Legendary actor John Wayne has some shocking Star Wars connections, the most significant of which is actually in in an unexpected place. Wayne is well-known for his Western movies, with the best John Wayne movies including titles like True Grit, The Searchers, and El Dorado. He also has a smattering of other genres in his filmography, such as war movies like The Longest Day. His movies impressively spanned the 1920s to the 1970s, giving him a massive legacy in cinema, and there are still many rewatchable John Wayne movies, even all these years later.

As John Wayne passed away in 1979, and A New Hope was therefore the only Star Wars movie released before his death, Wayne surprisingly has multiple connections to Star Wars movies and TV shows. In fact, John Wayne's legacy in Star Wars began at the inception of the franchise, as he had a blink-and-you-miss-it role in A New Hope, then just called Star Wars. Decades later, .

. There are actually three actors who play Din Djarin in The Mandalorian, presumably the most well-known being Pedro Pascal, who is the voice and (when his helmet is removed) the face of Din Djarin. However, Brendan Wayne is the actor who frequently plays Din Djarin when his armor is on, including his helmet.

Thethird actor who plays Din Djarin in The Mandalorian is Lateef Crowder, who does most of Din Djarin's fight and stunt scenes. . For seasons 1 and 3 of The Mandalorian, it was reportedly primarily Wayne in the suit—in fact, Pascal was evidently not even brought on board until after filming had already begun on season 1—but Pascal switched things up during season 2, when he was in the suit for considerably more time.

There's more than just a familial connection to John Wayne when it comes to The Mandalorian, though. Evidently, John Wayne is key to the success of The Mandalorian, as . Yet again, this isn't just because there's a family bond here; John Wayne makes so much sense as an influence for the Din Djarin character.

Din Djarin may become a loving father by the Mandalorian season 3 ending, but he starts off as a hardened bounty hunter who traverses the galaxy wielding a blaster. This is a perfect fit for John Wayne's myriad movies and his roles as a cowboy or a soldier, even if this show is set in a galaxy far, far away. In fact, .

It's easy to miss, but . He voiced a character called Garindan ezz Zavor, who acted as a spy (against his will) for the Empire, even providing information on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO. Although it's not a massive role, it's incredible all the same to know that this cinema legend had a role in Star Wars. All the more meaningful, this was actually John Wayne's very last role.

Although that's the only Star Wars movie John Wayne's voice has ever appeared in, this role was reused in other projects. Specifically, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, both video games, have made use of this voice work again. It's also worth noting, the character of Han Solo is said to have been based on some John Wayne characters (which isn't hard to believe). Star Wars therefore has multiple connections to movie icon John Wayne, but the most significant of them all is in , via his grandson, Brendan Wayne.