EXCLUSIVE SPREAD: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One

By George Bate

Mando and IG-88 silently walk into the building previously heavily guarded by a myriad of armed figures. After disposing of the enemies at the encampment, our titular character and his foe-turned-ally droid partner are closer to ‘the asset’ than ever. The tracking fob beeps louder and louder, more frequently and more frequently. They approach a silver pram only to uncover an infant of the same species as Yoda – a Baby Yoda, later known as Grogu. Disposing of IG-88, there’s an immediate connection between Mando and the Child…

And at the point, if it hadn’t happened already, we were already gripped by the stunning first series of The Mandalorian on Disney+. We can never get enough of The Mandalorian, which is why we’re particularly excited about Titan Comics’ upcoming release Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One. The book, which releases on May 18th, features character files, plot points, never-before-seen images, a complete episode guide, and a detailed behind the scenes look at how the iconic series came to life.

Ahead of the release of The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One, we’re happy to present an exclusive spread from the upcoming title:

MANDALORIAN ARMOR AND WEAPONS

To Mandalorians, armor is more than a metal covering to wear in battle: it is, in fact, a part of their identity and culture, something that makes them immediately recognizable by fellow warriors and enemies alike. In this regard, Mando’s gear is no exception.

Following the Mandalorian tradition, he wears a helmet with a T-shaped visor equipped with a macrobinocular viewplate, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, vambraces, a cuirass, a cape, and a bandolier. After receiving a camtono of beskar steel from the Client when he recovered and delivered the Child, Mando managed to replace his damaged armor with a full set.

Weapons are equally important, for they are, as stated by Mando himself, part of the Mandalorian religion. Indeed, the bounty hunter has plenty of weaponry at his disposal, such as a blaster pistol, a vibro-knife and an Amban sniper rifle – which can also be used as a taser or a sonic detector if needed. Further to this, Mando has also got several tricks up his sleeve: a whipcord launcher, dual flamethrowers and whistling birds—tiny missiles useful for striking multiple targets simultaneously. Before leaving Nevarro to reunite the Child with his people, the Mandalorian also receives a long-coveted device: a jetpack, often used by Mandalorian warriors as well as by other armed forces.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The concept art of Boba Fett—the first character to wear Mandalorian armor in a Star Wars film—was influenced from the “Man With No Name”—the character played by Clint Eastwood in three western movies by Sergio Leone. The same iconography inspired the design of Mando, making him a character full of mystery. Therefore, it is no coincidence that actor Pedro Pascal watched several samurai and western movies by Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone to get into the character, and was heavily inspired by Clint Eastwood in films such as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966). Pascal truly reached for the stars when it came to enhancing his performance: right before rehearsing for the season finale, the actor injured himself while walking out of the makeup trailer.

As he was about to film the ‘unmasking’ scene with droid IG-11, Pascal went to the hospital with his face covered in fake blood and wounds, unsurprisingly alarming the hospital personnel. Seven stitches later, however, the actor went back on set and shot the scene as originally planned, thus proving to be as tough and heroic as only a true Mandalorian would be. But Pedro Pascal was not the only one who portrayed the Mandalorian in the series. He actually modelled his performance around the physicality of his stunt doubles: Brendan Wayne, the weapons expert, who took care of the gunslinger aspect; and Lateef Crowder, the martial arts expert, who performed the fighting sequences. Therefore, the Mandalorian is the result of the work of three different people who act as one.