Is that who we think it was?
Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for the season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian's second season kicked off on Friday with a few major surprises -- and two head-scratching cameos!
Things picked up where last year's season 1 finale left off, with the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), on a mission to deliver The Child (aka Baby Yoda) back to the rest of his kind -- whoever they are, whatever they’re called, wherever they may be.
In search of help from his fellow Mandalorians, Mando gets a tip that one has been spotted on the familiar planet of Tatooine, in a small town called Mos Pelgo. Upon arriving in town, Mando is confronted by someone wearing armor familiar to any Star Wars fan: It's Boba Fett!
Except, it's not. The man removes his helmet to reveal himself as a man named Cobb Vanth -- a character bibliophilic Star Wars fans know from Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy. Vanth, played by none other than Deadwood hunk Timothy Olyphant, reveals that he’s not actually a Mandalorian, but wears Boba Fett's armor after "buying it off some Jawas."
Mando demands a duel with Vanth over the armor, but first they have to team up to slay a giant, sand-dwelling Krayt Dragon with the help of some Tusken Raiders. The deal is, if they are victorious, Mando gets the armor back.
Thankfully, after some serious battling, they are -- and Vanth turns the armor over to Mando, who departs on his sand speeder, with the twin suns setting in the horizon. But the biggest mystery is still to come, as viewers see the silhouette of a man, standing on one of the dunes, watching intently: It's Boba Fett?
Maybe. What we do know is, it's actor Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in the prequel films. In Star Wars canon, Jango's DNA was used to create the clone trooper army, as well as Boba Fett. So, while there is a very small possibility this is another character -- a rogue clone soldier, perhaps, or an unknown Fett family connection -- it’s pretty unlikely.
But it's also pretty unlikely that it's Boba Fett, who should be 40 years digested in a Sarlacc belly by now....right?
At The Mandalorian premiere event last year, ET's Ash Crossan asked co-creator Dave Filoni if it’s possible Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc pitt. "I mean, there's always possibilities," he said. "I don't like to limit our storytelling in any way, and you know, who knows? I've been surprised."
"It would be really hypocritical for the guy that helped bring Darth Maul back to life after he got cut in half to say somebody can't survive a Sarlacc pit, but I don't know," Filoni added. "I mean, anything's possible in Star Wars, and I always think, when fans love something, that's what really fuels the possibility and the believability."
If it is in fact Boba Fett, how did he get out? What has he been up to for the last few decades? And what's he got to do with Mando's mission? Fans will have to keep watching to find out. This is the way.
New episodes of The Mandalorian season 2 premiere Fridays on Disney+.
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