THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Features a Hidden Han Solo Easter Egg During Rotta the Hutt’s Fight

Han Solo may not appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but one of his funniest encounters with Jabba the Hutt gets an unexpected callback during Din Djarin’s showdown with Rotta the Hutt. The best part is that the connection wasn’t even intentional.

The moment comes during Mando’s gladiatorial fight with Rotta, and it happens so quickly that plenty of Star Wars fans probably missed it. As Din circles the massive Hutt, he steps directly onto Rotta’s tail to give himself some extra height before knocking his opponent’s arm aside.

You see, Back in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars: A New Hope, Han Solo has his infamous conversation with Jabba the Hutt next to the Millennium Falcon in Mos Eisley. Han owes the crime lord money and is already on thin ice, but during their exchange he walks right over Jabba’s tail. Jabba understandably isn’t thrilled about it.

Decades later, Din Djarin essentially pulls the same move on Jabba’s son. Hal Hickel, Industrial Light & Magic animation supervisor, explained how the Rotta moment plays out. Hickel told StarWars.com:

"It goes by super fast, but there is actually a moment during their fight when Mando circles behind Rotta, steps on his tail to get a little height, and then knocks his arm out of the way.”

The similarity seems almost too perfect to be accidental, yet that’s exactly what happened. According to Hickel, the team wasn’t trying to recreate Han and Jabba’s memorable interaction.

"We didn't put that in there as a wink to the original gag, but still – it's like poetry, it rhymes," he added. It’s a pretty great accidental Star Wars Easter egg.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is streaming on Disney+ now. Star Wars fans also have Ahsoka Season 2 coming next, with the series returning to Disney+ on January 20.