The Tombstone Reference You Missed In The Mandalorian Chapter 13
Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5 "The Jedi" ahead!
With the release of "The Jedi," season 2 of The Mandalorian is now over halfway finished. The latest episode saw Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) meet with Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). In addition to seeing how proficient The Child is with the Force, Ahsoka was also able to provide Din with useful information, such as the fact she's seen one of The Child's kind before (in the form of Yoda). By the episode's end, Ahsoka tells Din where he needs to go to determine the best path forward for Grogu (the official name for Baby Yoda).
Before that happens, Din has to help Ahsoka with a little problem she's having with liberating a small town that's been taken over by the evil Magistrate (Diana Lee Inosanto). It's not an easy fight, especially considering the Magistrate has back-up in the form of her right-hand man, Lang (Michael Biehn). Fans were ecstatic to see Biehn, who's also appeared in other high-profile science fiction properties like The Terminator and Aliens, show up on The Mandalorian. If you're familiar with Biehn's filmography (or just a fan of influential Westerns), then you may have also caught a quick reference to another Biehn movie: the ultimate modern Western, Tombstone.
Lang has a line that's an homage to Tombstone
Tombstone is essentially a dramatization of real-life events like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Wyatt Earp's infamous Vendetta Ride. It features a number of incredible performances, including Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp, and The Mandalorian's own Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo, the antagonist of the film.
Right before a climactic shootout with Doc Holliday, Biehn's Johnny Ringo exclaims, "Fight's not with you, Holliday!" Of course, such a proclamation doesn't stop a fight from inevitably ensuing, and it doesn't end too well for Johnny. Doc shoots him in the head, bringing an end to his outlaw reign of terror.
In The Mandalorian episode "The Jedi," a similar showdown takes place. Lang has a standoff with Din Djarin, at one point saying, "I got no quarrel with you, Mandalorian." It's a remarkably similar line to what Biehn said in Tombstone, and the sequence has a similar ending. The two engage in a good ol'-fashioned shootout, but Lang doesn't have a quick enough draw. Din shoots him and helps Ahsoka liberate the village.
Biehn's a legendary actor, and while his time on The Mandalorian may have been short, it was definitely memorable. It was a fun bit of stunt casting for fans of Biehn's work, and hopefully, it's not the last time the series pays homage to great Westerns of the past.