Temuera Morrison, the actor behind Boba Fett in The Mandalorian, has talked about what is new about the character since we last saw him.
In canon, the last time we saw Boba Fett was when he fell into the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi. Five years later, he turns up alive in The Mandalorian and now he has joined up with Din Djarin after reclaiming his iconic armour.
A lot has changed for Boba over these past five years, not least his grizzled physical appearance. Speaking about the differences to The New York Times, actor Temuera Morrison – who previously played Jango Fett (Boba’s father and clone) many years ago – said:
“When we find Boba, he’s well-worn, and he’s been through a lot. He’s a survivor, and he’s weathered. Now it was time to find out more about what makes Boba tick. Is he more than just a simple man, trying to make his way through the galaxy? Is he tired of all the fighting? Is he tired of all the killing?
“The one thing I can relate to is, I’m quite a mature man now and things always change. Sometimes you’re in Hollywood, in all the magazines and newspapers. And sometimes you end up in the fish and chip shop in New Zealand, where all the old magazines and papers go. You’re old news. [Laughs.]”
According to Morrison, the makeup process for the character helped him to solidify some of Boba’s changes: “I was doing that kind of background work — what’s this guy going to look like? What’s he going to sound like? — and while they’re applying makeup, I’m going, well, here he is. We did quite a number of makeup tests and I worked closely with the makeup artist Brian Sipe. When I saw some of the scars on my face, I thought, well, maybe he does talk a little bit gravelly. Maybe his vocal cords have been affected as well. Then you put the costume on and it gives you a sense of power. The costume makes you feel like Superman. When I put the armor on for the first time, it just felt right.”
Morrison also discussed how he used his own background to bring Boba to life: “I come from the Maori nation of New Zealand, the Indigenous people — we’re the Down Under Polynesians — and I wanted to bring that kind of spirit and energy, which we call wairua. I’ve been trained in my cultural dance, which we call the haka. I’ve also been trained in some of our weapons, so that’s how I was able to manipulate some of the weapons in my fight scenes and work with the gaffi stick, which my character has.”
SEE ALSO: Temuera Morrison had been waiting for Lucasfilm’s call since Disney bought Star Wars
It’s great to have Boba Fett back in live-action and really cool to see Morrison playing the part. The final two episodes of The Mandalorian season two should be pretty epic indeed.
The Mandalorian season two sees the returning Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin), Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Carl Weathers (Greef Karga), Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon), Bill Burr (Mayfield), and Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) joined by the likes of Temuera Morrison (Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), Katee Sackhoff (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Michael Biehn (The Terminator), Rosario Dawson (Daredevil), and WWE Superstar Sasha Banks.
The Mandalorian season two airs on Fridays on Disney+.
