A new behind-the-scenes volume is pulling back the curtain on the design work behind The Mandalorian and Grogu. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, written by Phillip Szostak, documents the film's visual evolution from its earliest concepts through the finished product — and according to Polygon, which published an exclusive look at the book, it contains a genuine shock: an iconic new character traces back to an unexpected 1990s inspiration.

Polygon is keeping the specifics as the hook of its exclusive, but the framing alone is catnip for Star Wars design obsessives. Lucasfilm's art-of books have long been where the franchise's discarded ideas and hidden influences surface, from abandoned creature designs to concept paintings that quietly shaped entire story arcs.

Szostak is a familiar name in that lineage, having chronicled the art of the sequel trilogy era, and the Mandalorian volume follows the same formula: beginning-to-end coverage of how a project's look came together, with commentary tracing where ideas originated.

For fans of the series' jump to the big screen, the book looks like the definitive record of its production design — and apparently holds at least one revelation worth the cover price on its own.