The Mandalorian was a fairly self-contained story, but it seems that Season 2 is much more involved in the wide world of Star Wars movies, books and other TV shows. Season 2, Episode 1, entitled “The Marshal”, began by incorporating the world of the Disney+ show into the canonical books, but much more exciting was the potential return of a popular fan character at the end of the episode.
At the end of “The Marshal”, we see a shadowy figure watching Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (played by Pedro Pascal) racing away in the armor of legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. The fans are now wondering who exactly this man is and what he might want from Mando.
What we know for sure is that the man at the end of Mandalorian Season 2 is the actor Temuera Morrison. Since the actor has been expressing fat for the last 15 years and “The Marshal” was only about his armor, it is assumed that he will play the character again.
Although this could be Morrison playing a new character in the Star Wars universe, fans are convinced he’s playing fat – after all, the episode was all about his armor, and for fans who have Morrison appearing as a new character, it would be a bit like Mark Hamill appearing and playing someone new in the Star Wars world.
A little lesson in Star Wars history for those who mainly watch “The Mandalorian for Baby Yoda” and have not dedicated their lives to the backstories of all the smaller Star Wars characters like the makers of the series. Boba Fett was cloned by former bounty hunter Jango Fett (also played by Morrison) and trained in combat from an early age to become a fearsome warrior known for his characteristic Mandalorian custom armor.
In The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 1, this armor was worn by Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), marshal of the city of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine, who said he traded it for crystals from some Jawas, a race of scavengers from the Tatooine desert.
In the Star Wars timeline, the last known location of Boba Fett’s armor on Fett himself was when he was eaten by the fearsome Sarlacc during the events of Return of the Jedi. However, his appearance on the Disney+ show suggests that he survived this ordeal.
Other Star Wars stories have investigated how fat could have escaped the Sarlacc. In the 1996 anthology Tales from Jabba’s Palace, for example, it is claimed that he is able to escape by forcing the Sarlacc to contract around its jetpack, making it explode and letting Fett escape with a few well-placed grenades. However, this story and others like it are not considered a full Star Wars cannon, which means that the Mandalorian is the first full cannon confirmation that Boba Fett has escaped the Sarlacc.
In the Star Wars timeline, the Jedi’s return is five years before The Mandalorian. This raises the question why Fett did not try to get his armor back before that time. It is likely, however, that this will be investigated in future episodes, if it is indeed Boba Fett.
The Mandalorian season 2 will be broadcast on Disney+ on Fridays….
