Entertainment
8 'Star Wars' Movies & Shows That Connect To 'The Mandalorian'
Now that The Mandalorian is finally streaming on Disney+, Star Wars diehards may want to dive right in to the new addition to the expansive saga. But since it is part of a larger story, fans may want to watch the movies and TV shows connected to The Mandalorian first, to get the whole narrative overview.
The series takes place five years after Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, per the official Star Wars site, and 25 years before J.J. Abrams's Episode VII: The Force Awakens, so those movies should take priority. However, since the Disney+ series revolves around Mandalorians, audiences may want to revisit the two most famous bounty hunters who have already been featured in the Star Wars series: Jango and Boba Fett.
Boba Fett was first canonically introduced in Episode IV: A New Hope, per Starwars.com, where he appeared as one of Jabba the Hutt's mercenaries. However, he played a more substantial part in the two following films — The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The bounty hunter was played by Mark Anthony Austin in the first film and Jeremy Bulloch in the following two, while Jason Wingreen voiced Boba Fett. According to the Star Wars site, Bulloch got the part simply because he fit the costume. "[The armor] is not comfortable but you had to make it look as though it were, I suppose, using a bit of acting," Bulloch told the site. "It was ripping your skin apart, but you know the character. He's a bounty hunter and he's not going to say, 'I want a soft cushion.'"
But while the Mandalorian armor may not have been comfortable, it contributed to his reputation as a swashbuckling mercenary with a devil-may-care attitude. Here's everything to watch before diving into the Disney+ show, which includes plenty of Boba Fett.
1The Initial Boba Fett Screen Test
1978 marked the first screen test for Boba Fett, which featured The Empire Strikes Back assistant film editor Duwayne Dunham wearing the armor while the film's sound designer, Ben Burtt, narrated. The initial costume included a flame thrower, rifle, spiked boots, pistol, and a jet pack, among other features.
"They wanted a character that could make public appearances, and I think Boba was kind of designed as a character between Star Wars [Episode IV: A New Hope] and Empire [Strikes Back] that they could get the public excited about," Burtt said in the above video.
2'The Star Wars Holiday Special'
Love the Star Wars Holiday Special or hate it, Boba Fett was first introduced in this 1978 made-for-TV special, per the Star Wars site. The bounty hunter appeared during a ten-minute animated portion of the standalone special, which dictated Boba's base color — blue. "Costumes have to read against the background. Boba was mostly set against the darker range of the spectrum," the segment animator, John Celestri, told StarWars.com. "That means the character needs to be lighter. And the whole reason behind this was that at the time many families still had black-and-white televisions! We had to make sure that it read on the screen. The biggest TV screen in 1978 was 22 inches, diagonally."
Where to watch: YouTube
3'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'
While the Star Wars prequels are oft-derided by fans and critics alike, there are still some important storylines that take place in Attack of the Clones. One such plot point is the introduction of bounty hunter Jango Fett — Boba Fett's father/clone, who is later killed by Mace Windu.
There has been some contention on whether Boba and Jango are bona fide Mandalorians or not — whatever the case, they wear Mandalorian armor, and their mercenary profession is carried over in the new Disney+ series.
Where to watch: Disney+
4'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
Fans get some additional Boba Fett backstory from this animated Star Wars series, which they can now stream on Disney+. The young clone first appears in Season 2, Episode 20, "Death Trap," the following three episodes. Boba also appears in Season 3, Episode 2, "ARC Troopers," and Season 4, Episode 15, "Deception," and Season 4, Episode 20, "Deception."
Where to watch: Disney+
5'Solo: A Star Wars Story'
This Han Solo origin story features a brief Boba Fett cameo, according to Screen Rant. The film follows the young rebel as he meets Chewbacca and finds his beloved Millennium Falcon, which Boba would eventually track down in Episode V.
Where to watch: Disney+
6'Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'
Not only is there a body frozen in carbonite in The Mandalorian trailer, which is a reference to Han Solo's brief career as an ice cube, but Boba Fett gets plenty of screen time in Episode V. The film depicts Darth Vader hiring Boba and several other bounty hunters to capture the Millennium Falcon.
Where to watch: Disney+
7'Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'
Not only does The Mandalorian take place five years after Episode VI, so the movie is important to watch for continuity reasons, but audiences also see Boba Fett's hilariously lame death by virtue of the Sarlacc pit.
Where to watch: Disney+
8'Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens'
The Mandalorian takes place in the interim between Episodes VI and VII, so fans may want to brush up on what's coming up for these characters in a few years.
Where to watch: Disney+
So whether fans want to cherry pick which movies and shows to watch or marathon them all before pressing play on The Mandalorian Episode 1, most of these films are now available to watch on Disney+. To quote Han Solo in Episode VII: "Chewie, we're home."
