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The Armorer

January 01, 1970

For the occupation, see Armourer.

The Armorer is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Dressed in red body armor and a gold helmet, she is the leader of a tribe of Mandalorian warriors, which includes the title character of The Mandalorian. A mysterious, patient, and intelligent character, the Armorer provides spiritual guidance for the clan, and forges and repairs their armor.

The Armorer
Star Wars character
Emily Swallow as the Armorer in The Book of Boba Fett
First appearance
Created byJon Favreau
Portrayed byEmily Swallow
Body doubleLauren Mary Kim
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
GenderFemale
OccupationMandalorian tribe leader and armorer
AffiliationChildren of the Watch

Jon Favreau, the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian, was among the creators of the Armorer. The character was partially inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa, as well as the history and culture of the samurai, particularly in the character's slow-paced movement and aura of authority. The Armorer is portrayed by Emily Swallow, who provides both the character's voice and live-action performance, while her stunts are performed by Lauren Mary Kim. When Swallow auditioned for the role, she knew little about the character and did not know it was for a Star Wars series.

The voice Swallow uses for the Armorer has elements of British and Mid-Atlantic accents, which stemmed from a suggestion made by a casting associate during her audition. She also partially modeled the Armorer's voice after characters from the Lord of the Rings film series. Aspects of The Mandalorian director Deborah Chow's personality influenced Swallow's performance. Kim's combat style in the Armorer's fight scenes was inspired by the Filipino martial art known as Kali.

The Armorer's costume took several weeks to make, and it proved to be challenging to perform in due to limited visibility and the fact that small movements in the costume were very noticeable. Swallow wore the helmet and armor costume for up to nine hours at a time during filming. The Armorer has been received positively by fans and reviewers alike and has been described as a fan favorite.

Appearances edit

The Armorer appeared in three episodes in the first season of The Mandalorian.[1][2] She is the leader of a tribe of Mandalorian warriors on the planet Nevarro, where they live in a secret enclave. She provides spiritual guidance for the clan, and forges and repairs their armor.[3][4][5] Little is revealed about her backstory,[4] and, like other Mandalorians, she wears highly durable armor and conceals her face with a helmet that she never publicly removes.[1][6][7] The Mandalorians are in hiding after having suffered persecution by the Galactic Empire, and although the Empire has fallen out of power by the time of The Mandalorian, the clan has not yet regained its former status or power.[5]

Operating on Nevarro edit

The Armorer made her first appearance in the series premiere "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian".[8] The show's protagonist, a bounty hunter known simply as "The Mandalorian", brings her money he received from having collected his most recent bounties,[9][10][11] including a bar of beskar steel, a very rare form of metal used to make Mandalorian armor.[10][12] The Armorer explains that the Empire stole the beskar from the Mandalorians during an event known as "the Great Purge".[10][12][13] She uses the beskar to make a single shoulder spaulder for the Mandalorian,[1][5][9] and asks whether he has yet identified his "signet", a symbol used to identify clans of Mandalorians. When he says that he has not, she assures him that he will soon.[10][11][13] The Armorer says the remaining beskar will be used to assist the "foundlings", a term for children who were not born Mandalorian but rather adopted into their culture. This pleases the Mandalorian because he was a foundling himself.[11][14][15] As the Armorer works on his armor, the Mandalorian has flashbacks to his youth,[1][9][16] when his family was killed.[9][10][17]

The Armorer reappears in the episode "Chapter 3: The Sin", in which the Mandalorian brings her a large amount of beskar, which he received as a bounty for collecting a young alien known as "the Child" and turning him over to a remnant of the fallen Empire. The Armorer uses the steel to make a full cuirass for him.[18][19][20] She also makes him a set of explosive projectiles called "whistling birds", named for the whistling noises they make as they fly toward their target.[19][21][22] Another clan member named Paz Vizla reprimands the Mandalorian for working with the Empire to obtain the beskar, which leads to a brief fight between the two warriors. The Armorer quickly and quietly defuses the quarrel,[18][19][21] reminding them the Empire no longer exists and that it is good the beskar has been returned to the tribe.[19][20][23] She speaks about cowardice, honor, and the "Way of the Mandalore", which serves as the tribe's religion and creed.[19][24][25] Later, off-screen, the Mandalorians on Nevarro are largely wiped out by the Imperial remnant after the tribe reveals itself at the conclusion of "Chapter 3: The Sin" to assist the Mandalorian. The Armorer is one of the few members of the clan to survive.[26][27][28]

In the first-season finale "Chapter 8: Redemption", the Mandalorian and his allies come to the Mandalorian enclave while fleeing from attacking Imperials, only to find it unoccupied except for the Armorer, following the elimination of most of the tribe. The Armorer explains that some Mandalorian warriors may have survived and fled off-world.[28][29][30] She is collecting the armor of the fallen Mandalorian warriors and melting it down for salvage.[1][24] When the Mandalorian presents the Child and reveals he has supernatural powers, the Armorer tells him about the Jedi Order, of which most other characters in the show are not aware. She speaks of the history of the Jedi warriors and their past associations with the Way of the Mandalore,[24] sharing a story from "eons past" about a battle between the Jedi and "Mandalore the Great", a mythological figure in Mandalorian culture.[31][32][33] This marks the first time the Jedi are identified by name in The Mandalorian.[34]

The Armorer instructs the Mandalorian to watch over and protect the Child,[1][35][36] whom she calls a "foundling", as was the Mandalorian himself, once.[35][29] She says honor demands that the Mandalorian seek out and deliver the Child to the others of his kind,[30][31][36] and that until this occurs, the Mandalorian and the Child are a "clan of two",[30][37][38] and that the Mandalorian will be like a father to him.[27][29][36] She engraves onto the Mandalorian's pauldron the likeness of a Mudhorn, a type of creature the Mandalorian and the Child worked together to kill in "Chapter 2: The Child";[26][27] the Armorer declares it his signet.[35][39] She also gives the Mandalorian his first jet pack.[26][35][40] The Mandalorian invites the Armorer to flee with him,[34][41] but she refuses to abandon the enclave until she has salvaged what remains.[4][34][42] When the Mandalorian and his allies depart, the Armorer waits until five Stormtroopers armed with blasters enter the enclave and attempt to question her. Armed with nothing but her forging tools, the Armorer fights and kills all five in under a minute.[24][34]

Operating on Glavis edit

The Armorer reappears in The Book of Boba Fett in "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian". Now hiding in the ringworld of Glavis, the Armorer and Paz Vizla (the only two survivors of the massacre on Nevarro) are found by Din Djarin, who has recently completed his quest to deliver his foundling to the Jedi. In the course of his quest, Djarin also claimed the Darksaber, a lightsaber that acts as the ancestral blade of the Mandalorian ruler. Inspecting the Darksaber, after Din Djarin asked her about Bo-Katan Kryze, the Armorer explains her history and the saber prophecy to Djarin. He also provides her with the beskar spear which Ahsoka Tano had given him, a weapon the Armorer disapproved of since beskar was never meant as a weapon, just as armor. Djarin asks her to forge the spear into a gift for his foundling, Grogu. Later, the Armorer trains Djarin in the Darksaber's use, a weapon he struggles to master. She tells him that he isn't fighting with the blade, but against it. Paz Vizla challenges Djarin for the saber, as it was forged by his ancestor Tarre Vizsla, but loses. The Armorer asks both men whether they have ever removed their helmets as part of their creed. While Vizla never has, Djarin admits that he has. The Armorer banishes Djarin from the tribe, saying that he is no longer a Mandalorian. However, she informs Djarin that the only way of atonement is to come into contact with the Living Waters in the mines of Mandalore, but they were destroyed by the Empire during the Purge. Despite declaring Djarin an apostate, the Armorer allows him to keep his armor and the Darksaber.[43][44]

Retaking Mandalore edit

The Armorer returns in "Chapter 17: The Apostate". At the covert's new hideout on a different planet, she forges a helmet for a young boy named Ragnar Vizsla, who is being accepted into the creed. The ceremony is later interrupted by an attack from a beast. She, along with other Mandalorians, try and fail to defend themselves from the beast until Din Djarin kills it with his N-1 starfighter. Djarin provides proof of the mines' existence, where the Living Waters are located and making his redemption possible. The Armorer agrees that he may be accepted back into the creed should he bathe in the Waters.[45]

In "Chapter 19: The Convert", Djarin returns with Grogu and Bo-Katan Kryze to the covert with a sample of the Living Waters. Upon realizing that he has indeed visited the Waters, the Armorer accepts him back into the creed, while inducting Bo-Katan into the covert as she has also bathed in the Waters and not removed her helmet since.[46] In "Chapter 20: The Foundling", The Armorer forges a new piece of Mandalorian armor for Grogu, a rondel bearing Djarin's mudhorn sigil. Later, The Armorer replaces Bo-Katan's pauldron, but the Armorer disbelieves Bo-Katan encounter's with the mythosaur.[47]

In "Chapter 21: The Pirate", the Armorer says to Bo-Katan Kryze that she is the one who will reunite all Mandalorians. In "Chapter 23: The Spies", the Children of the Watch and the Nite Owls, now united through Bo-Katan, head to Mandalore. The Armorer assists in bringing wounded Mandalorians back to the fleet while others head to the Great Forge, where they are ambushed by Moff Gideon and his men, resulting in Djarin being captured and Paz Vizsla losing his life.

In "Chapter 24: The Return", the Armorer takes part in taking Mandalore back from Moff Gideon. Following Moff Gideon's demise, the Armorer officially finishes Ragnar's initiation at the waters within Mandalore's mines. At the persuasion of Djarin, the Armorer allows Grogu to become his apprentice. The Armorer is later seen when Bo-Katan reignates the Great Forge of Mandalore.

