This The Mandalorian Scene Brought Back Iconic Star Wars Stop-Motion Animator Phil Tippett

We’re nearing the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, which has brought some significant additions to the Star Wars universe with each new episode. The Disney+ original series has become beloved for its mix of reverence for the franchise’s lore and trailblazing new creative decisions, with everything from character introductions to casting to technical elements. According to a new tweet, the series’ latest episode – “Chapter 15: The Believer” brought back a franchise veteran in a pretty endearing way. Phil Tippett, a special effects and stop motion icon known for his work on the original Star Wars trilogy, recently tweeted that he and his team were involved with creating the massive “scrapwalkers” in Chapter 15.

While the vehicles are only onscreen for a short portion of the episode, that worldbuilding of including Tippett’s stop-motion team is undeniably interesting. It also provides a consistent visual feel for the scrapwalkers similar to the AT-AT Imperial Walkers, which Tippet co-developed the original technique for in The Empire Strikes Back.

This Easter egg is just the latest example of how The Mandalorian has embraced the larger Star Wars lore, something that was definitely a priority for series creator and showrunner Jon Favreau.

“We wanted to really wind it back to the things that inspired the original Star Wars and really get it small in scale and tell simple stories,” Favreau told Deadline in August of this year. “Because part of what you inherit when you’re going to see Star Wars now is this whole history because the stories have been told for decades. And it was nice, with the new medium, to be able to start with a new set of characters to introduce a new audience.”

“But we always knew… and this is something I learned from [working] over at Marvel and working with Kevin Feige, is you always want to keep the core fans in mind, because they have been the ones that have been keeping the torch lit for many, many years,” Favreau continued. “But these are also stories for young people and for new audiences. These are myths, and so you always want to have an outstretched hand to people who might not have that background.”

New episodes of Season 2 of The Mandalorian debut every Friday exclusively on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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