star Wars universe while developing the story.
What makes the Red Jammer story especially fun is that it represents a connection between multiple generations of Star Wars filmmaking.
A model created during the original trilogy’s production has now been preserved, photographed, and woven into a modern theatrical adventure starring Din Djarin and Grogu. That’s a pretty cool detail for the fans to know!
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters. If you’re planning a rewatch, you may want to keep a close eye on that final space battle because one of the oldest unseen relics in Star Wars history is hiding in plain sight.