Characterization edit

The Armorer is a mysterious and enigmatic character,[2][3][24] with a calm and patient temperament,[24][42][48] and a Zen-like personality.[3][5][49] She is very intelligent and knows how to act quickly in complex situations.[42][48][50] She observes what is happening around her and only speaks when necessary,[49] and although she displays knowledge of many different things – from the Mandalorian's past to the history of the Jedi – she often does not reveal her knowledge until she believes the time is right.[2][48][51] Swallow said of this: "she will reveal it in good time, but no one's going to get any information out of her without her being good and ready".[51] She is very slow-paced in her movements,[3][5] and displays what Swallow calls a "simplicity [and] efficiency of movement".[51]

The Armorer plays a relatively small role in the first season of The Mandalorian, but an important one, repeatedly setting the title character on the correct path of his hero's journey.[1] She is the leader of the Mandalorian tribe,[3][4] providing guidance and direction to a clan that has lost its way after the now fallen Empire persecuted them.[24][52][53] She does so by reminding them of their moral code and set of values,[5][54] and encouraging them to regard each other as a family.[52][53] The Armorer is the first person in the series to say "This is the Way", which serves as a credo for the Mandalorian clan, and is repeated throughout the first season.[55] She believes strongly in Mandalorian traditions,[5][50] and is dedicated to ensuring the survival of her tribe,[24][37] serving as their spiritual leader and as their armorer.[7][37][56]

Although strong Mandalorian women had previously been featured in such animated series as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, Swallow felt the Armorer was the first female Star Wars character to serve as the "spiritual leader" in the same vein as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.[57]

The Armorer is confident and comfortable in her leadership position and conveys unwavering authority with little effort.[3][51][58] Swallow said of this: "One of the coolest things for me in playing her is trusting that she does have that authority without having to be very forceful at all".[3] This is illustrated by how she breaks up a fight between Mandalorian warriors in "Chapter 3: The Sin", without raising her voice or physically interfering.[59]

This also demonstrates that she is well-respected by the members of her tribe,[3][24] which Comic Book Resources writer Narayan Liu said is particularly impressive because "in such a focused warrior society, it would conceivably take a lot to command the respect of one's comrades".[24] The Armorer's voice conveys a sense of authority, mystery, and sophistication, and Swallow said she enjoys the contrast between her educated accent and warrior lifestyle, saying: "There's just a lot of seeming contradictions about her that I love".[60]

Swallow, as well as several reviewers, have noted that the fact that the tribe's armor is crafted by its leader, rather than a trade worker, speaks to the importance of armor and the warrior status in Mandalorian culture.[24][61][62] Liu wrote of this: "Who better to forge Mandalorian armor and weaponry than one with experience, who fully understands its importance to the Mandalorian culture in this hostile galaxy?"[24]

Swallow feels that through her creation and maintenance of the armor, the Armorer is effectively the keeper of their history and rituals,[5][61][63] because "she actually has a record based on what it is that she's made".[61] That role is even more important at the time of The Mandalorian, Swallow said, since much of the Mandalorian society has been suppressed and destroyed by the Empire.[63]

In addition to her expertise at foundry work [4][5][64] the Armorer is an excellent fighter,[24][64] displaying great strength and speed as well as particularly honed skills with melee weapons, as seen in her fight with stormtroopers in "Chapter 8: Redemption".[3][4] Since the character had been so quiet for much of the first season of The Mandalorian, Swallow believes it was a shock when the Armorer fights stormtroopers as well as she does.[58]

Liu argued that the Armorer was the most efficient fighter in the series, even more so than the Mandalorian or other fighter characters like Cara Dune. Liu wrote: "None so far seem more suited to handle the hostility of the Empire and the merciless desert than the guiding hand to the Mandalorians, the Armorer, who, in the season finale, proved that she's the best of the best".[24]

Concept and creation edit

Conception edit

 
The Armorer was created by Jon Favreau, the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian.

Jon Favreau, the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian, was among the creators of the Armorer.[65] Creation of the character, as well as other elements of the series, was influenced by the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The Armorer in particular drew influence from the history and culture of the samurai,[51][54][66] especially in the character's slow-paced movement, sense of ceremony, and aura of authority.[5][66][67] Favreau and others involved in the show debated what gender to establish for the character,[65] and ultimately decided to make her a woman, but Swallow said they "didn't want to make it a big deal".[68][69] She said: "I think they just sort of felt like, 'Why not?'"[65] The animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars had also featured several strong female Mandalorian characters and leaders, which Swallow said may also have been a consideration in determining the Armorer's gender.[65]

Portrayal edit

The Armorer is portrayed by actress Emily Swallow, who provides both the character's voice and live-action performance.[6][60][70] Her stunts were performed by Lauren Mary Kim, who was also the stunt performer for various other characters on The Mandalorian.[6][71]

Swallow auditioned for the role,[3] but she knew little about her character or the series at the time of her audition.[3][72][73] The character was described as having a recurring role in a Disney series,[74] which was identified only by the code name "Untitled High Budget".[3][74] It was not disclosed that it was a Star Wars show, though Swallow's agent suspected that might be the case.[75][76][77] Swallow was given only a six-word description of the Armorer character in advance of the audition: "Leader. Strong. Zen, but with authority".[3][74] However, a casting associate at the audition gave her a little bit more backstory for the character, which Swallow said was helpful.[78] Although she said the audition itself was fairly "low-key" and "mundane",[79][80][81] with only her and a single casting associate,[82] she was given only a handful of scenes to perform but little context about how they fit into the overall story of the show, which she described as "bizarre".[72][83] Swallow later reflected that it was good she did not know it was a Star Wars project because she felt it would have made her more nervous,[49][84][85] and instead she was able to approach the audition like any other.[77][83]

The scene she read in her audition was a variation of the scene in "Chapter 3: The Sin" in which she breaks up a fight among members of the Mandalorian clan,[49][86][87] though the final scene was changed slightly when adapted to television.[83] Her audition dialogue included the Armorer's line "This is the Way", which would become one of the most popular lines of the series.[49][86] The casting company made clear the character would be masked, in case some actors opposed having their faces concealed.[88][89] Swallow previously did mask training in graduate school acting classes at New York University Tisch School of the Arts,[5][88][90] but this marked the first time she had used the training on television,[88][91][92] which she called an interesting challenge.[49][88][93] Favreau believed Swallow's mask training was evident in her performance.[91]

In preparation for the role, Swallow re-watched the original Star Wars films,[94] which she admired,[95][96] saying: "I still get so completely swept up in them, in the heart of them, and so to be a part of that legacy is incredible".[95] She also watched shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which she had not seen before,[97] and she tried to conduct internet research about the history of the Mandalorians,[83][94] but found it difficult because "as soon as you google anything related to Star Wars there are infinite rabbit holes you can go down",[94] so she regularly questioned The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni about the history of Star Wars and whether certain actions were consistent with the continuity.[94][98][99] Due to his past work in other Star Wars series, Swallow called him "an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge", and said it was a comfort to be able to draw upon his expertise.[98][99]

Although Swallow herself is American, the voice she uses for the Armorer has elements of British and Mid-Atlantic accents.[60] This stemmed in part from her audition, when a casting associate asked her to try some takes with a British accent since they had mostly been considering British actresses for the role before her.[72][78][80] Swallow had experience performing with a British accent from her theater work, as well as on the animated series Castlevania.[80] She also partially modeled the Armorer's voice after characters from the Lord of the Rings film series.[60] Swallow believes the Armorer's accent conveys authority and mystery,[60][78] though she added: "Maybe it's because I'm American that I think that it's so interesting".[60] Swallow also brought a subtlety to the part that she said was influenced to a certain extent by her previous work on the television series Supernatural, where she played a powerful primordial entity named Amara. Swallow said while playing the part, she realized Amara seemed more powerful if her movements were minimal and deliberate, and she applied this same approach to the Armorer.[100]

Swallow drew some inspiration for her performance as the Armorer from the personality of Deborah Chow, who directed the episode "Chapter 3: The Sin" and was the first woman to direct a live-action Star Wars story.[2][3][101] Swallow said she particularly drew from Chow's "intense curiosity",[3][102] as well as the way she conveyed authority and commanded a room "in a very graceful and simple way".[3][101][102] Swallow felt the Armorer had this same effect by the way, particularly by the way she breaks up the fight in "Chapter 3: The Sin" without even raising her voice.[2][59] Swallow said she did not realize how much Chow influenced her performance and interpretation of the Armorer until later when reporters asked her about the origins of the character.[101] Chow did not know this herself until informed by a reporter, after which she said it was a great compliment.[103] Chow has praised Swallow's performance and called the Armorer "such a great character".[104]

Costume edit

The Armorer costume is predominantly red body armor,[6] along with a gold helmet punctuated with tiny horn-like spikes.[12][16][105] The helmet has a T-shaped visor similar to those of all Mandalorians, as first featured on the popular Star Wars character Boba Fett.[106] However, Vanity Fair writer Anthony Breznican observed that her helmet is more ornate and elegant than those of other Mandalorian characters on the series, which he believed was meant to communicate an aura of leadership and regality. It is stylized more like an ancient Spartan warrior than the others, particularly around the visor.[3][107] The costume also includes thick red gloves for welding and foundry work,[108] as well as a fur shoulder piece,[3][9] which Emily Swallow said she liked, but "it sure doesn't seem very practical for somebody who is surrounded by fire all the time".[3] The costume tapers below the waist in a fashion similar to a skirt, though one with what Swallow calls a "strong, powerful quality that doesn't call too much attention" to itself.[68]

The Armorer's costume took several weeks to make. Swallow called it an "incredible process",[109] and was impressed by the attention to detail.[110] Swallow first saw sketches of the costume a few weeks before filming began, and she said "my breath was taken away",[111] adding: "I feel like it's one of the most amazing combinations of elegant and powerful that I've ever seen in a costume".[68] The costume was designed to give the character a sense of regality and communicate her position of leadership and authority over the other Mandalorians.[112] Pedro Pascal, the actor who plays the title character on The Mandalorian, jokingly said upon first seeing the Armorer's costume on set: "Wait a minute, why does she get to look so much cooler?"[3][113]

Swallow has said the experience of wearing the costume is "not nearly as dignified as it translates on film".[3] It was often difficult to move in it,[3] and the helmet provided very little peripheral vision.[2][114][115] Even simply walking across the room was difficult because of the limited visibility, and because Swallow could not look down, she often feared she was going to trip,[3][102] though her character's deliberately slow walking pace helped avoid doing so.[114][116][117] Swallow said: "I'm really glad that it looks as dignified and impressive as it does, because being inside of it feels ridiculous".[118] She and the other Mandalorian actors would occasionally bump into each other, hit their helmets against each other, or trip over each other.[3][115][116] Swallow said: "I really hope that at some point they release a bloopers reel, because when you put like two or more Mandalorians in a room together, chaos ensues".[119]

Filming edit

 
Before The Mandalorian, Emily Swallow and Pedro Pascal (pictured) had known each other from the New York theatre scene, and both having appeared on the show The Mentalist at the same time.

