It'll be a while before Star Wars fans get new episodes of The Mandalorian to enjoy, but some are coping with that in the meantime by diving into behind-the-scenes information on the show. The latest bit of info came from artist Anton Grandert, who talked about an iconic location from the original trilogy that he came close to recreating back in Season 1 of the Disney+ series.
Fans may remember an episode of The Mandalorian from Season 1 that featured the Mos Eisley cantina, the very same Mos Eisley Cantina we first saw in Star Wars: A New Hope. With that being said, Anton Grandert shared a photo of some art he did for the episode and explained that the original intention of the episode was to feature Docking Bay 94 in The Mandalorian.
As previously mentioned, Docking Bay 94 is a location of importance in Star Wars. It's the hanger where Han Solo and Chewbacca waited for Luke and Obi-Wan to arrive for the rescue effort of Princess Leia, as well as where Han had his talk with Jabba the Hutt about the debt he owed the intergalactic gangster. If you thought Din landed the Razor Crest in that very same location, you were mistaken.
Though there's a missed opportunity for an Easter egg, it's hard to argue Jon Favreau and crew did anything wrong in featuring a different docking bay in The Mandalorian. In fact, I would've thought it was the same one had I not been told any differently, so it's not like the location is all that remarkable or distinctive. It's basically the Star Wars equivalent of a parking space, so featuring the exact one previous Star Wars characters had previously docked in may have been an unnecessary and perhaps cheesy bit of fanservice.
Full disclosure, I was actually working under the assumption it was the same docking bay until learning this information. If you've seen one Tatooine docking bay, you've seen them all. The inspiration is clear looking at the docking bay that made the final cut for The Mandalorian, so much so that I can practically envision a poorly CGI'd Jabba the Hutt slithering through it.
While The Mandalorian team ultimately passed on the idea, I'm sure there will be plenty of chances in the future to feature future Star Wars locations on it or the many other shows in development. In the meantime, it's great to see new and unexplored locations that will further expand this galaxy and make it look a lot deeper than just desert, lava, and ice planets. Star Wars has a vast galaxy to fill out, and for one of the first times, a lot of projects to vastly expand it.
The Mandalorian Season 3 is still a ways off, but Seasons 1 and 2 can both be binged right now on Disney+. Continue to stay up to date on The Mandalorian here at CinemaBlend, where we recently covered how the series helped a WWE star become a better wrestler.
