So I’m going to date myself with this reference, but…. Remember that old advertisement that said “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile?” Well, when it comes to Star Wars, Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian is not your father’s Boba Fett. No, this is a whole new Mandalorian. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. He’s not “new”. He’s just actually from Mandalore.

Boba Fett; New Mandalorian
Boba Fett as we knew him in the original trilogy. (Image: Lucasfilm ltd.)

Many people forget that Boba Fett just wore the armor. As far as we know, he may not have even ever set foot on Mandalore. Fett was, in fact, a clone grown on Kamino. To the contrary, the new Mandalorian character is Mandalore to the core, and that’s just one of several differences between him and Boba Fett.

Producer Jon Favreau, star Pedro Pascal, and director Dave Filoni recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the show, and the character. Boba Fett was “more of a person indoctrinated” into Mandalorian culture, “into the way of life,” said Feloni. The new Mandalorian character, however, is actually born of Mandalore. According to Favreau, they are going to explore that culture in depth in the live action Star Wars series.

New Mandalorian character very different from Boba Fett

The Mandalorian Panel; Mandalorian trailer
Image: Lucasfilm ltd.

Another big difference between the two is the fact that the new Mandalorian character has more of a moral compass. Whereas Boba Fett was Machiavellian and self-serving, Pedro Pascal’s character is a bit more altruistic. It’s his environment, unfortunately, that makes following a moral path more difficult. According to Pascal:

Ultimately he wants to do the right thing, 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.”

New Mandalorian
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) fights Trandoshans in this first look photo.
(Image: Entertainment Weekly)

Focal to his destiny is a “much more unforgiving landscape” than that in which Boba Fett existed, according to Favreau. He continued, describing the setting for the new Mandalorian series as:

“[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?”

We’ll find out soon enough. The Mandalorian premiers November 12th on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+.

Source: Entertainment Weekly