The Mandalorian and Grogu may be a follow-up to three seasons of The Mandalorian (and, thanks to the presence of The Twins, The Book of Boba Fett, to a lesser extent), but it's also a new-viewer-friendly Star Wars movie.
There are some Easter Eggs for fans—like Din Djarin's N-1 starfighter being parked outside his and Grogu's home on Nevarro—but the standalone nature of the movie means it's relatively light on cameos. Now, we know that a big one was left on the cutting room floor.
A newly revealed behind-the-scenes photo (via SFFGazette.com) confirms that IG-11 was once set to appear at Din's homestead alongside Rotta the Hutt, who has a surprisingly adorable stand-in here. This was likely during scenes set before Rotta left the planet, and before Embo kidnapped the Mandalorian. Still, it's always possible we're looking at an alternate ending here.
We'll hopefully find out somewhere down the line, as this may be included as a deleted scene on The Mandalorian and Grogu's eventual home entertainment release.
What was IG-11 doing there? The character, first introduced as a rival bounty hunter to Din, was killed in the first episode of The Mandalorian by its title character. Later rebuilt by Kuiil, he became an ally and made an explosive sacrifice to save the show's heroes from approaching Stormtroopers. Later rebuilt as Grogu's mech suit, Din eventually figured out a way to repair him, and IG-11 became the new marshal of Nevarro.
We can safely assume, then, that he was in the scene as a representative of the planet. As for why it was cut, it could be anything from pacing to IG-11's presence being confusing to those who haven't watched the show. The Mandalorian and Grogu also don't mention Greef Karga, the High Magistrate of Nevarro, played by the late Carl Weathers.
In a second behind-the-scenes photo, we can see that Din and The Child's arrival on Nal Hutta also played out a little differently before being changed. It's not clear what creature they're meant to be riding across the planet's surface.
"The Mandalorian and Grogu is a fun, pulpy reminder that Star Wars doesn’t need to grow up; it just needs to be entertaining," we said in our review. "Jon Favreau's action-packed love letter delivers exactly the crowd-pleasing adventure fans have been craving."
In The Mandalorian and Grogu, the evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie also stars Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White. It's produced by Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Ian Bryce, with music composed by Ludwig Göransson.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters.