Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, The Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard explained that the production’s intention was actually to pay homage to the Jurassic franchise.
“I never felt like I’d seen an AT-ST really be as scary as it could be given its stature and power,” Howard said.
“I was first thinking, ‘What’s the scenario where there’s a village of people and there’s some monster in the woods?’
The way the All Terrain Scout Transport made its appearance in the last episode of The Mandalorian may have rung a bell to many fans of the sci-fi genre.