Conception , the creator and
showrunner of
The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian character was created by
Jon Favreau, the creator and
showrunner of
The Mandalorian. Favreau is a long-time
Star Wars fan and the Mandalorians are one of his favorite groups of characters from the franchise; he previously voiced one of them in the animated series
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The title character of Favreau's series is considered the first live-action depiction of a Mandalorian, the concept of which was never used in the films, although the Mandalorian culture has been expanded upon in other
Star Wars works like
The Clone Wars and
Star Wars Rebels. Boba Fett has been associated with the Mandalorians in
Star Wars books and other media, but that detail was never featured in the films. The character was partially inspired by
Clint Eastwood, particularly his
Man with No Name character in
Spaghetti Western films directed by
Sergio Leone. Pascal said any time he had a question or doubt about how his character would physically act or move, he would ask himself: "What would Clint do?" The Mandalorian was also inspired by
samurai characters in the films of Japanese director
Akira Kurosawa. The Mandalorian character was first publicly described in a brief three-sentence synopsis about the series that Favreau posted on his
Instagram account on October 3, 2018. It described the character as "a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic". Favreau later said: "This is a character you've never met before in a period of time you've never seen." The first image of the Mandalorian was released on October 4, 2018. The gender and other details about the character were not immediately revealed. Based upon the released photo, Germain Lussier of
Gizmodo described the character as "an imposing, confident presence, with a great mix of Mandalorian armor and personal, functional additions". Since the real name and face of the Mandalorian were not initially revealed, many speculated his true identity would be a character already known in the
Star Wars franchise. but Lucasfilm denied this, Footage of the Mandalorian was first publicly unveiled at the
Star Wars Celebration convention in
Chicago on April 14, 2019, which included scenes of him receiving bounty hunting assignments from Greef Karga and the Client in the premiere episode. and in the second
Mandalorian trailer, released on October 28, 2019. A character poster solely featuring the Mandalorian was also released that day.
Portrayal Pedro Pascal portrayed and voiced the title character of
The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is portrayed by
Pedro Pascal, who wears the armor in many scenes and provides all of the
voice acting for the character. He was one of several actors considered for the role. Favreau reached out to Pascal through his agent to discuss a
Star Wars project; Pascal did not initially know whether it was a film, series, or some other type of work, which he called a "big geek-out moment". Pascal's long-time friend
Oscar Isaac, who portrayed
Poe Dameron in the
Star Wars sequel trilogy, urged Pascal to accept the role, and Pascal said the actor's encouragement made him feel more certain about joining the project. especially the film
The Empire Strikes Back (1980), which he described as "indelibly marked in my memory and my childhood imagination". which was his favorite
Star Wars action figure as a child. Scenes featuring the character were shot with stand-ins, and publicity stills of the character on the set were released before an actor was selected. His casting was formally announced on December 12, 2018. Germain Lussier of
Gizmodo said of Pascal's casting: "Pascal is an excellent actor with a unique presence and we're all for him hunting down and shooting people all across the galaxy."
Other performers In addition to Pascal, actor Brendan Wayne and stunt performer
Lateef Crowder served as body doubles for the Mandalorian and perform as the character when Pascal was unavailable. Wayne previously appeared in the film
Cowboys & Aliens (2011), which was directed by Favreau, after which they kept in touch. to ensure the character was seamless no matter who played him.
Costume The Mandalorian's costume was designed by concept artist Brian Matyas and costume designer Joseph Porro. and was created by Legacy Effects, the
special effects studio started by protégés of
special make-up effects creator
Stan Winston. The costume includes
gauntlet-like wrist armor on its right arm, and a wrist device for firing projectiles on the left arm. It features gloves with differently-colored fingertips and a metal piece on the hand with a blue triangle facing the fingers. The costume also includes a belt with explosive charges on it, a blaster with a long barrel, boots, and holsters on the right leg that store ammunition, explosives, and a knife. Pedro Pascal compared the Mandalorian's armor to that of
Knights from the
Middle Ages, describing its aesthetic as "extremely powerful and mysterious". and that he often bumped into things during filming until he got used to it.
Filming Many of the scenes for
The Mandalorian were filmed on a
sound stage in
Southern California on a "Volume", a large warehouse-like
motion-capture stage with
green screens and tracking cameras spread throughout the space. Using a combination of physical set pieces and images projected onto the screens, the Volume allows the actors to be filmed and placed into a digital environment. The Mandalorian's scenes on an icy planet at the beginning of "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" were filmed in this setting, as were scenes on the planet Arvala-7 in the first two episodes of the first season, and the scenes on Ran Malk's space station in "Chapter 6: The Prisoner", to name a few. Pascal felt Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni shielded him and the rest of the cast and crew from the pressures that might otherwise have been associated with filming the first live-action
Star Wars series and one of the first shows for the
Disney+ streaming service, instead creating an environment where they could focus on the work. Favreau felt the Mandalorian character worked well and was very engaging despite not being seen behind the costume, noting that many beloved
Star Wars characters lack
anthropomorphism, citing
R2-D2 as an example. Favreau paid close attention to minor details about the Mandalorian character, including one instance in which he felt the Mandalorian's boots did not have the appropriate level of frost on them for scenes on an icy planet, so he had them modified to include more frost. Pascal said because the character speaks so seldom, he had to recall his acting school lessons to convey the character's emotions simply with "posture and gesture". Pascal called this a very detail-oriented process, noting that small gestures had a large emotive impact, requiring vigilance about each subtle movement. Pascal said his past stage acting experience also helped with this, including his performances in works of
commedia dell'arte, in which he wore masks and delivered performances in animated and exaggerated ways to convey emotions. He said portraying the Mandalorian was similar, but "in the opposite tone of economical movements". Brendan Wayne said the type of walk they wanted for the Mandalorian came naturally to him, so much so that when Pascal struggled with it, the filmmakers would suggest he seek Wayne's input. Pascal was working on multiple projects at the same time as
The Mandalorian, so he did not appear in every episode. Wayne said that episode's scenes with
Julia Jones, the actress who played Omera, were so emotional that he cried underneath the helmet. When she first learned about
The Mandalorian, Swallow believed it would be challenging to present a protagonist who viewers never actually saw, but she believed Pascal could do it because "I sort of knew just based on who Pedro is that his goodness would come across". ==Themes==