All of the Armorer's scenes were filmed and completed more than a year before The Mandalorian was publicly announced,[7][111][120] which Swallow described as "liberating" because she did not feel pressure stemming from publicity or the Star Wars fan community.[120] Before shooting began, Swallow spent time discussing the character with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.[2][51][121] She was not provided with a detailed backstory about the Armorer, but they described for her the inspirations behind the character, which she said was useful for her performance.[122] Swallow credited Favreau with creating a comfortable and collaborative filming environment, in which no one felt pressure despite the enormity of the Star Wars franchise, but rather excitement and a desire to make a quality product.[123][124][125] Swallow felt there was a "magical" feeling and "giddy playfulness" on the set unlike any other she had experienced before,[126] and she said it reminded her of "being a kid and playing Princess Leia".[124] Favreau was present when most of the scenes with the Armorer were shot,[127] and Swallow felt he did a good job of keeping everyone on the same consistent path,[128][129][130] but also allowing each of the directors to bring their own unique style and abilities to their episodes.[127][129][131]

Swallow said filming The Mandalorian was the most secretive process in which she had ever been involved,[7][132][133] to the point she could not even tell her family or friends what she was making.[111] Swallow was initially provided only portions of the episode that involved her character,[2][122][134] and only later was she allowed to read the scripts for the full episodes.[122] When she wanted to read the scripts, she had to access a web portal, which tracked when she logged on and for how long.[132] During the filming, the production staff was even more stringent with secrecy because photos from the set had recently leaked to the Internet,[135] and paparazzi photographers were on the rooftops around the studio.[136] Whenever Swallow walked around the lot while wearing her costume, she had to conceal herself by wearing a black cloak with a hood, which she called her "cloak of invisibility".[135][136] Swallow knew little about the show outside of the scenes specifically involving her character,[137] and she did not know certain cast members were even in the show until they were later announced in news releases.[138]

A microphone was fitted inside the helmet so she could deliver dialogue while filming.[49][139][140] Unlike most roles Swallow has played, she was not required to wear make-up or have her hair styled to portray the Armorer because the character is masked, which is something the actress appreciated.[49][141] However, she wore the helmet and armor costume for up to nine hours at a time during filming.[140] The costume was not heavy, but the helmet was fitted with foam padding so it fits closely to Swallow's head,[49][140] and she occasionally asked to remove the helmet between takes because she felt claustrophobic.[140] Portraying emotion was a challenge because her face was completely obscured, so she could not use her eyes or facial expressions.[142][143][144] During filming she quickly learned that small movements could make a large impact due to the costume, which she believed was beneficial for her performance, but also presented challenges because minor gestures could become distracting or convey the wrong emotion.[2][114][145] During the filming of the first episode in particular, Swallow said, the actors portraying Mandalorians had to "learn on the fly" how to master these movements and determine how they appeared on camera.[146]

Several months of preparation work and rehearsal were done in advance of filming the actual sets.[147] The Armorer's scenes for "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" and "Chapter 3: The Sin" were shot concurrently with each other,[5][148][149] with episode directors Filoni and Deborah Chow, respectively, alternating shoots on the set.[5][149][150] Swallow said Chow in particular gave her time to try different things and explore the character.[3] The Armorer's scenes were filmed on sound stages, with settings designed to resemble tunnels and sewers.[2][151] Swallow said she and the other actors portraying Mandalorians had to develop a type of "language" for their masks and armor costumes.[142][149][152] She occasionally dropped props like her tongs or hammer due to her thick gloves.[49][153][154] Scenes with her hammering metal or putting things into fire took a long time to prepare and film due to mobility challenges with the costume.[3][153] The fire was not real, but rather a digital effect added later.[155] Swallow and the filmmakers spent a considerable amount of time discussing how the Armorer would handle the beskar steel in "Chapter 3: The Sin", including such details as how she could look at it and stack it. Since the material is an important part of Mandalorian culture and history, the character treats it with a type of reverence, but it is also tainted due to its previous association with the Empire, with the filmmakers comparing it to Nazi gold. Swallow felt her character's handling of the steel purified it and returned it to its past noble standing.[156]

The Armorer's fight scene against five stormtroopers at the end of "Chapter 8: Redemption" was performed by stunt performer Lauren Mary Kim.[6][70][71] The Armorer's combat style in the scene was inspired by the Filipino martial art known as Kali. It was the Armorer's only moment in the first season in which Swallow was not the one wearing the costume for the entirety of the scene. Swallow told the show's fight coordinator that she would be willing to undertake martial arts training and perform a portion of the scene, but she was told the stunts would require years of training. Swallow trained in Kali for a few weeks and did as much as possible, such as the transitions before and after the fight scene.[6][70] Swallow and Pedro Pascal knew each other prior to filming The Mandalorian. They were familiar with each other through the New York theatre scene, and both appeared on the show The Mentalist at the same time.[157][158][159] Swallow was a fan of Taika Waititi, who directed "Chapter 8: Redemption", and she expressed her admiration for him and his work but tried not to be too effusive because, she said, "the Armorer doesn't really fangirl, I think".[160] In the first-season finale, The Armorer appeared in scenes with the animatronic puppet used to portray "The Child", who became a viral sensation with fans and became affectionately known as "Baby Yoda".[161][162] Swallow said she "fell in love with it like everybody else",[2][163] adding: "I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it. I just wanted to snuggle it".[162][164] Swallow met Star Wars creator George Lucas during one of her filming days after he visited the set as a surprise for Favreau's birthday.[114][165][166] Sometime after her scenes were filmed, she did dubbing for parts of her dialogue in a recording studio in New York.[167][168]

Cultural impact edit

Critical reception edit

The Armorer has been received positively by fans and reviewers alike and has been described as a fan favorite.[133][169][170] Narayan Liu of Comic Book Resources called the Armorer the strongest character on The Mandalorian, and described her fight with stormtroopers at the end of the season finale as one of her greatest moments in the show so far. Liu wrote: "There are a wide variety of bounty hunters and trained soldiers that appear throughout the series, but the Armorer is unmatched".[24] Brian Silliman of Syfy Wire called the Armorer "one of the more interesting characters featured thus far" in The Mandalorian and "a fantastic addition to the lore of the galaxy far, far away".[2] He complimented Emily Swallow's ability to portray emotion despite her face being concealed, and was particularly impressed by how Swallow and Pedro Pascal forge an emotional connection in their scenes despite both wearing masks.[171] Charlie Ridgely of Comicbook.com "said fans became invested in the Armorer from her first appearance, and that she gained more depth as the series progressed. He described her as "the most mysterious and intriguing" of the Mandalorian characters,[6] as well as one of the "most dangerous characters in the show".[161] Judith Anne Dela Cruz of Epicstream called the Armorer an "intriguing" character, writing: "There's definitely tons of cool characters in The Mandalorian, but a number of Star Wars fans have their eyes drawn to The Armorer".[70]

Armaan Babu of MEA WorldWide wrote: "The Mandalorian introduces a wide array of new characters to the Star Wars universe, but perhaps none so commanding as The Armorer".[5] Matt Berger called the Armorer one of the biggest surprises from the series premiere of The Mandalorian, and that her crafting of the Mandalorian armor was one of the "most mesmerizing sequences" of the episode. He also wrote that the Armorer had "one of the most unique looks to any Mandalorian that the Star Wars world has ever seen".[16] Q.V. Hough of Screen Rant said the Armorer played a "small but integral role", noting her importance in advancing the story and setting the Mandalorian on his path.[1] Nick Venable of CinemaBlend said he was intrigued by the interpersonal relationship between the Armorer and the Mandalorian.[17] Charles Ridgely of Comicbook.com praised Lauren May Kim's stunt work as the Armorer, describing her fight scene with stormtroopers in "Chapter 8: Redemption" as "epic" and saying she "had fans jumping out of their seats".[71] Screen Rant writer Jessie Atkin expressed hope that the Armorer would return for the second season of The Mandalorian and that additional details about the character and her backstory would be provided.[172] The Armorer was ranked seventh on a Screen Rant list of the most interesting characters from the first season of The Mandalorian,[42] eighth on a separate list of the ten best characters from the show,[173] and third on a list of "10 Characters We Hope To See Return In Season 2".[105] Additionally, the Armorer's armor was ranked tenth on a Screen Rant list of the ten best costumes in the first season of The Mandalorian.[174]

