We already knew Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi was heading behind the camera for an episode of The Mandalorian, but now it looks like he’s going behind the mic as well.
Yet, Waititi isn’t voicing just any ol’ alien or Stormtrooper. Instead, it appears he’s portraying IG-88, a fan-favorite bounty hunter that first appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy.
A new behind-the-scenes photo posted to Instagram by The Mandalorian executive producer Jon Favreau shows Waititi recording dialogue for the upcoming series, but it’s the chrome-plated character on the screen in front of him that has Star Wars fans talking.
As a gift to fans last Christmas, Favreau revealed that IG-88 will appear in the series, but it’s still unknown how prominent a role the character will have. Just last month, Waititi teased that he would appear as someone with a connection to Boba Fett, who first showed up alongside IG-88 in The Empire Strikes Back. Considering that canonically Boba Fett destroyed the droid off-screen in Empire and left its remains on Cloud City, it’s going to be interesting to see how IG-88 returns in a series set five years after Return of the Jedi.
According to StarWars.com, IG-88’s an assassin droid, “independently programmed mechanical killers that had no masters.” Set in the Outer Rim territories, The Mandalorian is reportedly aiming for a western-style tone, so a rogue bounty hunter that only serves himself seems like a perfect fit for the series.
As for Waititi, he’s well known for appearing in most of his own works, and recently provided the voice and motion for Ragnarok’s lovable alien-warrior Korg. An aloof, selfish robot with a thirst for blood seems like the exact type of character Waititi would love to lampoon, so you can bet that IG-88 is going to leave a large impression when The Mandalorian finally premieres. Considering the series has wrapped filming and is in the middle of post-production, we’ll hopefully get a trailer at Star Wars Celebration 2019 next month.
