Skip to main content
Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
By now it feels super clear: every single actor is going to appear in the Star Wars universe at some point. That felt clear the moment Horatio Sanz and Amy Sedaris showed up in The Mandalorian Season 1, and this week’s Book of Boba Fett continues the trend by bringing Stephen Root (NewsRadio) into the canon. But there’s one guest appearance in Episode 3, “The Streets of Mos Espa,” that we really should’ve seen coming from the jump: Danny Trejo.
In the episode, Trejo makes his Star Wars debut playing an unnamed Rancor keeper. He’s part of an apology gift given to Boba by the Hutt twins to make up for the twins, y’know, continually trying to have Boba Fett killed. This gives Danny Trejo quite possibly the most badass character introduction shot in the entire Star Wars franchise.
Again, we all should’ve seen this coming. The Book of Boba Fett is executive produced and primarily directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Trejo has appeared in pretty much everything Rodriguez has ever directed. Dating back to 1995’s Desperado, Trejo has appeared in From Dusk Till Dawn, every movie in the Spy Kids franchise, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Grindhouse and the spinoff Machete franchise, Predators, the From Dusk Till Dawn TV show, and now The Book of Boba Fett. You know that Rodriguez probably knew exactly who he’d ultimately cast Danny Trejo as the moment he took a directing gig on The Mandalorian the few years back.
In fact, we should’ve seen this coming long before The Mandalorian even existed, because Robert Rodriguez and Danny Trejo have been trying to get the actor in Star Wars for a while. There’s this “lost audition” video that was posted on Rodriguez’s YouTube channel.
And Trejo tweeted some fan art of himself as a Jedi back in 2019.
But this isn’t just a throwaway cameo. Trejo’s Rancor keeper is already making major moves by introducing a whole lot of lore around one of the series’ most iconic monsters. While talking to Boba Fett about how to take care of his new Rancor, Trejo’s character tells Fett that Rancors are actually quite emotionally complex creatures and they are only violent when provoked. They actually form strong bonds with their keepers and Rancor calves imprint upon the first individual they see. Boba Fett then makes sure that he is the first face that this particular Rancor sees. This also explains why the Rancor keeper in 1983’s Return of the Jedi was so heartbroken when Luke slaughtered his companion. Those two had a real connection!
Since The Book of Boba Fett keeps all of its casting secret, we don’t know if Trejo’s appearance is a one-off or if he’ll stick around for another episode or three. It feels safe to assume he’ll be back, at least to teach Boba Fett how to ride a Rancor. Seriously, Disney+ — you teased Owen Wilson riding a jet ski in Loki and then failed to deliver. Don’t do that with Boba and the Rancor.
New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett premiere on Disney+ every Wednesday.