Swallow said most of the direct feedback she has received and seen about the Armorer has been positive.[175][176][177] She has attended Star Wars fan conventions since the release of the show and said she has been "greeted with so much joy and positivity", particularly from young girls who appreciated that the Armorer is a "badass warrior".[176] Swallow said she has been particularly impressed by fan art of the character that she had been sent on social media, including drawings of the Armorer and models constructed resembling her armor.[169][175][178] Swallow has shared some of this fan art on her own social media account, including a drawing of the Armorer fighting stormtroopers,[169] and an image of the Armorer making a gesture similar to Rosie the Riveter in the "We Can Do It!" poster.[179] Although Swallow has appeared in franchises with large fanbases before, such as Supernatural, she said the level of fandom for Star Wars was bigger than anything she had ever done.[180] Swallow said it has been "liberating" to portray a character in a mask because there is no attention paid to her physical appearance in reviews and among fans,[181][182] saying: "Nobody cares how I look. They love the character so much, and it's really kind of freeing".[181] Unlike on Supernatural, Swallow does not get recognized in public for her connection with The Mandalorian, which she enjoys.[183]

The line "This is the Way", first spoken by the Armorer and repeated by her several times throughout her appearances, became one of the most popular and oft-quoted lines of dialogue from The Mandalorian.[55][184][185] Silliman said even after just one week, the line was being spoken "everywhere".[55] Fans often request that Swallow write the catchphrase when she signs autographs.[184] Swallow said she first realized the line was a hit when she attended the premiere of The Mandalorian in Los Angeles on November 13. During a screening of "Chapter 3: The Sin", when one of the Mandalorians says "This is the Way" during the final climactic battle, the entire audience repeated the line back to the screen, after which Swallow said, 'OK, I think we have something here.'"[186] She said of the phrase: "It's pretty fun to have something that seems to be lodged in people's psyche as a real phrase for all The Mandalorian people".[184] There has been a great deal of speculation among fans as to the identity of the Armorer. Some have theorized she is Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian warrior and one of the main cast members of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels.[187] Others have argued the horns on her golden helmet and the red color of her armor are references to Darth Maul, a Star Wars antagonist who at one time ruled the Mandalorians. Maul is a member of the species Zabrak, all of whom have an array of small horns atop their heads similar to those on the Armorer's helmet, leading to speculation she may be a Zabrak herself or at the very least a former member of the Shadow Collective.[12][16][105][188]

Following the airing of "Chapter 23: The Spies," several reviewers and fans started speculating that the character could actually be revealed as a villain, specifically as a spy of Moff Gideon, given how Moff Gideon wore a horned Mandalorian helmet reminiscent of hers, in addition to claims of how the Armorer had had a share of mysterious actions since her very first appearance in the series premiere up to that point, such as sending Din Djarin to look for a Jedi alongside Grogu in a search that culminated in Gideon capturing Grogu, disappearing after Gideon's forces attack Nevarro in the first season finale until resurfacing in a space station in the show's spin-off, The Book of Boba Fett, telling Djarin to redeem himself by bathing in Mandalore's waters despite those waters supposedly no longer existing, flexibly allowing Bo-Katan Kryze to join her coven despite the years of animosity between her Mandalorians and Bo-Katan's, volunteering to go to Mandalore with the Mandalorians led by Djarin and Kryze despite never leaving for any missions, conveniently not being with her people when Gideon ambushes them at the Great Forge, Gideon being aware of their combined fleet despite Mandalore's atmosphere interfering with any comms and Gideon having beskar Mandalorian armors forged for his forces; all these instances have been deemed as purported foreshadowings to reveal the character's true allegiances in the third season finale.[189][190][191] The possibility of the Armorer turning out to be a villain led fan speculation to reinforce the theory that the Armorer could be The Clone Wars character Rook Kast, who was an ally of Darth Maul who knew about the existence of the Death Watch and the Jedi, though such possibility would cause questions on how Kast escaped from Bo-Katan's imprisonment at the end of the Clone Wars, why would Bo-Katan not recognize her voice or if the Children of the Watch derived themselves from the Shadow Collective.[188] Others, however, theorized that the Armorer could turn out to not be evil and instead give up her life to save her people with some other character like Axe Woves, the Armorer's Tribe and the Nite Owls actually collaborating with Gideon's Imperial remnant all this time, or even the Armorer and Gideon themselves being former Death Watch members who supported Maul like Gar Saxon and who have been manipulating all Mandalorians with a fake creed.[190][191]

Merchandise edit

A Funko Pop figurine of the Armorer was announced on December 31, 2019.[192][193][194]

A Star Wars: The Black Series action figure was released during Hasbro's September 2020 PulseCon.[195]

