The Mandalorian’s new starfighter is the latest great prequel callback in The Book of Boba Fett

This post contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 5: “Return of the Mandalorian.”

The newest episode of The Book of Boba Fett was a nod to the prequels in many ways. With scenes that are reminiscent of podracing, a reference to the Queen of Naboo, plus Din Djarin’s new ship, this episode is definitely a blast to the past. After the destruction of the Razor Crest, many have been left wondering what new ship the famous bounty hunter would find next.

After a brief interaction with members of his convent, Mando makes his way back to Peli Motto’s shop on Tatooine away a somewhat amusing commercial flight scene. In Motto’s shop, we see the glimpse of a BD droid familiar to those who have played Fallen Order and the prize of a new ship in the N-1.

The N-1 Starfighter is most famous for its appearance in The Phantom Menace as a young Anakin Skywalker takes to the sky with R2-D2 as his copilot. That amazing scene ended with the destruction of the Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship.

Since then this sleek ship has had a multitude of appearances both on the small and big screen. During the Clone Wars, the N-1 served as an escort for Padmé often when she traveled for senatorial duties and Padme also trained with Ashoka Tano in her all chrome N-1.

After the fall of the Republic, these ships were quickly on the way to becoming antiques, only used by Leia Organa, Shara Bay, and Queen Soruna against Operation Cinder as an act of desperation.

As for the now modified N-1 starfighter seen in Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett we still have several questions. While its combat capability still seems to be fully functional there is still some question if Din Djarin will have access to a store of proton torpedoes for his singular proton torpedo tube. Additionally, the new ship has significantly increased speed, as well as hyperspace ability which makes it ideal for combat but for retrieval of bounties it may leave something to be desired.

Even with the astromech socket emptied out, there is very little space for weapons storage or a holding cell for those who are taken alive. There also doesn’t seem to be enough space for a carbon freezing chamber, which could make some bounties slightly more difficult to bring in.

No matter what, there are sure to be more surprises in store for Mando’s new ship, and hopefully we will get to see it in action earlier rather than sooner.

The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.