Admit it, when The Mandalorian was first announced, a lot of us thought the series would follow the most iconic Star Wars character to don a set of Mandalorian armor, none other than Boba Fett. Alas, we were wrong and the main character of the streaming hit turned out to be Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), who after eight episodes ended up being much more complicated and interesting of a character than the clone of Jango Fett.
But while the two armor-clad bounty hunters aren’t the same person (Boba Fett is presumed dead by the time the series rolls around), the two characters have a great deal in common. We have to remember, however, “Mando” and Boba Fett are in fact two completely different characters, and while they both may very well wear Mandalorian armor, the characters have a completely different set of morals and motivations.
Similarity: They're Both Bounty Hunters
When we are first introduced to Din Djarin and Boba Fett, they are each trying to locate and capture an outstanding bounty. Fett has been hired by both Jabba The Hut and Darth Vader to hunt down Han Solo when we first catch a glimpse of his carbon-scored green and golden Mandalorian armor in The Empire Strikes Back, and Djarin is on the hunt for Mythrol (the blue fish guy portrayed by Horatio Sanz). Both bounty hunters even prefer to freeze their “cargo” in frozen carbonate to easily transport them to whoever called for the bounty.
Djarin and Fett both seem to be established bounty hunters with reputations as men who can get the job done, and we see just that when both characters are introduced in their respective appearances. It also seems that both bounty hunters prefer to work alone, as we never see Fett hunting a bounty with a partner and don’t see Djarin begin working with others until he is left without any other option.
Similarity: They Both Wear Mandalorian Armor
A person not familiarized with all that is Star Wars might have thought that The Mandalorian was going to be about the trials and tribulations of Boba Fett, who (presumably) met an untimely death in the first act of Return Of The Jedi, and it’s easy to see why. Fett and Djarin basically don the same Mandalorian armor, with the only differences being the color of the armor and a few other subtle differences. Look past those differences and you’re left with essentially the same type of armor. The only major difference between the two characters’ armor was that Fett’s included a jetpack from the jump and Djarin didn’t get one until the The Mandalorian Season 1 finale. Now that this little difference was fixed, the two look even more similar than they did before.
Similarity: Neither Were Born On Mandalore
Besides sharing the same type of armor and line of work, Boba Fett and Din Djarin have a key similarity that goes much deeper. While both wear Mandalorian armor and never reveal their faces (except for when Djarin showed his face to IG-11), neither are technically born on Mandalore and only adopted some of the practices of the warrior tribe.
We’ll start with Fett, who was born as a clone (minus the accelerated growth) of the famed bounty hunter Jango Fett ahead of the events of Attack Of The Clones and only adopted the armor after his father was decapitated by Mace Window in that film’s climactic battle scene. We never see or hear Fett discuss the Mandalorians (at least not in the main-line movies), so we never hear much of anything about why Jango adorned the armor or if the armor was the only trait he adopted in the first place.
In the early episodes of The Mandalorian, we see Djarin meet and with The Armorer, a Mandalorian who seemingly leads what’s left of the warrior tribe in addition to forging the pieces of their iconic suits of armor. At that point in the series, we could only assume that Djarin has been a Mandalorian since birth, but in the final episodes of the show’s first season, we learn that Djarin was saved from certain death thanks to a Mandalorian who killed the droid that murdered his parents just moments earlier. After that, the rest is history.
Difference: Din Djarin Is A Warrior Whereas Boba Fett Is A Mercenary
Although Boba Fett and Din Djarin have a lot in common, there are a couple of things that make it easier to differentiate the two from one another. The first key difference between the two bounty hunters is the fact that Djarin is a warrior with a higher set of morals whereas Fett is a mercenary who will essentially do whatever for whoever is paying him. The only thing that Fett won’t do is bring back a dead bounty (Han Solo was of no use to him dead), but besides that, Fett just follows the money, no questions asked.
At first, it looks like Djarin is the same way. In the pilot episode of The Mandalorian, we see Djarin capture, freeze, and deliver a bounty without thinking twice about what he is doing. That all changes when he meets the Child, aka “Baby Yoda,” in the final moments of that episode. Over the course of the show’s first season, we begin to learn that Djarin’s motivations are much nobler than collecting credits from the Bounty Hunters’ Guild and the remnants of the Galactic Empire.
Once Djarin learns what the Empire has in store for the Child, his motivations change, and he begins to remember how he was saved by the famed warrior tribe. At that point, he transforms from a simple bounty hunter to something more. Fett, on the other hand, probably would have just made short work of the delivery, collected his credits, and moved on to the next gig.
Difference: Boba Fett Is Not Bound To The Mandalorian Code
Most, if not all, of the differences between the two characters lies within their respective backstories. While Djarin was saved by and raised in the ways of the Mandalorian, Fett was granted no such luxury. Born the clone of feared bounty hunter Jango Fett, Boba Fett was left much to his own devices shortly after the death of his father in Attack Of The Clones. We learned during The Clone Wars series that Jango Fett wasn't really a Mandalorian, so Boba would have no reason to take up the creed. With that being said, it’s safe to assume that instead of following a code of morals passed down by the Mandalorian before him, Boba Fettt forged his own path, one that led him to work with Jabba The Hut in his quest to locate and capture the smuggler Han Solo.
Djarin, on the other hand, was indoctrinated into the Mandalorian tribe and subscribe to their belief systems and philosophies. Instead of being raised on his own, living in a state of fear, hatred, and sorrow like Boba Fett, Din Djarin was given a purpose in life, a purpose that could possibly save the galaxy from the new Imperial threat when The Mandalorian returns to Disney+ for its second season later this year.