References edit

Citations edit

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  48. ^ a b c Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 7:58–8:45 Swallow: "And that I just love that she, 'cause we get to see little hints of that with our hero, with our main man Mandalorian, you know, that she's referencing things from the past and it seems like she probably knows something about his past specifically but she's a smart one, man, and she's very patient and she's not going to reveal anything to him too soon 'cause I think she sort of sees that he needs time to discover a lot of these things on his journey. And so that's definitely interesting for those of us who are watching because I do, so many people have said to me, 'It seems like she knows so much and she's revealing so little! And I love that, it's so much fun.'"
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  51. ^ a b c d e f Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 64:38–65:25 Swallow: "When I talked with Jon and Dave before we started shooting, Jon talked a lot about Kurosawa and those films, which was something I guess George Lucas also drew from when he was making the original movies. And he talked about the samurai and the simplicity of movement and the efficiency of movement, and kind of that unwavering authority that doesn't have to push too hard. And I love that about her, and I feel like that's sort of what lets us know that she knows a lot more than she's letting on. And she will reveal it in good time, but no one's going to get any information out of her without her being good and ready."
  52. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 28:17–29:05 Swallow: "And that's also something that spoke to my heart so deeply with this character, that she cares so deeply about reminding these sort of, I mean, the Mandalorian are a bit orphaned right now, they don't really have a place to be where they feel safe, and she connects them to who they are and to these codes that are so important to them, and reminds them that even when, like, there's danger and there's a bit of distress and they don't know who they can trust, they can always go back to this code and if they stick to this code they are sticking to the core of who they are and they have each other. It is a family."
  53. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 29:51–30:06 Swallow: "The Armorer I think is trying to keep the Mandalorians that are there grounded in who they are and what is important to them, because if they don't have that, what else do they have in the universe that has been a little bit of chaos right now?"
  54. ^ a b Ridgely, Charlie (January 24, 2020). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian Star Emily Swallow Calls Season 2 "Unexpected"". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  55. ^ a b c Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 22:32–23:01 Silliman: "Your catchphrase that you gave birth to under it that says, 'This is the way.'" Sparrow: Oh my god." Silliman: "Which, Star Wars catchphrases are created fairly easily, but when that line came up were you at all aware that that would go the distance? Because even in a week, it's everywhere." Sparrow: "I felt like it could. It felt, I mean it felt pretty important to me. But yeah, I had no idea that it would have the impact it did."
  56. ^ Swallow 2020, 8:47–8:58 "I did go in knowing that this character was, like, the leader of these people that were in hiding and were kind of like a spiritual guide in a sense, and somebody who has this calm, quiet authority."
  57. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 26:35–27:05 Swallow: "And I do think, I mean, there's lots of strong Mandalorian women that are in the Clone Wars and the animated series, but in terms of the, like, the Star Wars movies and now this, it's, I think one of the first times that the more spiritual leader is a woman. Because usually, that's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. And they've been dudes. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that."
  58. ^ a b Swallow & Gordon 2020, 27:36–28:06 Swallow: "She is like the coolest presence in the room, that she commands authority without... I mean, I don't think anyone was aware that she was capable of the force that she shows in that last episode, and I love that, that it just kind of comes out of nowhere because she doesn't need to use it the rest of the time." Gordon: "No, she just walks in the room and everyone is silent and everyone just commands respect at the very sight. All the other Mandalorians there just immediately fall and follow that respect of that leader."
  59. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 14:31–15:05 Swallow: "I loved, especially in that scene in episode three when there's this fight breaking out right next to her, a lot of like metal armor clanking together, guys being guys like she doesn't raise her voice. She sits there and lets it play out, she stops it at exactly the right moment, and she's able to calm everybody in that room down without being forceful, and that is something I think I saw Deb do. It was really useful for the Armorer."
  60. ^ a b c d e f Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 70:02–70:53 Swallow: "Adding some element of like a mid-Atlantic or British dialect to me definitely conveys authority. I mean, I thought a lot about, like, Lord of the Rings and characters that I'd seen in that. And I think that also, to me that contributes to the mystery. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm American that I think that it's so interesting." Breznican: "Well it does sound more sophisticated. You know, it's a very sophisticated kind of British accent. A very educated person. She's not a cockney from the, you know, the back streets of London. She's from Oxford." Swallow: "I think it's so interesting that it's yeah it's sort of that educated voice in this warrior figure. There's just a lot of seeming contradictions about her that I love."
  61. ^ a b c Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 65:25–66:19 Breznican: "It's interesting that the Armorer is considered the leader. Normally, like, a blacksmith would be just a trade worker, you know? But that is what the leader of this group does. Did they discuss much about that dynamic and why that's the case? I guess because the armor is such a key part of who a Mandalorian is." Swallow: "Yeah, I think because the Mandalorians were traditionally, the warrior part of their tradition is so important to them. So I think that's probably one of the reasons that she is held in such esteem. And then also because she's the one who makes all this armor, she sort of has... it makes sense to me that she would also be the one who is sort of the keeper of their history and the keeper of their ritual because she actually has a record based on what it is that she's made and the armor that she's had to replace and the battles that these warriors have gone through."
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  63. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 6:57–7:58 Swallow: "So, I mean, I personally, I assume that she was just another Mandalorian within the clan of Mandalorians, but I think that she probably comes from a tradition of these armor-makers and I think that the armor-makers because they have this physical log of battles and everything based on the pieces that they've replace and the signets that they've made, they are necessarily sort of the keepers of the history of the people, and I think that in this time with the fall of the Empire, and with the Mandalorians, especially the clan that we get to see, that they're in hiding and it's incredibly important for somebody to hold on to that history so that it's not lost. So I think that you know she came from a line of people who did that but now in these circumstances that's even more important."
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  65. ^ a b c d Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 69:10–69:49 Breznican: "Making the leader of these Mandalorians a woman, it is striking and significant in a way. So what did they tell you about why they made that decision, without again making a big fuss about it or making it seem unusual?" Swallow: "I think they just sort of felt, like, 'Why not?' You know, it could go either way, and it's something that I know we've seen in the animated series. There have been a lot of powerful Mandalorian women. But we haven't gotten to see that as much in the live-action Star Wars. And so maybe that played into it a little bit. But I don't think there was like a... I think it was just sort of like, 'Well it could be a woman or a man. Wouldn't it be interesting if it was a woman?"
  66. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 29:01–29:42 Swallow: "They talked about, and I think even George Lucas, he was super interested in Kurosawa films and the rituals of the samurai and that formality and that order and that sort of spiritual aspect. That was something that Jon talked about right away with the Armorer, and how she is sort of a spiritual figure for this clan that's in hiding. And, you know, we talked about the importance of ritual and the importance of their code and the importance of all these things that are central to their people and that have sort of gotten lost because they've been overthrown."
  67. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 6:28–6:57 Swallow: "Jon talked a lot about, and this is something that George Lucas was really enamored of as well, he talked about Kurosawa films and the, you know, the order of the samurai and the, the status of some of the warriors in that culture and the regality and formality and the deliberateness of movement."
  68. ^ a b c Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 68:28–69:00 Swallow: "Jon talked about how they discussed this character, they decided to make it a woman, but they didn't want to make it a big deal that they're were making a woman and I love that about it too. That, like, clearly she is a female and she even sort of has a skirt, but even that, like, has such a strong, powerful quality that doesn't call too much attention to it. I feel like it's one of the most amazing combinations of elegant and powerful that I've ever seen in a costume.
  69. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 26:18–26:35 Swallow: "I really appreciate that she's a woman but it's not a big deal that she's a woman." Gordon: "Yeah, it doesn't matter." Swallow: "It's just matter-of-fact. And Jon's decision to make her a woman was just kind of like, they were creating this character and they were like, 'Well, why not?'"
  70. ^ a b c d Dela Cruz, Judith Anne (January 23, 2020). "Emily Swallow Says She Did All of The Armorer's Scenes in The Mandalorian Except One". Epicstream. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  71. ^ a b c Ridgely, Charlie (December 30, 2019). "Star Wars: The Mandolorian Fans Are Giving it Up for the Real Heroes of the Show". Comicbook.com. from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  72. ^ a b c Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 62:10–6241 Swallow: "So I really had very little information. I had a couple of scenes and they were very bizarre. You know, I didn't have anything to attach it to. But in some ways I'm so glad for that now, like, now seeing what this has become and how huge it is and how exciting it is because I didn't really get that worked up about it. And I remember just being in the room with a casting associate and doing it a few different ways on tape. And at one point he said, 'You know, why don't you try it with a British accent?' because I guess they had mostly being seeing Brits for the role."
  73. ^ Swallow 2019, 10:05–10:43 "When I auditioned for it, I did not know what I was auditioning for. It had a code name. The character that was listed in the scene was anything that was at all familiar to me. And I knew that it must be something along the lines of, like, superheroes or something Disney-related because you get a lot of fake scripts and stuff for auditions, but I did not know what I was auditioning for. And even after I got cast they were very vague about it. It had a code name, and my agents were like, we think we know what this is, but it was sort of one of those things that, 'We can neither confirm nor deny.'"
  74. ^ a b c Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 63:34–64:10 Swallow: "I can actually probably, I'm going to look up the audition email on my computer and tell you what information I had." Breznican: "Real-time research here. This is good." Swallow: "Yeah. Oh, here we go. OK. 'Recurring role of Armorer in the Disney streaming service straight-to-series 'Untitled High Budget.'" BREZNICAN: "That's, that's what it, the code name? 'High Budget Project'? Got it." Swallow: "So, they said about her: 'Leader. Strong. Zen, but with authority.' And that was it."
  75. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 24:25–24:39 Busch: "Did you even know you were trying out for a Star Wars TV show?" Swallow: "I knew that it might be. It was my agent said, 'We think this is what this is, but we're not really being told.'"
  76. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 26:03–26:40 Giannakopoulos: "So when you went for your audition, did you know that you were auditioning for Star Wars?" Swallow: "I did not. My agent said they thought it might be, you know. It had a code name, but there was nothing in it that even remotely related to Star Wars. And so I thought, 'Oh, OK, well that's interesting.' But like, I knew at that point nothing about The Mandalorian had been announced, so I didn't have anything to attach the audition to, to even know, like, even if it was Star Wars I didn't really know what I was getting into."
  77. ^ a b Swallow 2020, 8:08–8:35 "I had a vague idea what it might be. My agent said, 'We think this is something to do with Star Wars,' but it was very, very secretive. At this point, you know, I'd gone in for plenty of things that have, like, fake scenes and fake names, so you kind of just say, 'OK, I'm going to treat this like I would any other audition and kind of make the connections that I think I can make and not worry about the rest.
  78. ^ a b c Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 25:16–26:00 Swallow: "But I also, I'm so grateful to the casting office that was running the audition, Sarah Finn, Sarah Finn Casting, because they gave me a little more backstory about like the elements of this character that were important to this scene and the kind of authority that she did have over the other people in the room. And then they were the ones that suggested that I do it, I guess they mostly had been seeing Brits for the role so they suggested that I do a take with a British accent, and that sort of stuck. We decided it gave her another air of mystery and sort of authority to have that."
