WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, "Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa," now streaming on Disney+.
Keen-eyed viewers of the most recent episode of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett may have caught a peek of a familiar piece of concept art from the franchise's original trilogy.
A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment during the Mos Espa speeder chase scene in "Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa" features a glimpse of a painting repurposed after a Ralph McQuarrie concept image from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Reddit user u/FearAngerHateSuffer shared both a screenshot from the episode, as well as a rough sketch of the image alongside the original McQuarrie version. The painting is a portrait of the now-late crime lord Jabba the Hutt sitting comfortably in his palace, with his majordomo Bib Fortuna, pet Salacious B. Crumb and other members of his court at his side, including Boba Fett himself.
Cropped from the image in the scene is none other than newly self-appointed Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. The art replicates the scene from Return of the Jedi where Luke confronts Jabba in his palace to bargain for the release of his friend and ally, the carbonite-encased Han Solo. In the context of the series, a portrayal of Jabba at the height of his power wouldn't likely include a Jedi who was complicit in his downfall, so Luke's image therefore isn't seen.
In the episode, the mayordomo of Mos Espa Mayor Mok Shaiz flees the mayor's office as Boba Fett and Fennec Shand return to confront Shaiz, who has already fled. The mayor's loyalist leads Fett and his crew on a chase through the streets, and along the way, causes the destruction of the aforementioned painting of Jabba as it's being manually transported by a pair of workers. The scene is a version of the commonly used trope where two hapless movers carrying a large pane of glass or otherwise fragile object find themselves in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time during an unrelated pursuit through the streets.
McQuarrie's designs were instrumental in the look of the Star Wars franchise's characters, vehicles, and scenery. The artist defined the dark, malevolent look of Darth Vader, the Fritz Lang-inspired C-3PO, and the intimidating but loveable Wookiee Chewbacca, among others. McQuarrie provided concept art for all three original films, and also supplied concepts for other movies of the era, including Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett airs Wednesdays on Disney+.
Source: Reddit
