The Mandalorian quickly won the hearts of viewers both seasoned and fresh to the Star Wars universe when it began on Disney Plus. From its status as what is essentially a space western, complete with plenty of overt references to Akira Kurosawa, to the always endearing cast of characters, it's not difficult to see why fans gravitated towards the series. Granted, there's one tiny and green character who appears to have claimed most of the attention.
But even aside from the popularity of Baby Yoda/Grogu, many of the show's other original offerings have drawn viewers in just as effectively. One such element is the mysterious Mandalorian known as The Armorer, played by actress Emily Swallow. Whether she's giving sage advice to her fellow armored warriors or dishing out beatdowns to the nearest stormtroopers via hammer and blade, it's clear that this character is a force to be reckoned with on multiple levels.
Swallow recently spoke about her time in the role, and she seems to enjoy playing The Armorer as much as fans enjoy watching her. "I felt like I was part of something pretty magical that really captured the heart of those first three [Star Wars] movies," she said, describing how she felt upon watching the series for the first time after filming it. "And the quality and intelligence of it, the cleverness of how they were tying in so many things for people that are well versed in the Star Wars universe, but then also making it so accessible to people that know nothing about it, who could just jump in. It still blows my mind that it covers so many bases." It's no surprise that The Armorer was popular enough to get her own Book of Boba Fett character poster.
It turns out that the character's helmeted look provided for some unintentional comedy behind the scenes, particularly as Swallow and the rest of the cast and crew first began figuring out The Armorer. "When you can't look at the face, the eye is drawn to the rest of the body even more, and every small movement becomes magnified," she explained. "It was really fun those first few episodes, because we were all sort of finding together what the language of movement was and what translated and what didn't. Dave [Filoni] and Deborah [Chow] were directing. It was a lot of experimenting. It was a lot of running into each other. We would bonk helmets with each other; I was tripping on things in my forge. I mean, if we had all of the behind-the-scenes footage put together from those episodes, we would have a Three Stooges reel because it was just ridiculous!" Kind of hilarious to hear something like that about who is arguably one of the strongest Mandalorians in Star Wars.
But even among all the (admittedly hilarious) bumps in the road, Swallow still managed to get a solid feel for her character, which subsequently helped her turn The Armorer into a beloved addition to the Star Wars universe whom fans welcomed back with cheers open arms when she returned in The Book of Boba Fett. "One of the things that I personally love about her is that she is this warrior — she makes armor, she makes weapons, — but she is so deliberate about when she chooses to fight," the actress mused. "She is the keeper of something sacred. She respects something that is so deeply spiritual, and it is remarkable to have the space for that within this story. It is something that often gets skipped over in our fast-paced world these days."
It's always interesting to see characters become fan-favorites even when surrounded by similarly beloved individuals like Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano. But Swallow managed to pull it off with The Armorer, combining stoic intensity with a thoughtful and respectful air to the point of providing plenty of education and intimidation simultaneously. Here's hoping she gets plenty more to do when The Mandalorian returns for season 3.
The Mandalorian is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: StarWars.com