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SYFY WIRE The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian: Pedro Pascal reveals the difference between his character and Boba Fett

By Josh Weiss
Mandalorian and Boba Fett

DRAW!

We're a little over two months away from the Disney+ debut of The Mandalorian, the first-ever live-action Star Wars TV show. Created and executive-produced by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), the series follows a lone gunslinger operating in the Outer Rim five years after the Empire's ultimate defeat in Return of the Jedi. The story's main protagonist is played by Pedro Pascal (Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Game of Thrones), and while he may dress like Boba Fett, he's far from the sleazy Mandalorian bounty hunter who got swallowed by the sarlacc after he fell from Jabba's barge.

“Ultimately he wants to do the right thing,” Pascal said during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “But his duties could very much be in conflict with his destiny, and doing the right thing has many faces. It can be a very windy road.”

And if you'll recall, Boba wasn't a true Mandalorian, given the fact that he was a perfect clone of Jango Fett, who was predominantly raised on the stormy planet of Kamino, where the clone trooper army was first created. He was also embittered for life following the death of his "father" during the Battle of Geonosis. Mandalore is its own planet, containing a culture that places great value upon warriors and armor.

“Boba Fett is a clone, according to [Episode IIAttack of the Clones, and by asking [creator George Lucas], he would say Boba Fett is not Mandalorian, not born on Mandalore. He’s more of a person indoctrinated into it, into the way of life, and gets ahold of the armor," the show's executive producer, Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), also told EW, hinting that Fett may have given his culture a bad reputation.

“Our guy is operating in a much more unforgiving landscape,” Favreau explained of the galaxy following the Empire's collapse. For better or for worse, the tyrannical war machine of Emperor Palpatine is no longer imposing law and order throughout the various systems, which are still trying to come under the purview of the nascent New Republic. 

“A place where survival is difficult enough, let alone flourishing in that atmosphere, and the politics have dissolved. It’s ‘might is right.’ And how does somebody earn a living when there’s no structure to society anymore and everything is collapsing in on itself? How do you work your way through the world?” added Favreau.

Season 1 of The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ when the streaming platform goes live Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Filoni directed two episodes of the program, but he wasn't the only talent behind the camera. Taika Waititi (who also plays a droid named IG-11), Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow all directed installments of the first season. The cast (including Pascal, of course) is just as impressive, with Werner Herzog, Ming-Na Wen, Carl Weathers, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, and Giancarlo Esposito all showing up onscreen as essential characters.