The Star Wars live-action series has offered its first definitive proof that it will tie directly into the classic film series.

The links were always suspected since The Mandalorian takes place on the home planet of Boba Fett, but its setting "after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order" led to some questions on just how directly the series would tie into the movies.

Fans now have a very promising answer, according to a first-look photo from showrunner Jon Favreau. The writer-director has shared an on-set photo on Instagram of the classic assassin droid IG-88, first seen in The Empire Strikes Back.

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IG-88 was one of the bounty hunters assembled by Darth Vader in Empire and tasked with capturing Han Solo. He was competing with Bossk, 4-LOM and, of course, Boba Fett to bag the smuggler.

More recently, the killer droid popped up in the animated series Forces of Destiny trying to capture Leia Organa and the ex-Mandalorian bounty hunter Sabine Wren.

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Favreau offered no additional information about how IG-88 will factor into The Mandalorian, which is focused around Game of Thrones' Pedro Pascal as a lone gunfighter operating beyond the reach of the New Republic.

The larger cast of the series includes Hollywood legend Nick Nolte, MMA star-turned-actress Gina Carano, Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito, iconic German director and actor Werner Herzog, and Supernatural's Emily Swallow — all in undisclosed roles.

The Mandalorian is set to premiere on the Disney+ streaming service next year.

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