Star Wars: Jango Fett Was a Mandalorian! Here’s How

One of the things that we know about Jango Fett is that he was the template of the clone army that helped the Galactic Republic during the Galactic Civil War, known as the Clone Wars. Of course, the most distinctive part about Jango Fett was that he wore Mandalorian armor, which helped him greatly while working as a bounty hunter. His status as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy convinced Sifo Dyas and Count Dooku that he was the best person to be the template of the clone army. But was Jango Fett actually a Mandalorian?

In ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars,’ Prime Minister Almec of Mandalore dismissed Obi-Wan Kenobi’s belief about Jango Fett being a Mandalorian as he told him that Fett merely stole his Mandalorian armor from a Mandalorian. However, in ‘The Mandalorian,’ Din Djarin confirmed that Jango Fett was actually a Mandalorian foundling.

The fact that Jango was a Mandalorian could also extend to his son/clone, Boba. Of course, it was because Jango was Mandalorian that Din Djarin believed that Boba was worthy of his Mandalorian armor because he inherited it from his father. So, with that said, let’s look at how Jango Fett is a Mandalorian.

Jango was “just” a bounty hunter

When it comes to Star Wars, one race of people that has captivated fans all over the world is the Mandalorian race. Of course, the Mandalorians have always been characterized by their distinct Beskar Steel Mandalorian armor, which can only be forged by the Mandalorians themselves. Of course, there was a character many people thought was a Mandalorian, and we’re talking about Boba Fett himself.

Boba appeared in ‘Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’ as one of the bounty hunters Darth Vader hired to chase the Millennium Falcon. He was also hired by none other than Jabba the Hutt to bring Han Solo to him. And we actually met Boba’s “father” back in the events of the original trilogy.

Jango, Boba’s father, made his first appearance in ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones,’ wherein Count Dooku hired him to act as the template for the clone army that Sifo Dyas commissioned the Kaminoans to build around ten years prior. When confronted by Obi-Wan, Jango said he was just a simple bounty hunter trying to make a living. He also had an exact clone of himself in the form of Boba, who was unaltered.

In his first appearance, Jango never claimed himself to be a Mandalorian. The only thing that was Mandalorian about him was his Beskar Steel armor. Jango eventually died at the hands of Jedi Master Mace Windu, who decapitated him during the First Battle of Geonosis.

During the events of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Mandalore to discuss with Duchess Satine Kryze something about the recent terrorist attacks that were happening on the planet. Upon meeting Prime Minister Almec, Kenobi said that he once met and fought a Mandalorian named Jango Fett.

However, Almec said that Jango Fett wasn’t a Mandalorian. Instead, he said that Jango was just a bounty hunter who found himself a Mandalorian armor that he believed was a relic of the past. As such, the Mandalorians didn’t recognize Jango or even Boba as one of their own.

This statement from Almec dismissed any beliefs about Jango Fett’s status as a Mandalorian. His identity as a Mandalorian was possibly changed due to how different the Mandalorians were during the time of the Clone Wars. At that time, the Mandalorians were a peaceful race of people governed by the progressive-minded Duchess Satine Kryze.

He was a foundling

During the time of ‘The Mandalorian,’ which takes place on 9 ABY and nearly 30 years after the time when Almec told Obi-Wan that Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian, we followed the journey of a Mandalorian warrior named Din Djarin. The thing about Din was that he wasn’t born a Mandalorian or even on Mandalore. Instead, he was a foundling, a parentless child that the Mandalorians were allowed to adopt.

Din lost his entire family during the Clone Wars, and that was when a Mandalorian belonging to the Children of the Watch found and adopted him. The Children of the Watch were an offshoot of the traditional Death Watch Mandalorians and were incredibly religious and traditional regarding their Mandalorian beliefs.

In fact, unlike mainstream Mandalorians, the Children of the Watch weren’t allowed to remove their helmets in front of other living beings. They were very strict regarding who was allowed to wear the Mandalorian armor.

During the events of season 2 of ‘The Mandalorian,’ Din found out that a local marshal in a small town in Tatooine had been wearing Mandalorian armor. After helping this marshal, whose name was Cob Vanth, kill a huge Krayt Dragon. Din was allowed to leave with the Mandalorian armor.

Boba Fett followed Din all the way to Tython, where Grogu used the Force to contact any Jedi in the galaxy. Fett demanded Din return to him his armor, which he lost five years ago when Jawas stole it from him while he was unconscious after escaping the belly of a Sarlacc. But Din didn’t want to give Boba the armor because he didn’t believe that he was a Mandalorian.

Din had no choice but to allow Boba to wear the armor because they were outnumbered by the Imperial remnants who went to Tython to kidnap Grogu. After that, Din allowed Boba to go home with his Mandalorian armor when he found out from the armor’s chain code that it used to belong to Jango Fett, who was a Mandalorian foundling.

The chain code revealed that Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian at first but served during the Mandalorian Civil Wars, where he was given the right to wear this armor. In that regard, he became a Mandalorian foundling when the man who gave him his armor proclaimed him to be a Mandalorian. And because Jango was a Mandalorian foundling, Boba was also a Mandalorian by extension because he was his father’s recognized son.

This means that Prime Minister Almec only said that Jango was never a Mandalorian either because he didn’t know about him being a foundling or because he simply didn’t want to recognize a bounty hunter as a Mandalorian. Nevertheless, it was clear from Din Djarin’s words that Jango Fett was a true Mandalorian with the right to wear his armor.