The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars TV show, has now launched on Disney+, and its first episode might contain an appearance from the galaxy’s most well-known bounty hunter: Boba Fett. Created by Jon Favreau (who produces and has written most of the episodes for season 1), the series takes place a few years after Return of the Jedi, charting the adventures of a gunslinger in the outer reaches of the galaxy.
The character who gives The Mandalorian its name, played by Pedro Pascal, most certainly isn’t Boba Fett, although the show is at least partially inspired by Fett’s enduring popularity (with this coming instead of a once-planned Boba Fett movie). But while the armour Pascal wears as the titular Mandalorian is similar to that worn by Boba Fett in the Original Trilogy, the real thing looks like it showed up in The Mandalorian‘s season 1 premiere, “Chapter 1”.
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The scene in The Mandalorian that may feature Boba Fett comes midway through the first episode, when Pascal’s bounty hunter goes into what appears to be some kind of Mandalorian hangout place. There are various different kinds and colors of the famed armor here, but one in particular is worth a second look. While it’s only in the background of the shot (see below), the color scheme is mostly the same as that of Boba Fett’s suit, with the predominantly teal armor and red markings, and even what appears to be a similar dent in the helmet. The only difference is that this one doesn’t appear to have any yellow on the shoulders, but that’s hardly conclusive either way.
In canon, Boba Fett was last seen in Return of the Jedi, where he had his comical death by being inadvertently knocked into the Pit of Carkoon, to be slowly devoured by the Sarlacc. Although the old Expanded Universe later revealed that Boba was able to survive, new canon hasn’t been so explicit. There has, however, been mention of his armor in the novel Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig. Again, the reference to Boba isn’t explicit, but it sees a complete suit of Mandalorian armor, one that’s been extremely well-worn and battered, on Tatooine. Aftermath is set shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, so it’s possible that same armor is the one we’re seeing in The Mandalorian now.
Whether or not it’s actually Boba Fett is another matter, or just someone else who has subsequently purchased (or stolen) the suit. Since the armor was found without an owner, then there’s reason to believe that, even if he had somehow survived, he’s then left his armor behind. But then who is to say he didn’t simply recover, and then head back to retrieve his old armor? Stranger things have happened in Star Wars, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Boba Fett survived and is now making a background appearance in The Mandalorian, although anything bigger would surely risk upstaging the main character too much. Alternatively, it may just be fun Star Wars Easter egg (especially since Dave Filoni directed this episode), but either way it very much wants us to think that it might be Boba, and it’s an intriguing way to begin The Mandalorian‘s journey.
- Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) release date: Dec 20, 2019
