The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is a sobriquet for Din Djarin,[1] a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise and the title character of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Orphaned as a young child, he was adopted into the Mandalorian culture and became a bounty hunter and warrior. Originally hired to capture "The Child", an infant of the same alien species as Yoda, the Mandalorian instead protects the Child from a remnant of the fallen Galactic Empire.

The Mandalorian creator and showrunner Jon Favreau created the character, partially inspired by Clint Eastwood and his Man with No Name character in the Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone. The samurai films of Akira Kurosawa was another inspiration, and Star Wars protagonist Han Solo also influenced the character's portrayal. The Mandalorian is voiced and primarily portrayed by Pedro Pascal. Favreau approached him for the role, and fellow actor Oscar Isaac urged Pascal to accept the part.

Pascal was working on multiple projects at the same time as The Mandalorian, so he does not appear in every episode. Actor Brendan Wayne and stunt performer Lateef Crowder portray the character when Pascal is unavailable. The Mandalorian's costume was created by Legacy Effects and bears similarities to Star Wars character Boba Fett, though the Mandalorian filmmakers deliberately sought to establish differences between the two costumes.

The costume presented challenges for the actors portraying the Mandalorian, and the physicality of the character is very important for the performance because small gestures appear much more exaggerated when the costume is worn. The dynamic between the Mandalorian and the Child embody a theme of parenting and fatherhood prevalent throughout The Mandalorian. The character and Pascal's performance have received generally positive reviews, with negative reviews criticizing the fact that Pascal's face is constantly concealed by the costume.