10 Most Important Mandalorians In The 'Star Wars' Universe

After what has felt like a long wait, we are now just one month away from the season three premiere of smash-hit series The Mandalorian on Disney Plus. This season will see The Mandalorian, Din Djarin, and his young charge Grogu, embark on a pilgrimage to Mandalore, now a partially destroyed wasteland, so Din can regain his official status among the Death Watch Mandalorians after removing his helmet back in season two. He will also find himself in conflict with his one time ally Bo-Katan Kryze, who will likely want to best him in battle in order to claim the Darksaber, a powerful symbol of Mandalorian leadership curretly in Din's possession.

While the success of The Mandalorian, the first live-action Television series set in the Star Wars universe, has brought the Mandalorian race and culture to the attention of the wider fandom, as well as more casual audiences, those who are more experienced in Star Wars lore, particularly the growing library of animated content, know that the Mandalorians have actually been around for quite some time. They are a warrior race known for their use of the rare and powerful Beskar metal, with attempts to move away from their warrior history met with varying degrees of success. Mandalorian characters have played pivotal roles in both the Clone Wars, and eventual rebellion against the Empire. Before The Mandalorian season three hits screens next month, let's take a look back at all of the best Mandalorian characters in the Star Wars universe.

1. Din Djarin/The Mandalorian

While he is currently one of the most easily recognisable Mandalorian characters in the Star Wars fandom, Din Djarin was not in fact born a Mandalorian, but an orphan rescued by Mandalorian troops during the Clone Wars. Thereafter considered a Mandalorian foundling, Din was raised and trained by an offshoot group known as the Children of The Watch, who were more fiercely committed to the ancient 'Way' of the Mandalore than other surviving Mandalorians. This group avoided the Empire's Purge of Mandalore as they were hidden on Concordia at the time.

The CotW eventually moved to a secret enclave on Navarro, where the adult Din Djarin, now a fully fledged Mandalorian, made a living as a Bounty Hunter, often known simply as Mando. However, Din's life changed when a seemingly regular mission brought him into contact with the mysterious force-sensitive child, Grogu. After Din is tasked with returning Grogu to his own kind, the pair develop a close bond. While rescuing Grogu from the evil Moff Gideon, Din wins the Darksaber in combat, inadvertently making him the symbolic ruler of Mandalore and the Mandalorians. Fans can't wait to see what adventures Mando and Grogu will get into next.

2. Sabine Wren

Known for her signature painted helmet and armor, Sabine Wren was a young Mandalorian woman who played a pivotal role in the early days of the Rebellion. Highly intelligent and skilled with machinery, Sabine was once a cadet in the Imperial Academy, but after a Beskar-disentegrating weapon she built was turned on her people, Sabine fled, horrified, and joined the fledgling rebellion as a crew member of the Ghost, and was granted the codename Spectre 5. She developed a close friendship with Ezra Bridger when he joined the crew as Kanan Jarrus's Jedi Padawan, going against an ingrained stereotype that Jedi and Mandalorians were natural enemies, a stereotype fueled by Mandalore being under the Empire's thumb.

Sabine influenced the path of the rebellion in at least two major ways: Her paintings of the firebird, which eventually formed the basis of the symbol of the Rebel Alliance, and convincing the people of Mandalore to turn against the Empire. When the Ghost Crew discovers the Darksaber, fellow Mandalorian rebel Fenn Rau convinces Sabine to take it up and lead their people to freedom from Imperial rule. Sabine succeeds, but seeing her place as with the Rebels, passes the Darksber, and leadership of Mandalore, to Bo-Katan Kryze.

Sabine avoids the Great Purge as she had stayed behind to monitor the missing Ezra's home planet, Lothal, from Imperial rule. She was last seen joining Ahsoka Tano on a quest to find Ezra, events that will likely play out in the upcoming Ahsoka series. As she never actually lost the Darksaber in battle, some fans still view Sabine as the true ruler of the Mandalorians.

3. Boba Fett

Boba Fett was not born a Mandalorian, nor does he follow the Mandalorian creed in the same way as a devotee like Din Djarin. However, he does claim some Mandalorian heritage through his 'Father', Jango, who was raised as a Mandalorian Foundling. It is through Jango that Boba inherited his Beskar armor. Boba is the cloned son of Jango, who was the chosen template of the Clone Army during the Galactic Republic's war against the Separatists. Following Jango's death, Boba trained as a Bounty Hunter under the tutelage of Cad Bane and various others, becoming a minor antagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy as he pursues a bounty on Han Solo.

Boba was initially believed dead after falling into a Sarlacc Pit, but the character's unlikely fan favourite status led to numerous theories of his possible survival. This was eventually confirmed during the events of The Mandalorian. After fulfilling a deal with Din Djarin to ensure the safety of Grogu, Boba, accompanied by fellow former Bounty Hunter Fennec Shand takes the position of Daimyo of Mos Espa, the former seat of Jabba the Hut. Despite a few hiccups, this is where Boba Fett currently remains.

4. Bo-Katan Kryze

Introduced in the Clone Wars series, Bo-Katan initially serves under Darksaber-wielder Pre Vizsla as a member of the Death Watch, a splinter group of rebel Mandalorians defying the plans of Bo-Katan's sister, Duchess Satine Kryze, to shift the people of Mandalore away from their brutal warrior past into a more peaceful, even pacifistic future. However, when Darth Maul claims the Darksaber, Bo-Katan and a group of followers leave the Death Watch, and when Maul murders Duchess Satine, she allies with the Galactic Republic to oust Maul as ruler of Mandalore. With Satine dead, Bo-Katan is Mandalore's heir apparent, but is quickly replaced by Imperial loyalist Gar Saxon after the rise of the Empire.

For years, Bo-Katan works behind the scenes to free Mandalore from Imperial rule, until Sabine Wren's uniting of the Mandalorian clans allows her efforts to be more open. Once Mandalore is liberated, Sabine grants the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, believing her to be a more suitable leader for their people.

Bo-Katan survives the Purge of Mandalore, but at some point, lost the Darksaber to Moff Gideon. During her appearances in The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan is desperate to win back the blade, but these plans are scuppered when Mando inadvertently wins the Darksaber from Gideon himself. Bo-Katan believes she must win the Darksaber herself, probably because she did not actually win it the first time.

5. Duchess Satine Kryze

Duchess Satine Kryze, a member of a party known as the New Mandalorians, took leadership of Mandalore following a Civil War between the Old and New Mandalorians. For her own protection, Satine spent the majority of this war on the run with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his then Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, with whom she formed a close bond. Satine wishes for her people to renounce their warrior ways and embrace a peaceful, pacifistic future. For this reason, she strives for Mandalore to remain neutral in the Clone Wars, a situation that frustrates both sides of the conflict, as Mandalore would be an important strategic location for whoever posessed it. Despite the pressure, attempts on her life, and terrorist attacks from the 'Old Mandalorians' of the Death Watch, Satine, with some help from Obi-Wan, maintained Mandalore's neutrality for an admirable amount of time.

However, things fell apart when Death Watch formed an alliance with Darth Maul and various crime families to form the Shadow Collective. Staging an 'attack' on Mandalore and positioning the Death Watch as heroes, the group were able to depose and imprison Satine. She briefly escapes with the help of her sister, Death Watch defector Bo-Katan, but is soon recaptured. Maul eventually murders Satine in front of a captive Obi-Wan to taunt him, with Satine admitting her love for Obi-Wan as she dies.

Satine has become a divisive figure in Mandalorian history, particularly among descendants of the Death Watch. However, those who knew Satine personally, such as Bo-Katan, and former Mandalorian Protector Fenn Rau, always speak fondly of the Duchess and her legacy.

6. The Armorer

The Armorer, introduced in the first season of The Mandalorian, is a rather mysterious, enigmatic figure, recognisable by her distinctive horned helmet. She forges salvaged Beskar into armor and weapons, perhaps one of the few living smiths able to work with the increasingly rare metal, and, like most Mandalorians, she is a skilled warrior, once taking down a full platoon of Stormtroopers on her own. She held a position of authority in the hidden Mandalorian enclave on Navarro, able to shut down a brewing conflict between Paz Vizsla and Mando with just a few words.

The Armorer's name and Clan are currently unknown, but we know that she is a member of the Children of the Watch, and thus deeply committed to the ancient Way of the Mandalore. It is the Armorer who informs Mando of his responsibility towards Grogu once he is declared a Foundling, and also informs him of the Darksaber's history and trains him in it's use. Unfortunately, she also ousts him from the new enclave after learning that he removed his helmet.

The Armorer is expected to appear in The Mandalorian season three. While some fans hope for more background on the character, others are happy for her to maintain a little mystery.

7. Fenn Rau

Fenn Rau was a rare Mandalorian who saw merit in Duchess Satine Kryze's dreams of a peaceful future, while recognising that Mandalorian warrior skills should not be discarded entirely. In the latter days of the Clone Wars, Rau served as the leader of Skull Squadron, a Mandalorian fighter pilot unit allied with the Republic. However, after the fall of the Republic, Rau worked for the Empire as Commander of the Mandalorian Protectors of Concord Dawn, keeping watch for Rebel activity in the sector. He was not unsympathetic to the Rebel cause, but believed there was no point in supporting a losing side, and that his compliance would keep his own people safe. At some point, he was captured by the Rebels of Phoenix Cell, and ordered his people to, secretly, allow the Rebels safe passage through Concord Dawn.