  79. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 26:04–26:19 Swallow: "It was a really, really mundane audition. Like, I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and I'm so glad, because, you know, I would've been worked up about it, I would've been nervous, and usually, that means you don't do as well if all those things are happening."
  80. ^ a b c Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 26:50–27:23 Swallow: "My audition was so incredibly low-key. I went in for the casting office and went on tape with one of the casting associates, and I did the scene, there were a couple of scenes, and I did them, and then I remember he said, 'You know, we've mostly been seeing Brits for this role, so why don't you do a take with a British accent?' And so I was like, 'All right, yeah, I'll do that.' Because I'd done that plenty. I did that on Castlevania, I did that plenty in theater, so I was like, 'Sure.'"
  81. ^ Schmidt, JK (November 23, 2019). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian Actress Details the Secretive Audition Process". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  82. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 27:40–28:00 Swallow: "But yeah, I did the scenes, it was with this casting associate and nobody else, and then they started to reveal a little bit more about it when they offered it to me, but at that point, like, they'd hardly cast anyone. There so weren't really big names attached yet."
  83. ^ a b c d Bernardini, Gabrielle (November 12, 2019). "Emily Swallow Teases Disney+ Series 'The Mandalorian': "There Is A lot More Moral Ambiguity" (Exclusive)". Distractify. from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  84. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 28:00–28:21 So I still didn't quite know what I was getting into, which I'm really glad for, because I shot all of my stuff a year ago before the series was ever announced before anyone involved with it was ever announced, and I'm so grateful for that because I think that it really let me work in a way where I, like, I didn't have to feel the pressure of being part of this huge thing."
  85. ^ Swallow 2020, 8:35–8:47 "I'm really glad for that, because with the Mandalorian, I mean I had no idea how big it would be, and I'm glad because I think it would've been a lot more stressful."
  86. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 24:39–24:54 Swallow: "But that line 'This is the Way', I remember being in my audition scene." Silliman: "Really?" Swallow: The scene that I auditioned with was some version of that scene in the third episode, where the fight breaks out."
  87. ^ Swallow 2020, 8:58–9:11 "And my audition scene was pretty similar to that scene in the third episode where she's kind of bringing down the hammer in a very polite way with the Mandalorians that are getting ornery and trying to fight with each other."
  88. ^ a b c d Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 64:20–64:37 Breznican: "Did you know it would be a masked character?" Swallow: "I did. They made that clear in the audition in case I was like, 'No way I'm gonna do that.' But that was really kind of an interesting challenge to me because I started acting in theater and I did a lot of mask training like when I was in grad school. And I'd never gotten to use that in television."
  89. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 21:26–21:37 Swallow: "I knew when I was auditioning that this character was going to be masked, and I appreciate, because there might be some actors who would be like, 'Nope, don't want to do it if you're not going to see my face.'"
  90. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 33:37–33:54 Swallow: "That, for me, it was really fun, I think especially because of my theater background and having done way back in grad school having done mask work, and doing a lot of physical work. It was really a fun challenge to have to be more aware of that. I enjoyed it."
  91. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 10:44–11:20 Silliman: "Do you have any mask background?" Swallow: "I do, actually. I started acting in theater and I got my MSA in acting and part of that is doing mask training and that wound up being incredibly useful, you know? I'd never had to call on that for anything that I'd done on television before. And I don't even know if they knew that necessarily when they cast me, but Jon did say once he found that out he was like, 'Oh, it really shows that you kind of know how to use the mask.'"
  92. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 31:52–32:12 Swallow: "That was very different from anything I'd done on TV before, and actually let me kind of call back on some of my theater training and mask work that I'd done in theater, which was really cool because I hadn't gotten to do anything like that on camera before, and it turned out that was a useful thing to have."
  93. ^ Swallow 2020, 9:47–9:57 "I knew when I auditioned that my face wouldn't be seen, but I didn't know exactly what the mask and all of that were going to look like, and I really enjoyed the challenge."
  94. ^ a b c d Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 33:00–33:40 Giannakopoulos: "When you got the role did you go back to watch the original Star Wars again, just to prepare yourself for this?" Swallow: "Oh yeah. Yeah, I did that, and I tried to educate myself more on the Mandalorian people. I knew with the animated series there had been a bit more about that. But it was pretty daunting because, as soon as you google anything related to Star Wars there are infinite rabbit holes you can go down. So I definitely did some poking around, but it was helpful to get to talk to Jon and to Dave about what was most important for this story that we were telling."
  95. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 24:11–24:24 Swallow: "I go back and I look at those first movies and I still get so completely swept up in them, in the heart of them, and so to be a part of that legacy is incredible."
  96. ^ Swallow & Jordan 2020, 10:42–10:54 Swallow: "I grew up with those three original movies, and so I had, like, Ewok stuffed animals when I was a kid, and of course tried to do the Princess Leia hair and all that. And Leia was someone I always, always of course someone that I looked up to."
  97. ^ Swallow & Jordan 2020, 10:55–10:08 Swallow: "But there was a lot that I have since learned that I didn't know. Because I followed all the movies but I hadn't gotten into like The Clone Wars and all of these incredible animated series."
  98. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 15:42–16:20 Swallow: "Well, it was super, super comforting to have Dave there, because he is truly an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge. And so, there's a lot of things in this world that we're creating anew, but there's a lot that's tied to the Star Wars lore, and so he just knows everything about every movie, every animated series, all of the backstory, so it was great to have him there and be able to ask him questions and ask, 'Would this be in keeping with this things that's already been established, or are we breaking from this thing already established?' That was really cool."
  99. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 33:40–34:18 And we were all super, super, super lucky to have Dave Filoni as one of the directors and one of the producers because he is just an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge. I don't think I've ever met anyone... I think he probably knows more than the Internet knows about Star Wars. So it was helpful to have him to know, to really ground ourselves specifically in where we are in the Star Wars timeline for this story and what it means with the events that have preceded and what hasn't happened yet. It was great to have that there."
  100. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 34:18–35:02 Swallow: "One of the first things that I found when I was working on Amara was that it felt like she would be a lot more powerful if she moved very minimally. Because it felt like when you have somebody who's that powerful, I think trying to, like, show it by making these big movements, it just, like, you don't buy the power at all. You're like, 'Oh no, you don't have anything.' And so, maybe that was something, you know, having worked on Amara for a season and... because again, once again, Emily in real life is not still. I am always in motion. But kind of trusting that minimal movement and that efficiency and economy was definitely useful for the Armorer as well. So that's sort of a point of connection for the two of them."
  101. ^ a b c Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 14:17–14:31 Swallow: "It was more of a feeling, and you know, honestly I didn't even really think about the fact that I had drawn from her until people started asking me about it. But it was partly because, you know, I was, I, there were definitely days when it felt a little overwhelming to have all of this stuff on. And I didn't know if what I was trying to communicate was translating, and the way that she spoke with me and the way I saw her command a room was just so, I think I said this before like she commands authority without any effort. ... There was this ease that I saw to the way she directed that I think just draws people to her. You know, she draws you in, and that was something that I thought, I think I saw in her and I recognized that that could be useful to the Armorer."
  102. ^ a b c Lovett, Jamie (November 23, 2019). "The Mandalorian Star "Secretly Hopes" a Blooper Reel Gets Released". Comicbook.com. from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  103. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 81:26–82:00 Breznican: "I asked about working with you and she said, 'Oh, you know, I'm really glad I got to work with Deborah so early in the development of this character, because I put a lot of her presence on set into the Armorer,' and I wondered if she discussed that with you?" Chow: "Seriously? Oh my God." Breznican: "That's what she said, yeah. She said you have this very, like, you have control of the room, but it's a very calm control." Chow: "Oh my God. She's never said... she never told me that. Wow. OK. Well, that's great. That's a huge compliment.
  104. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 82:26–82:30 Chow: "But she was awesome. She was great and it's such a great character."
  105. ^ a b c Sherlock, Ben (January 20, 2020). "The Mandalorian: 10 Characters We Hope To See Return In Season 2". Screen Rant. from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  106. ^ Kessler, Robert (December 12, 2019). "The Mandalorian Looking So Like Boba Fett Doesn't Make Sense". Screen Rant. from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  107. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 67:09–67:25 Breznican: "Her armor is very interesting. It has a real Spartan quality to it. The ancient Spartan mask is very similar to the way the eye slits are cut. It's also just maybe more ornate and elegant than the other masks."
  108. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 9:24–9:53 Swallow: "I was wearing those fantastic gloves for welding and to protect me, but it was so hard for me to actually pick things up. And there were so many takes of, you know, I spent a lot of time doing these sequences with the hammering and the putting the metal in the fire and forging things, and there were so many times when they needed me to pick something up and I just couldn't get a grip on it or I would drop it.
  109. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 24:52–25:12 Swallow: "He brought together all these incredible craftsmen to make the props, to make the costumes. I mean, my costume took weeks and weeks and weeks to make, and to see them as they were assembling it was really just such an incredible process."
  110. ^ Swallow 2019, 29:55–30:20 "What was really remarkable to me was seeing the attention to detail with every little thing. Like, with all of the props that my character handled, getting to talk to the people who made them and find out how much attention and care they put into it. So it's stuff that looks incredible on a large scale, but then when you do get to look at it up close, it's just completely unbelievable.
  111. ^ a b c Thompson, Avery (December 14, 2019). "'The Mandalorian's Emily Swallow Reveals The Role Of The Armorer Is A Full Circle Moment For Her". Hollywood Life. from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  112. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 67:51–68:07 Swallow: "I don't know everything about the specifics of why they chose all of the details, but I do know there was this attempt to sort of communicating a bit of regality and that she is in a position of leadership over them."
  113. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 67:26–67:46 Breznican: "Can you talk to me about what her costume reveals about who she is?" Swallow: "I love that there are those little changes that are so impactful. I mean, I remember when Pedro saw my mask, he was like, 'Wait a minute, why does she get to look so much cooler?'"
  114. ^ a b c d Lee, Jess (December 26, 2019). "The Mandalorian's Armorer star reveals what it's like wearing that armour". Digital Spy. from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  115. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 30:28–30:48 Swallow: "I really hope that have a bloopers reel at some point because I have to tell you, you get two people that are dressed as Mandalorians in a room together, it will inevitably run into each other and bonk helmets and trip over things, because we have like no peripheral vision."
  116. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 9:53–10:10 Swallow: "I tripped on things so many times. So it was really to my advantage that the Armorer does move very slowly because that kept me from quite as many collisions that I might have had." "Busch: "I was going to say, I imagine you guys are running into each other all the time." Swallow: "Oh yeah, totally."
  117. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 32:24–32:35 Swallow: "I'm really glad that the Armorer is a deliberate and fairly slow-moving Mandalorain, because that made it easier for me to avoid running into things."
  118. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 30:11–30:28 Giannakopoulos: "How was it actually having that armor on?" Swallow: "Well, I'm really glad that it looks as dignified and impressive as it does, because being inside of it feels ridiculous."
  119. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 9:11–9:24 Swallow: "I keep saying I hope, I really hope that at some point they release a bloopers reel, because when you put like two or more Mandalorians in a room together, chaos ensues. Because we have like no peripheral vision, you know."
  120. ^ a b Swallow & Regan 2020, 17:47–18:15 Swallow: "With the Mandalorian, I actually shot all of my work before the show was even announced, and that was so liberating because, you know, I knew that I was part of something that was part of a big project, but I hadn't heard anything about it in the news, there was no fan reaction because nobody knew it was being made. So that was great, that was a huge relief."
  121. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 28:41–29:01 "And it really, it actually wasn't until I got to set, like, a couple of days before shooting where I got to, like, sit down and talk with Jon and Dave Filoni about who this character was, I mean, in detail. And they gave me some really great jumping-off points because they talked about."
  122. ^ a b c Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 5:40–6:28 Busch: "Did they provide you with a backstory when you first started with the character or was it just...?" Swallow: "They did not provide me with like a, oh well I mean, I had... It goes beyond that. First I had the scenes and no bigger scripts, and then I was allowed to read the scripts for my episode, and then I was allowed to read a few more scripts but most of what I got came from talking with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, and they didn't go so far as to assume me like, 'OK, this is exactly like where the armorer came from and where she's going,' but they told me a lot about where the inspiration for the character came from, which was incredibly helpful to me."
  123. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 11:27–11:45 Swallow: "I just have to give so much credit to the environment that Jon created for everybody because we felt like we had, even though there were a million things happening at once, we all were very well aware that it was a lot of money being put into this, and that we had the potential to make something really great. It never felt like we were under pressure."
  124. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 25:12–26:02 Swallow: "And it was just such a fun set to work on. I mean, I think it's such a testament to Jon and the rest of the team that even though there was a lot of anticipation about it and a lot of pressure because it was Disney's sort of flagship series for this new streaming thing, but it never felt that way. It never felt like, 'Uh-oh, we better not mess up.' It just felt like, 'You know what? We're going to make something really cool and we're going to put our hearts into it, and we're going to play.' It really did bring me back to being a kid and playing Princess Leia and creating that make-believe myself. I feel like being on set and the process of shooting was just so much fun and it was so playful."
  125. ^ Swallow 2019, 28:19–29:19 "One of the coolest things to me about working on this, even with all of the mystery and all of the things I didn't know, from the first day I got to set there was just this feeling of child-like excitement amongst everybody because of how much we all love the Star Wars universe, and how excited we were to get to play in that world. And it felt like even with all of the money and all the expensive sets and special effects, and you're not allowed to say this or that, the thing that bound everyone together was just the feeling of really childlike glee that we were going to get to play in this world. And that was really cool, that it didn't feel like it was some big, serious, capital B, capital D big deal. We were just there to play and to create something really cool and that was awesome, and I definitely credit that to Jon that he was able to create that atmosphere and put everyone at ease so that they could do their best work."
  126. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 20:08–20:37 Swallow: "And that was a feeling that was so special too on set. It sort of felt like, I mean, we had incredible craftsmen working on the props and working on the costume and working on the sets, and everybody is kind off at the top of their field, and just had this giddy playfulness because we were all getting to play in the Star Wars universe and that which was unlike anything I ever felt on a set before. It was really... I mean, I keep saying it was magical, but it was, it was magical."
  127. ^ a b Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 16:28–17:16 Swallow: "Jon, even though he didn't direct any of the episodes, he was there, at least for the episodes I worked on, he was there most of the time. He is just such an incredible leader. And I loved watching how he allowed the directors to have their own style and to bring their own thing to it and he never, like, he made sure we were all on the same page in terms of the story we were telling, but then he let the individual directors tell the story the way that they wanted to, and I think that's so smart because he chose such incredible directors who have established their own style. And I think it's fun to get to see that from episode to episode, some of the differences in the way they told the story."
  128. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 24:41–25:06 Swallow: "It's incredible working with him. He, in addition to being so smart and so creative, he's also so kind and gracious and humble, and he just brings everyone together and makes sure that everyone's on the same page, makes sure that we all know what the greater picture is of what we're creating, so from episode to episode, linking people back to what the overall story was."
  129. ^ a b Swallow 2020, 13:10–13:56 "He's such an incredible team leader, and I think he's so great at establishing a spirit of collaboration and faithfulness, and making sure that everyone's on the same page and everyone's playing in the same world. One of the things I heard that I really saw come across was that he hired these directors who all have very different styles, and he encouraged them to direct their episodes using their own styles, but also they all talked and they all shared ideas and they all communicated about, 'What is this overall arc in this season?' And, 'What is the main thrust of this story that we want to be communicating?' And I think he's so great at listening to people and encouraging these ideas to come out.'"
  130. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 21:33–22:07 Swallow: "Jon Favreau is just, I mean, he's incredibly smart and creative, but he's also the part that you don't know until you work with him that he's just such an incredible team leader, and he's so great at bringing together an ensemble of people and getting everyone on the same page and getting everyone focused on the same vision while also welcoming everyone in all of their creative uniqueness and all of their eccentricities and inviting people to not to feel like they need to fit into any mold."
  131. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 25:06–25:41 Swallow: "And also I think he's such a great leader because he encourages people's individual talents. I think he trusts that once everyone knows, 'OK, what's the feel of this whole season, and what's the tone we're trying to create,' he really trusted each director to direct in their own individual style and to use things that they're particularly good at. And I think he does that with actors too. I mean, like, he kind of finds what it is that makes you tick and helps you use that more and more to serve the character."
  132. ^ a b Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 28:26–28:41 Swallow: "Oh my gosh, I've never had such a secretive process of, like, getting scripts. Like I had to log in to this online portal and every time I wanted to read one of the scripts it would, like, register that I had logged in and how much time I was online and all of this stuff.
  133. ^ a b ""The Mandalorian" Actress Talks About Playing the Armorer". News 13. January 16, 2020. from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  134. ^ Swallow 2019, 11:35–11:46 "I did not get to read entire scripts, I got to read my scenes and he sort of talked to me about how my scenes fit into the greater thing."
  135. ^ a b Swallow 2020, 21:44–22:07 "When I was shooting was right around the time that some pictures had been leaked of, I think, Stormtroopers or something, so we were on total lockdown. Between my dressing room and the set I had to wear, I called him our cloaks of invisibility. They were these black cloaks with hoods and we had to completely cover up our costumes any time we were walking around the lot."
  136. ^ a b Swallow 2019, 31:38–32:07 "We were at the point on the lot where, if we were in costume, and we were walking outside like if we had to walk outside to get between sets or something, we had to put on these black cloaks, that I started to call our cloaks of invisibility because there were paparazzi that were on rooftops nearby trying to take pictures and stuff, and there were some pictures that leaked. So they were just trying as much as possible to keep it secret."
  137. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 21:26–21:33 Swallow: "While we were making it, even though I knew so little about anything that didn't involve my character."
  138. ^ Swallow 2019, 11:46–11:59 "It's been trippy because, there are some actors involved that I had no idea they were involved until I saw a press release, because if I'm not in a scene with them then I don't even know they're in it."
  139. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 70:55–71:06 Breznican: Tell me about performing her. So, you're in the costume. Is your dialogue being recorded? Is there a microphone inside the helmet? Are you being recorded separately?" Swallow: "There's a microphone inside the helmet, yeah."
  140. ^ a b c d Swallow & Regan 2020, 22:40–23:22 Swallow: "On the front end it was a lot easier, but then after, like, eight or nine hours of wearing the helmet and the armor, it was not quite as freeing." Regan: "Is it heavy?" Swallow: "Not really heavy, but because we had to have a microphone inside the helmet, it needed to not move around, and so there was a lot of, like, padding inside that made it fit pretty closely to my head, so it was sort of, you know, just felt a little bit, like, constricting." Regan: "Yeah, yeah, I would imagine you can even get that claustrophobic feel in it." Swallow: "Yeah, yeah, a little bit. There were definitely times, when... A lot of the time I would just keep the helmet on between takes because it was such a to-do to get it on and off, that on long days I just needed to get out of it every once in a while."
  141. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 22:01–22:32 Regan: "You didn't have to wear any make-up, though, right?" Swallow: "Oh man, yeah. I mean, that was, like, it's ridiculous but that was one part that I got so excited about because normally I have to get to set like two hours before I shoot to go through hair and makeup. For this, the most high-maintenance part of it was I needed someone to help me into the armor, like, I couldn't do it myself. So I was called like half an hour before we had to shoot and it was brilliant that way."
  142. ^ a b Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 71:23–71:55 Swallow: "And so, um, we were all sort of learning on the fly, like what the language of these Mandalorian masks was because we realized... I mean, of course, you can't see our eyes, you can't see our mouths, you can't see the normal ways of communicating emotion. And we learned that very small movements had a huge impact. Which is great, but which is also a challenge because you can wind up communicating something that you don't even want to."
  143. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 12:08–12:31 Swallow: "The obvious thing that you can't emote with your eyes or your face or anything, but also that really tiny movements can have great value and that could be wonderful or that could be potentially very confusing, in a scene. If you had a little twitch that draws the eye, could wind up totally distracting from what you're trying to do in the scene."
  144. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 30:48–31:05 Swallow: "It's so interesting to work in a mask and work in armor like that because you realize that all these things that you're used to using to communicate, your eyes and your mouth and a tilt of the head and your hands, all of those things are covered up."
  145. ^ Swallow 2020, 10:24–10:52 "Since you can't see our faces, you quickly realize that every move that you make tells some sort of story, so you have to decide, 'Is that the story I want to be telling or is that distracting for the story. It was a pretty cool challenge because I'd never gotten to do anything like that in television. So I enjoyed it. I liked not having access to my normal facial expressions, getting to raise an eyebrow or give a little wink or something. It's kind of cool."
  146. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 31:05–31:50 Swallow: "And so, especially with this first episode when we were first starting to shoot and we were first starting to see, like, 'OK, how do these Mandalorians, what story is told in their movement when you see it on camera?' And that was a really interesting thing to learn on the fly as we were shooting, and to gather information about, 'All right, if I try to, like, if I'm walking across the room and I try to glance down to see where I'm going, that actually looks huge because I've got this helmet on and I have to move my whole head. So there could be no, especially with the Armorer, there could be no extraneous movements. Every movement felt like it told a story.
  147. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 82:03–82:26 Chow: "One of the things that helped achieve that was the fact that we did a lot of prep and we were in there for months before, so there was you know, it was very designed. We didn't just show up on the day for sure. So I think all that prep kind of paid off in helping make the set feel a lot like there was sort of a plan for everything.
  148. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 71:20–71:23 Swallow: "We were block shooting episodes one and three at the same time."
