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Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Who's Who in the Cast

A Dornish prince, an MMA fighter, and a three-time Oscar nominee are just the tip of the iceberg.
  • Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano and Nick Nolte lead the ensemble cast of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. (Disney+)
    Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano and Nick Nolte lead the ensemble cast of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. (Disney+)

    This week sees the launch of the Disney+ streaming service, perhaps the largest streaming platform yet to line up against Netflix in the race for your monthly entertainment dollar. At launch, the shiniest jewel in the D+ treasure chest is The Mandalorian, the first-ever live action TV series set in the Star Wars universe, about a bounty hunter who is not Boba Fett but who dresses in the same iconic uniform. Created and helmed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, the series looks to give Star Wars it's first foothold in the streaming TV world, as well as a place for Star Wars fans to pivot to after The Rise of Skywalker closes out the latest trilogy of movies.

    Disney has pointedly declined to distribute press screeners for their new show, so beyond the trailer above (and an earlier one), not very much at all is known about the show before it bows on Tuesday. But we do know which actors and actresses make up the cast. Below, find a rundown of who's playing whom, and where you may have seen them before.

    Pedro Pascal

    Who He's Playing: Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian of the show's title. The Mandalorians are a race of people from the Star Wars universe, the most well-known (notorious, one might say!) of whom was the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who pursued Han Solo and ultimately delivered him, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba the Hutt for a price. In Return of the Jedi, a half-blind Han Solo knocks Boba Fett into the Sarlacc pit.

    As played by Pascal, this Mandalorian is a solo gunfighter who makes his living, much like Bob Fett did, by bounty hunting. He's been compared to Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character from his spaghetti westerns.

    Where You've Seen Him: Most notably, Pascal played the Dornish prince Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones, as well as his role as Javier Peña on Narcos. He's also been in films like Triple Frontier, The Great Wall, and If Beale Street Could Talk. Coming next year, he'll be co-starring in the highly anticipated Wonder Woman: 1984.

    Gina Carano

    Who She's Playing: Cara Dune, a mercenary who was once a fighter for the Rebel Alliance in the war against the Empire.

    Where You've Seen Her: A former MMA fighter, Carano is best known for her role in the 2016 film Deadpool. She also had a significant role in Fast & Furious 6.

    Nick Nolte

    Who He's Playing: It is said that Nolte will be playing Kuiil, an Uganut, a race of pig-like alien creatures who were previously seen in The Empire Strikes Back.

    Where You've Seen Him: A three-time Academy Award nominee, Nolte's dozens of film performances have included The Prince of Tides, The Thin Red Line, Hulk, Warrior, and Tropic Thunder. Recently, he's starred on the TV series Luck for HBO and Graves for EPIX.

    Giancarlo Esposito

    Who He's Playing: Moff Gideon, who was aligned with the Empire as a governor until the Rebel Alliance came along.

    Where You've Seen Him: The two-time Emmy nominee is best known for his role as Gustavo "Gus" Fring, the drug kingpin/fried chicken restauranteur who first appeared on Breaking Bad before recurring on Better Call Saul. He's also been in films from Do The Right Thing to the Maze Runner films.

    Carl Weathers

    Who He's Playing: Greef Carga, the leader of an organization of bounty hunters, who hires our Mandalorian for a job tracking a valuable asset.

    Where You've Seen Him: Carl Weathers played the iconic role of Apollo Creed in the first three Rocky films. He also appeared as the slightly less iconic Chubbs in Happy Gilmore, and as a stew-enthusiast version of himself on Arrested Development.

    Emily Swallow

    Who She's Playing: Her role is currently unknown.

    Where You've Seen Her: As Amara on the (very) long-running Supernatural.

    Omid Abtahi

    Who He's Playing: Dr. Pershing, a scientist once affiliated with the Empire.

    Where You've Seen Him: Oddly, both of Abtahi's most notable roles have been as characters named Salim, on Showtime's Sleeper Cell and Starz's American Gods. This isn't Abtahi's first role in the Star Wars franchise. He voiced a Mandalorian cadet named Amis in the Star Wars: Clone Wars episodes "The Academy" and "The Lawless".

    Werner Herzog

    Who He's Playing: All we know about Herzog's character is that he's being referred to as The Client and that his narration in the trailer inquires about the indignities suffered by the Mandalorian's people since the fall of the Empire.

    Where You've Seen Him: One of the most acclaimed and enigmatic film directors working today, Herzog has made films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, and Grizzly Man.

    Taika Waititi

    Who He's Playing: He'll be voicing the droid IG-11, an innocent, naive droid unfamiliar with sarcasm or deception.

    Where You've Seen Him: Another film director, Waititi's films include the vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows and the currently-in-theaters Jojo Rabbit, where Waititi himself plays a comedic version of Hitler.

    Bill Burr

    Who He's Playing: An unnamed bounty hunter.

    Where You've Seen Him: The prolific comedian has, when not making numerous stand-up specials for Netflix and then complaining about how wokeness is ruining comedy, has starred in films like The Heat and TV shows like Breaking Bad.

    Natalia Tena

    Who She's Playing: An unnamed purple Twi'lek, seen winking in the show's first trailer. 

    Where You've Seen Her:  Singer/actress Tena is no stranger to blockbuster franchises. Her previous roles include Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter film series, and the wildling Osha in Game of Thrones.

    Mark Boone Junior

    Who He's Playing: Unknown role.

    Where You've Seen Him: Mark Boone Junior has appeared in films like Memento and Batman Begins, but is best known for playing biker-gang-member Bobby on Sons of Anarchy.

    Ming-Na Wen

    Who She's Playing: An assassin named Fennec Shand

    Where You've Seen Her: Tons of places, from ER to Agents of SHIELD and back again. She was also the speaking voice of Disney's Mulan.

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    Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.

    TOPICS: Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Disney+, Bill Burr, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow, Giancarlo Esposito, Gina Carano, Mark Boone Junior, Ming-Na Wen, Natalia Tena, Nick Nolte, Omid Abtahi, Pedro Pascal, Taika Waititi, Werner Herzog