When contact with the Protectors is lost, the Rebels allow Fenn Rau to accompany Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren to Concord Dawn to investigate, with Rau devastated to discover that the Protectors have been slaughtered.. not just by the Empire, but Imperial Viceroy Gar Saxon, a fellow Mandalorian. Realizing the true evil the Empire is capable of, Fenn Rau finally agrees to join the Rebellion. During his time with the Rebels, Rau develops a deep respect and friendship with fellow Mandalorian Sabine Wren, seeing her potential as a leader of their race. He encourages Sabine to take up the Darksaber, and acts as her main advisor during her time wielding it as Mand'alor. He was last seen staying behind on Mandalore to help Bo-Katan Kryze rebuild. It is currently unknown whether or not he survived the Purge.

While seemingly a minor character in the great scheme of things, Fenn Rau helped influence some relatively major events in Mandalorian history.

8. Pre Vizsla

In the days following the Mandalorian Civil War, Pre Vizsla soon became the biggest to the rule of Duchess Satine Kryze and her New Mandalore movement. As the wielder of the Darksaber, and a descendant of it's creator, Tarre Vizsla, Pre Vizsla was easily able to rally supporters to his cause. Many of the Death Watch's attempts to gain power footholds in Mandalore were thwarted by Jedi, most notably Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano, but things improved for the group when they joined with Darth Maul to form the Shadow Collective. With Maul's assistance, the group staged an attack on Mandalore in which they were able to position the Death Watch as heroes, leading to Satine being dethroned and arrested.

Unfortunately, it was at this point Vizsla made a fatal mistake, in trying to despose of Maul once he no longer needed him. After a long duel, Pre Vizsla dies at Maul's hands, and Maul claims the Darksaber, and the Death Watch, for his own. This creates a split in the group, half of whom leave with Bo-Katan Kryze, believing the Darksaber should only ever be held by a true Mandalorian.

Despite his death, Pre Vizsla's legacy lives on in the Death Watch's successors, the Children of the Watch.

9. Gar Saxon

Gar Saxon is a Mandalorian remembered for all the wrong reasons. A part of Darth Maul's Shadow Collective, Saxon served as leader of the Super Commandos, taking part in the Siege of Mandalore in the last days of the Clone Wars. He was ultimately defeated by a combination of Republic and Mandalorian forces, and imprisoned by Bo-Katan Kryze.

Unforunately for all involved, Saxon is released soon after the Empire takes power, and installed as a puppet ruler of Mandalore. Unlike characters like Fenn Rau, who served the Empire to protect their people, Gar Saxon remains loyal to the Empire due to the power it gives him. In the early days of the Rebellion, Saxon develops a rivalry with the young Mandalorian rebel Sabine Wren, culminating in the two having a duel on Krownest to determine possession of the Darksaber. Sabine wins, and would have allowed Saxon to live. However, Saxon plays dirty and attempts to attack Sabine from behind, at which point he is shot dead by Sabine's Mother, Ursa.

Due to his support of the Empire at great cost to Mandalore, Gar Saxon will always be remembered as a traitor to his people.

10. Tarre Vizsla

While he has never been seen in person, due to having died long before any of the Star Wars events we have seen so far, Tarre Vizsla holds an important, revered position in Mandalorian history. A rare, almost unheard of combination of Mandalorian and Jedi, Tarre Vizsla is best known as the creotor and original wielder of the Darksaber. Vizsla used the blade to unite the warring Mandalorian clans under a single leader.. Vizsla himself, of course. After Tarre Vizsla’s death, the Darksaber was confiscated by the Jedi Council, who feared it could cause trouble in the wrong hands. This upset most on Mandalore, increasing the traditional enmity between Jedi and Mandalorians. It was eventually stolen by Vizsla’s descendants, and the tradition of winning the Darksaber in battle to decide leadership of Mandalore was established.

Tarre Vizsla remains a deeply respected figure among Mandalorians. In the Forces of Destiny short 'Art History', Sabine Wren, angered at the discovery of the Empire defacing a statue of Vizsla by turning it into an outpost, turned what was intended as a recon mission into a Strike mission in order to ‘free’ Vizsla from the Empire.

Perhaps someday soon, Tarre Vizsla’s vision of a truly united Mandalore will be achieved.