Will Mandalorians And Sith Witches Play A Role In Star Wars: Episode VII?

Another day, another potentially groundless rumor for Star Wars: Episode VII. Yesterday, sometimes-reliable gossip site Latino Review posted a new crop of possible scoops for Disney and Lucasfilm’s upcoming, J.J. Abrams-directed franchise restarter.

Apparently, the mercenaries whom we recently heard will hunt Jedi in Episode VII may be related somehow to the Mandalorian race. According to Wookiepedia:

“In their early years, Mandalorian culture revolved around battle, with war being a source of honor and pride in their community. The leader of the Mandalorians, known as the Mand’alor, translates to “Sole Ruler” and presented as “Mandalore” in Basic. Throughout their history, the Mandalorians often allied with the Sith, perhaps most notably the Sith Lord Exar Kun, and held a certain distrust and general dislike for the Jedi Order.

However, they wouldn’t hesitate to cooperate with the Jedi if a partnership between the two groups was mutually beneficial. In later years, the Mandalorians moved away from their obsessively war-like and conqueror ways and instead, most became bounty hunters and mercenaries, selling their skills to various individuals and factions in the galaxy.”

We’ve seen two characters related to the Mandalorians before on the big screen. Bounty hunters Boba and Jango Fett both wore Mandalorian armor, though neither is originally from that planet. On TV, however, another Mandalorian character is about to emerge – Disney XD’s upcoming Star Wars: Rebels cartoon will include a Mandalorian explosives expert named Sabine Wren.

There’s no telling whether Latino Review is right or not with this scoop, but it would make sense for the Jedi Hunters that have been rumored for Episode VII to be Mandalorian, given that race’s propensity for the mercenary lifestyle.

In its rumor report, Latino Review also stated that Episode VII will include a “Sith Witch,” or perhaps multiple. Could this be Lupita Nyong’o’s character?

Star Wars: Episode VII opens December 18th, 2015 (unless Harrison Ford’s broken leg causes it to be delayed). It features returning stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker. Among the newcomers are John Boyega, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow.