Is Boba Fett a Mandalorian? Answered

While Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch and Jason Wingreen) only appeared a handful of times as a supporting character in the Star Wars original and prequel film trilogies, his character has recently had a resurgence. Initially, Boba Fett was believed to have been killed after falling into the mouth of a Sarlacc in the original trilogy. While several animated projects explored his origin story, it was until The Mandalorian season 1, episode 5, “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger,” that Boba Fett was teased as having survived.

By 2020, it was officially confirmed that Boba Fett had survived his brush with the Sarlacc and would be appearing in The Mandalorian season 2, portrayed by Temuera Morrison, who previously portrayed Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He went on to receive his own solo series, The Book of Boba Fett, in which he strives to take the place of his former master, Jabba the Hutt, and establish his control over the crime lord’s former territory. Boba Fett’s return to the franchise was largely because the character garnered a huge cult following for his appearance in the Star Wars films.

No one really knows why or how he achieved such popularity when his appearances were fairly limited. However, something about Boba Fett’s mysterious, stoic, and antagonistic nature allured fans. As a result, the Star Wars universe retconned his death and brought him to modern audiences. However, the fact that he is a rather mysterious character whose limited appearances had his origin story stretched out over multiple Star Wars projects may result in some fans of the franchise being confused about who Boba Fett really is.

Is Boba Fett a Mandalorian?

On the surface, Boba Fett looks a lot like a Mandalorian and has an awful lot in common with his Mandalorian friend, Din Djarin (Pedro Pasco). In the original Star Wars trilogy, he was a mysterious bounty hunter in Mandalorian armor who refused to remove his helmet. In the prequel trilogies, it was revealed that he was the genetic clone son of Jango Fett, who was a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Meanwhile, in The Mandalorian, Boba Fett goes to great lengths to retrieve the Mandalorian armor he lost and later is seen fully decked out in the armor in The Book of Boba Fett.

However, despite all these Mandalorian connections, in The Mandalorian season 2 episode 8, “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” the former Mandalorian leader, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), looks down on Boba Fett. She doesn’t consider him one of them and, surprisingly, Boba Fett also implies he’s not Mandalorian. So what gives? The fact is, Boba Fett isn’t actually technically a Mandalorian. As said above, he is the genetic clone of Jango Fett, who was a Mandalorian. However, Jango Fett wasn’t born a Mandalorian—he was a foundling, similar to Djarin. Since we consider Djarin to still be a Mandalorian, Jango Fett is considered one, too.

Though Jango Fett raised Boba Fett as his son, Boba Fett wasn’t taken in as a foundling of the Mandalorians. In fact, he didn’t even grow up on Mandalore, with his father raising him on the planet of Kamino. While his father did raise him in some of the traditions of the Mandalorians, he was never truly immersed in the Mandalorian culture, doesn’t call Mandalore his home, and doesn’t claim to have become a Mandalorian through the status of a foundling. In The Mandalorian, the armor that he wears was passed down by his father, and he considers it his birthright, but not something he has necessarily earned in the eyes of the Mandalorian. As a result, Boba Fett is not considered a true Mandalorian.

(featured image: Disney)