Nick Nolte 'Mandalorian' Character Possibly Revealed; Show Might Feature 'Empire Strikes Back' Bounty Hunters
Nick Nolte is headed to a galaxy far, far away on the upcoming Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian. And now we might now know who the grizzled actor is playing. In addition to that, a rumor claims the show will feature the bounty hunter characters first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back – something the now-cancelled Boba Fett movie was originally going to do. More on that, and the Nick Nolte Mandalorian character below.
Nick Nolte is an Ugnaught?
If you were hoping to actually see Nick Nolte in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, we have some potentially disappointing news. A new report from Making Star Wars suggests Nolte is only lending his vocal talents to the series, and providing the voice of an Ugnaught. Ugnaughts are pig-like humanoids that first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, eventually finding their way into other Star Wars properties as well. Here's some specific info from Wookiepedia:
Ugnaughts were porcine sentient humanoids that were native to the planet Gentes. This species is possibly one of the hardest-working species in the galaxy. Despite originating on Gentes, many Ugnaughts now consider Bespin's Cloud City their home. According to legend, when Lord Ecclessis Figg, the well-known Corellian eccentric, struck on the idea of building a floating city, he enlisted the help of the Ugnaughts, knowing their reputation as industrious and loyal workers. In return, the Ugnaughts were given the freedom and eventually allowed to build their own home in the lower reaches of Cloud City.
Nolte will only provide "the voice and facial movements for the character via a new state-of-the-art animatronic mask." Personally, I'm a little disappointed he won't be appearing as a human character, because I'd love to see the actual Nick Nolte wandering around Star Wars locations. Alas, it's not to be.
Bounty Hunters
But wait, there's more! Making Star Wars is also reporting that the bounty hunter characters who first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back will be popping-up on The Mandalorian as well. As previously reported, the idea of bringing the bounty hunter characters back was originally floated for the now-abandoned Boba Fett movie, but now it looks like they're rolling that concept into The Mandalorian instead. The storyline involving the bounty hunters is said to involve a droid cult, which sounds pretty neat.
The Mandalorian "is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic." The series stars Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Nick Nolte, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow and Omid Abtahi. There's no official release date yet, but you can likely expect it to arrive on Disney+ in 2019.