Mandalorian (character)

The Mandalorian
Star Wars character
Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian
First appearance	"Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" (2019) (The Mandalorian)
Created by	Jon Favreau
Portrayed by	Pedro Pascal (Original) Aidan Bertola (Young) Brendan Wayne (Double) Lateef Crowder (Double)
Voiced by	Pedro Pascal
In-universe information
Aliases	Mando Din Djarin (birth name)
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation	Bounty hunter
Affiliation	Mandalorians Bounty Hunter's Guild
Family	The Child (adopted son)

The Mandalorian (born Din Djarin), sometimes addressed as Mando, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise and the title character in the Disney+ television series of the same name. Introduced as a member of the Bounty Hunter Guild and one of the last of his creed, he is a "foundling" who was rescued at a young age by the Mandalorians, and the adoptive father of the being known as The Child.

Conception and character

The Mandalalorian was played and voiced by Pedro Pascal.

The Mandalorian, as a character, was originally conceived by the series creator Jon Favreau. The first image of the Mandalorian was released on October 4, 2018 while Pedro Pascal's casting as the titular character was announced on December 12, 2018. When Pascal would become unavailable for filming, the Mandalorian would occasionally be portrayed physically by stunt actors Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder with Wayne working closely with Pascal to develop the character. Many have drawn the connection between the Mandalorian and The Man with No Name, with Pascal acknowledging that the character had "a lot of Clint Eastwood in him." To help Pascal prepare for the role, Favreau recommended that he watch Akira Kurosawa's samurai films and Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns. Pascal later said, "Any time I had a question or a physical doubt about a moment, I was always like, ‘What would Clint do? How would he shrug this off? How would he walk away from this?’ It got me through it."

Storylines

The Mandalorian is a male bounty hunter who was active during the early years of New Republic Era. Orphaned as a child when his parents were killed by Separatist battle droids, he was taken in and raised by the Mandalorians as a "foundling", eventually becoming a member of a reclusive sect of Mandalorians known as "the Tribe". Due to his childhood trauma, the Mandalorian developed a notable hatred for droids. Per the tenets of the Tribe's Mandalorian Creed, the Mandalorian does not remove his helmet in the presence of others. Over time, the Mandalorian became a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild on Nevarro, developing a reputation for being an expensive but formidable bounty hunter.

Season 1

In the first episode of the series, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the Mandalorian accepts a commission from guild leader Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) to collect a 50 year old "asset" for a mysterious Client (Werner Herzog), a former Imperial official, in exchange for a generous supply of Beskar steel, a sacred Mandalorian metal. The Mandalorian tracks the asset to the desert planet Arvala-7 and discovers that the asset is an infant from Yoda's species. When bounty hunting droid and fellow guild member IG-11 (Taika Waititi) attempts to kill the infant per its bounty orders, the Mandalorian shoots and destroys the droid, taking the Child alive.

In "Chapter 2: The Child" when the Mandalorian attempts to retrieve the egg of a Mudhorn in exchange for the parts stripped of his ship, the Razor Crest, by Jawas, the Child uses the Force to levitate the Mudhorn, allowing the surprised Mandalorian to kill it and take its egg.

The Mandalorian successfully delivers the Child to the Client on Nevarro and collects the large bounty of Beskar steel in "Chapter 3: The Sin". After the Mandalorian has the Beskar forged into a full cuirass by the Armorer (Emily Swallow) at a Tribe enclave, the Mandalorian has an uncharacteristic change of heart and turns back to attack the Client's base to rescue the Child, killing many of the Client's stormtrooper bodyguards in the process. On the way back to the Razor Crest, the Mandalorian is ambushed by Karga and the guild members, who are now after the Child's reactivated bounty. Outnumbered and cornered, the Mandalorian is able to escape when other Mandalorians of the Tribe arrive from the enclave, attacking the bounty hunters and allowing him to reach his ship with the Child and flee Nevarro.

While hiding out from the bounty hunters sent after him and the Child, the Mandalorian takes several missions to make ends meet. Eventually in, "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" the Mandalorian receives a transmission from a desperate Karga, whose town has been overrun by the Client and his Imperial troops, hellbent on retrieving the Child. Karga proposes that the Mandalorian use the Child as bait in order to kill the Client and free the town in exchange for Karga calling off the bounty placed on him and the Child. Anticipating a trap, the Mandalorian recruits several allies including ex-Rebel shock trooper-turned-mercenary Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Ugnaught farmer and mechanic Kuiil (Nick Nolte), and IG-11, who had been rebuilt and reprogrammed by Kuiil, before journeying back to Nevarro to meet Karga. However, the meeting goes awry when the Client's superior, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) unexpectedly arrives and has his death trooper-led regiment surround and open fire on the building, killing the Client and trapping Mando, Dune and Karga inside. The Mandalorian desperately messages Kuiil to flee the planet with the Child, but the transmission is intercepted by Imperial scout troopers, who track the two on their speeder bikes before they can board the Razor Crest, killing the Ugnaught and kidnapping the Child for Gideon. In "Chapter 8: Redemption," the Child is rescued by IG-11, who helps Mando, Dune and Karga escape into the sewers after Gideon calls out the Mandalorian's birth name, "Din Djarin," confirming his identity as the one who led the "Purge of Mandalore." The group looks for the Tribe's hideout for help, only to find the covert abandoned by the Mandalorians save for the Armorer, who provides the group with weapons and a jetpack for the Mandalorian. Although the Child is too weak to be trained as a Mandalorian, the Armorer charges the Mandalorian to reunite the Child with its species; until that or the Child becomes of age they are now a clan of two, with the Mandalorian acting as a father to the Child. IG-11 sacrifices itself to take out the stormtroopers blocking their escape while Djarin uses his newly acquired jetpack to help take down Gideon in his TIE fighter. The Mandalorian and the Child bid farewell to Dune and Karga before constructing a memorial for Kuiil and leaving Nevarro.

Reception

Pedro Pascal's performance as The Mandalorian has been well received.