Chapter 3 of The Book of Boba Fett has been released on Disney+, giving viewers another new installment in the Star Wars series. The latest episode continues to follow Temuera Morrison's bounty hunter and Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand trying to whip Tatooine's Mos Espa into shape, bringing plot developments, thrills, and Easter eggs-a-plenty.
One Easter egg that has been a recurring reference across recent Star Wars media is The Star Wars Holiday Special, with The Mandalorian sneaking a reference to Life Day in its premiere. Lucasfilm even teamed up with LEGO to bring audiences an animated, brick-based version of the festive feature, with the new incarnation being set after The Rise of Skywalker.
The Holiday Special also managed to break out of the galaxy far, far away, with Marvel Studios snatching up the concept for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Now, it seems that The Book of Boba Fett has included a sly Easter egg calling back to the infamous Star Wars special, where the bounty hunter's journey in the galaxy began.
Boba Fett Recalls the Star Wars Holiday Special
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett.
In Chapter 3 of The Book of Boba Fett, the titular bounty hunter asks Danny Trejo's character if he can be taught to ride the recently acquired Rancor.
Boba Fett reassures the Rancor Keeper that he's "ridden beasts 10 times it's size," which seems to be a reference to events in The Star Wars Holiday Special.
In the animated portion of the special, the bounty hunter rode a large dinosaur-like creature called an ichthyodont to traverse the terrain of Panna Prime. It seems, therefore, that Boba Fett has had affinity for beasts since his very introduction, meaning he should have no issue taming the creature in his Disney+ series.
The fact that Boba Fett originally debuted in the Holiday Special makes this a nice tribute to where it all began for the fan-favorite bounty hunter.
Is The Holiday Special Canon Now?
Bringing non-sensical, galactic television adverts, Wookiee family drama, and an insane musical number from Carrie Fisher, The Star Wars Holiday Special is an absolutely joyful nightmare to watch.
That said, the cartoon segment of the special is one of its highlights if not only for introducing Boba Fett, so it is nice to see Lucasfilm paying tribute to where the bounty hunter got his start.
Currently, the Holiday Special has been relegated to Star Wars Legends, meaning it is non-canon. That isn't to say that the special, or at least parts of it, can't be reintroduced into the canon though. Elements of The Star Wars Holiday Special have been included in modern-day Star Wars, such as Life Day and Boba Fett's original Amban Sniper Rifle as a part of Din Djarin's arsenal.
It's possible that just the animated portion of the special could be brought back into canon, or parts of the segment could be repurposed into a new story in Boba Fett's history.
Chapter 3 of The Book of Boba Fett is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
