Boba Fett’s Mandalorian Voice Change Explained By Actor

The Mandalorian actor Temuera Morrison explains why Boba Fett sounds different on the Disney+ series. Though season 1 was much more of a contained story, The Mandalorian season 2 expanded its universe with greater ties to the broader Star Wars world. So far, audiences have been treated to fan favorite characters like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), plus a major connection to the movies in the form of Boba Fett. The bounty hunter, once assumed to be dead after the events of Return of the Jedi, first appeared in the final moments of the season premiere, hinting at a greater role to come.

That role was revealed in last week’s episode, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”. Fett, along with Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), tracked down Mando (Pedro Pascal) with the intention of reclaiming his armor. However, when powerful little Grogu (or, Baby Yoda) was abducted by Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) Dark Troopers, Fett vowed to help Mando save him. This sets up a longer Mandalorian stint for Fett, and one that could end up leading to something else in the future.

Morrison, who also played Fett’s father Jango in the prequel films, sat down with The New York Times to discuss his Star Wars return. One of the things fans noticed after watching “The Tragedy” is that Fett sounds different this time around. Morrison explained how Fett’s rugged and scarred appearance actually led him to try something new with the voice. He recalled:

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.

While Fett’s apparent escape from the Sarlacc pit hasn’t gotten much explanation, it’s clear the experience took a toll on him. The Mandalorian‘s Fett is older and more beaten down, as seen through the scars on his face. It’s no surprise the things he endured in the Star Wars movies would alter certain parts of him, like his voice. Still, he managed to unleash some impressive moves against the attacking Stormtroopers, and fans were also treated to the sight of him in his original armor.

Fett’s Star Wars future beyond the second season of The Mandalorian remains a mystery, but fans will at least see him in the remaining two episodes in some capacity. Perhaps that will provide a few more answers about his surprising survival. Regardless of that, though, it was exciting to see Fett join The Mandalorian, even if he’s different than before. Morrison’s explanation for why Fett’s voice has changed makes sense and shows how he understands Fett’s character on a deeper level than most. Hopefully, he’ll be given more opportunities in the future to develop Fett even further.

Source: The New York Times

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Rachel Labonte
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Rachel LaBonte is a news, feature, and movie review writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for film and television. A graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She’s been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school. Most notably, she wrote for Emerson’s website Emertainment Monthly, and one of her film reviews won an Evvy (Emerson’s student awards) for Best Review. Her deep love of movies led to her working at a movie theater for five years, which she loved despite the angry customers. An avid reader who constantly buys books before reading the ones she already owns, Rachel is a huge fan of superheroes (especially of the Marvel variety) and wizards and will likely never be able to catch up on all the movies/TV shows she longs to watch.

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