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Credit: LucasfilmLast week’s penultimate episode of the first season of The Book of Boba Fett saw bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) once again return, this time to find Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”).
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In The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode (“Chapter 16: The Rescue”), Skywalker swooped in with his X-wing to rescue Djarin, Grogu, Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from certain doom onboard Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) Imperial starcruiser.
He then departed with the tiny foundling as his Padawan and is now training him in the ways of the Jedi Order, as Djarin discovers.
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In addition to Mando’s return, “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger” director Dave Filoni orchestrated the returns of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill/Graham Hamilton) — who officially interacted with his father’s Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), for the first time — Grogu himself, and Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant).
Most Star Wars fans online were thrilled, calling the installment a “fever dream.”
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One particular scene in the episode, however, drew heavy inspiration from the Samurai films Filoni is known to love — in fact, his Season 2 episode, “Chapter 5: The Jedi,” also featured a great deal of Samurai-inspired combat — but some fans believe the Lucasfilm Executive Creative Director may have gone too far.
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As a recent article noted, the 1970’s Manga series The Lone Wolf and the Cub — which was later adapted into six films and a television series — featured a scene that is remarkably similar to the moment when Skywalker asks Grogu to choose between Master Yoda’s lightsaber and the beskar chainmail Djarin brought as a gift:
In the first film titled Sword of Vengeance, a former shogun executioner, Ogami Itto, presents his baby son, Daigoro, with two objects: a toy ball and a sword. If Daigoro chooses the sword, Ogami and Daigoro will assume the path of assassins and avenge their clan who had been killed.
On the other hand, if Daigoro chooses the ball, he and his father will forsake their present life and join Ogami’s wife and Daigoro’s mother in heaven or the afterlife.
As you can see below, the two scenes do bear an incredible resemblance to one another:
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Twitter user Mathias Wag went so far as to call the scene a “ripoff” of The Lone Wolf and the Cub.
Allt är ju en ripoff på Lone wolf and cub. pic.twitter.com/DkPFtz5zEH
— Mathias Wåg (@guldfiske) February 3, 2022
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Michael Earle echoed these sentiments:
lots of purist fan bois complaining because Luke has some semblance of zen. my only complaint is the rather obvious cliffhanger that’s a total ripoff of Lone Wolf and Cub
lots of purist fan bois complaining because Luke has some semblance of zen. my only complaint is the rather obvious cliffhanger that's a total ripoff of Lone Wolf and Cub
— Michael Earle (@ralegh) February 3, 2022
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Twitter user HotRod also weighed in, refuting some fans’ collective opinion that the scene referenced The Matrix:
Nothing to do with the matrix, the choosing scene is a recall from the first movie of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, when the samurai make his infant son to choose between a sword and a ball
Nothing to do with the matrix, the choosing scene is a recall from the first movie of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, when the samurai make his infant son to choose between a sword and a ball
— HotRod (@rro316) February 4, 2022
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Ruprecht Martin also noticed the similarities between the scenes:
I’m sure others have pointed this out but haven’t seen it.
This is a scene from the Lone Wolf and Cub manga where Itto let’s his son choose what path he wants to take. The way of the sword or nice pretty bouncy ball. Remind you of anything?
#TheBookofBobaFett
Star Wars fan Ciara replied:
Wow, I think I actually have this! (Had an interest in foreign comic books, and really liked the cinematic feel of Lone Wolf & Cub and it’s period accuracy.) Face screaming in fear
Guess Dave Filoni or Jon Favreau like Lone Wolf & Cub too. Maybe a little “too” much?
Wow, I think I actually have this! (Had an interest in foreign comic books, and really liked the cinematic feel of Lone Wolf & Cub and it's period accuracy.) 😱
Guess Dave Filoni or Jon Favreau like Lone Wolf & Cub too. Maybe a little "too" much? 🤭
— Ciara (Keer-rah) Dune (@thefinalbigboss) February 4, 2022
The season finale of The Book of Boba Fett airs tomorrow, February 9, 2022 on Disney+. Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) are expected to return for Season 2.
Do you think this scene was too close to the original or a nice callback to the popular Samurai franchise?