  149. ^ a b c Swallow 2020, 9:57–10:24 "Because I was in the first episode, and we were block shooting the first and third episodes at the same time, so Dave Filoni and Deborah Chow, who were directing those, we were really working together, all of us that were in masks, and working them to try to figure out the language of these characters and to find each movement would be communicated."
  150. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 11:45–12:02 Swallow: "We were shooting episodes one and episodes three, which Dave and Debra directed, we were shooting those at the same time. And both of those directors really gave us time and space to kind of learn the language of these masks and this armor."
  151. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 18:44–18:55 Swallow: "For the episodes that I was working on, we had two sound stages that had sets in them, so I got to see, I mean, I definitely got to see a lot of tunnels and sewers and stuff."
  152. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 33:07–33:37 Swallow: "In real life, I am somebody who, like, I use my hands all the time, and I just couldn't do that with her, because what we found, and we were shooting episodes one and three at the same time, so we had Dave Filoni and Deborah Chow who was working together with all of us in these suits and these masks, to find out what the language of movement was and what translated and what might be distracting and, you know, what would take away from what you're trying to get people to understand.
  153. ^ a b Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 72:39–72:55 Swallow: "I can't tell you how many times I like dropped my tongs or couldn't pick them up and all of the action sequences that look so great where I'm hammering metal or putting things into the fire, those took a long time to actually capture."
  154. ^ Swallow & Giannakopoulos 2019, 32:35–33:00 Swallow: "Oh my gosh, there were so many different, the sequences where I'm making weapons, that is me hammering and putting things into the fire and stuff, and there were so many times that I would drop things or I couldn't quite like there was something little I needed to pick up and I couldn't because I had these huge gloves on. So I'm super grateful that they made it look as good as it does because it didn't always feel that way."
  155. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 72:55–73:00 Breznican: "Was there real fire or was that a visual effect?" Swallow: "No, that's a visual effect."
  156. ^ Swallow, Breznican & Chow 2019, 74:30–75:57 Swallow: "I remember spending a lot of time with that beskar steel and stacking it different ways and trying to determine like, OK, having this massive quantity of this very prized material that had been stolen from our people, having it returned now, knowing that it may... I think that the Armorer senses that it may have been gained through less than noble means." Breznican: Even the way it's stamped is kind of like Nazi gold. Like it's marked with evil." Swallow: "Yeah, and they actually mentioned that. They talked about that a lot. And like trying to determine how that would be handled. How would she place it? How would she look at it? We spent a lot of time with those little details." Breznican: "Is it your sense that in making this armor, she's purifying it in a way?" Swallow: "I think so. Because I think that originally it did come from the Mandalorians. I mean as she says to one of the Mandalorian riff-raff that raises a fuss and says basically that this is tainted steel, she says the Empire is no more, and it's been returned to its rightful owners. Kind of let bygones be bygones. This was ours originally and sure it's been tainted. I think more important that whatever evil has transpired is where it came from and where it came from was a noble place and we're going to return it to that noble place and give it that noble standing.
  157. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 26:34–27:04 Swallow: "He's so down to earth. Actually, he and I go back several years because I know him through the New York theater scene, and then we were both on The Mentalist at the same time, because the season that I was on there, he was brought in to be a love interest for Robin's character. So that was really fun because we hadn't seen each other in a while when we got to do that, and then to get to do this which is so entirely different, it's just delightful when you get to come across people that you already know and like and then you get to say, 'Oh now we get to work together, this is awesome.'"
  158. ^ Swallow 2020, 10:59–11:09 "We know each other from the New York theater scene, and then we got to work together on The Mentalist, totally randomly, so it was awesome to be able to work with him on this."
  159. ^ Swallow 2019, 25:31–25:55 "Pedro and I, actually, I know him from the theater crowd in New York, but then we got to work together on The Mentalist because he came in as a love interest for Robin's character while I was on the show. And that was so much fun because we knew each other from New York, and then we got to work together on that, and then finding out that I was going to get to work with him on The Mandalorian was really cool."
  160. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 27:49–28:11 Swallow: "That was a dream come true because I've just been a fan of his for so long, and I have to try not to fangirl too much. I definitely have my moments, like, I had a moment after we'd been working together for a couple days where I was like, 'OK, I just have to tell you, I think you're amazing and I've watched this and I've seen this many times, and I'm so happy to be working with you.' And then I, like, put a lid on it, because the Armorer doesn't really fangirl, I think."
  161. ^ a b Ridgely, Charlie (January 23, 2020). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian's Emily Swallow Admits Baby Yoda Is Just as Cute in Person". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  162. ^ a b Cavanaugh, Patrick (January 14, 2020). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian's Emily Swallow Wanted to Snuggle Baby Yoda". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  163. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 21:01–21:12 Busch: "Did you ever get to see or meet the Yoda baby puppet, even just behind the scenes?" Sparrow: "Oh I did, yeah, and I fell in love with it like everybody else. And it does look so real. It's so deceptive."
  164. ^ Swallow & Jordan 2020, 8:25–8:33 Swallow: "I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it. I just wanted to snuggle it."
  165. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 19:08–19:34 Swallow: "I remember there was a day early on on that sound stage, I remember seeing this really cool ship that we've all come to know now again this green screen, and George Lucas had come to set that day to surprise Jon for his birthday, and he's standing there holding court just, you know, telling some stories about when he was making the movies, and he's surrounded by people who are just completely caught up in what he's saying."
  166. ^ Swallow 2020, 15:40–15:52 "He came, I think it was for Jon's birthday one day. And then I didn't even know he was there and I was walking from our sound stage across the other one and he's standing there holding court, telling stories to people."
  167. ^ Swallow 2020, 14:04–14:24 "I was doing some looping for one of my episodes, so I was in the sound booth in New York and Dave Filoni was on the line and Jon was in and out because he was also doing, like, final edits on the Lion King. So, you know, jumping back and forth between these two huge projects, but totally there, totally with it."
  168. ^ Swallow 2019, 13:05–13:25 "There was one day when I was doing some ADR for some of my scenes in The Mandalorian, and I was in New York in a voiceover studio, and I was on the phone with one of the directors in L.A., and then Jon was also on the line, but he had to keep jumping in and out because he was doing final sound mixes for the Lion King."
  169. ^ a b c Jirak, Jamie (December 30, 2019). "Star Wars: The Mandaloiran's Emily Swallow Shares Epic Fan Art of the Armorer". Comicbook.com. from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  170. ^ Swallow & Jordan 2020, 1:19–1:35 Jordan: "Your character, in particular, has just become such a fan favorite, but I will say there are so many people on the Internet that are begging, begging to see more of the Armorer in season two."
  171. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 10:20–10:41 Silliman: "You're so good with emotion through the mask." Swallow: "Oh, thank you." Silliman: "And also connecting to, just with your scenes with Pedro Pascal, even if just one of you was in a helmet like that, it would be hard, but you guys are connecting through two helmets. I mean, and it just looks so seamless and it looks so effortless, and of course, it isn't."
  172. ^ Atkin, Jesse (January 28, 2020). "10 Burning Questions We Still Have After Finishing The Mandalorian Season 1". Screen Rant. from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  173. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (January 2, 2020). "The Mandalorian: 10 Best New Star Wars Characters Introduced In The Show, Ranked". Screen Rant. from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  174. ^ Atkin, Jessie (January 8, 2020). "The Mandalorian: 10 of the Best Outfits From Season 1". Screen Rant. from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  175. ^ a b Swallow & Regan 2020, 19:58–20:37 Swallow: "I also haven't really been on the receiving end of a lot of negative stuff, so, so far so good. Regan: "Are you ready for the eventual amount of cosplay your character's going to get?" Swallow: "I cannot wait. I mean, just the fan art that I've gotten to see online has gotten me so excited, and the things that people are already making. I mean, people send me messages on Instagram and on Twitter and they have pictures of these, like, models that they're making of the Armorer's gear." Regan: "Is it a little surreal?" Swallow: "It's totally surreal."
  176. ^ a b Swallow & Gordon 2020, 22:25–22:52 Swallow: "I actually just did a fan convention, a Wizard World in Portland, Oregon this past weekend. I had done them for Supernatural before but it was the first time I had done one since The Mandalorian came out, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I've been greeted with so much joy and positivity, and people are so excited about it, and little girls love the Armorer and love what a badass warrior she is, and that just makes me really happy."
  177. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 36:10–36:26 Gordon: "I watch your Twitter and it's just exploding with people, and the outpouring of love and support for the Armorer, it's amazing." Swallow: "I have. I just so appreciate all the support that the character's gotten. It makes me feel so happy that people like her so much."
  178. ^ Swallow & Jordan 2020, 5:54–6:00 Jordan: "There are so many people who are sending in, I know you posted some fan art as well." Swallow: "Yes, there's been some incredible fan art, yeah."
  179. ^ Jirak, Jamie (January 9, 2020). "Star Wars: The Mandalorian's Emily Swallow Shares Powerful Fan Art of the Armorer". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  180. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 22:53–23:09 Swallow: "I feel like it's that much more shocking to me because I have experienced a really enthusiastic fanbase, I mean, the Supernatural fans are phenomenal. So even with that, this was like another leap beyond that."
  181. ^ a b Swallow & Regan 2020, 20:59–21:21 Swallow: "There's also something sort of liberating about having all this fervor about a character where I am in a mask. I feel like it's freeing in a way because there's absolutely no attention to my physical appearance. Nobody cares how I look. They love the character so much, and it's really kind of freeing."
  182. ^ Swallow & Gordon 2020, 28:29–29:04 Swallow: "It's also so liberating for me as an actress because this is now the role that I am the most known for, and it's kind of freeing and liberating that it has nothing to do with how I look because I'm just so used to that being a factor in how I get cast, in having to make sure I always look my best. That just kind of comes with the territory, but it's just so much fun that now this character that everyone knows me for is one where you don't even know what I look like. It's great."
  183. ^ Swallow & Regan 2020, 23:44–24:08 Swallow: I love getting to just witness it without people having to be self-conscious or anything, or knowing that I'm a part of it. I was asked in another interview recently, 'Do people recognize you as Amara or for other shows?' And you know, occasionally that happens, and it's kind of great to know, 'Nobody's ever going to guess that I'm the Armorer.' I don't get a lot of street recognition for that."
  184. ^ a b c Denholm 2020, p. 29
  185. ^ Anderson, Jenna (December 30, 2019). "The Mandalorian: Here's How to Ring in the New Year With the Armorer Saying "This Is the Way"". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  186. ^ Swallow, Silliman & Busch 2019, 23:01–23:52 Swallow: "The first time I became aware of it was when we had the premiere in L.A. on the 13th, because we got to see all three episodes, so everyone had already seen the first episode by that point because it had launched. But watching that third episode with the big audience that included the other actors and a lot of our crew, and then a couple of like Mandalorian fan clubs, when that line came up you could kind of feel this electricity in the audience. And then later in the episode in that brilliant, amazing, euphoric moment when all the Mandalorians come and save him, and the one that stops to talk to him says, 'This is the way,' almost everybody in the audience repeated it back to the screen in that moment. I was like, 'OK, I think we have something here."
  187. ^ Bundel, Ani (December 30, 2019). "What Is The Darksaber In 'The Mandalorian'? This Jedi Weapon May Be Key In Season 2". Elite Daily. from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  188. ^ a b Gramuglia, Anthony (April 14, 2023). "The Mandalorian Theory: The Armorer Is Secretly Maul's Top Lieutenant". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  189. ^ Miller, Leon (April 13, 2023). "The Mandalorian Fans Are Convinced a Major Hero Is Secretly an Imperial Spy". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  190. ^ a b Outlaw, Kofi (April 13, 2023). "The Mandalorian Finale Theory Claims A Major Character Is Actually Moff Gideon's Spy". ComicBook.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  191. ^ a b Roark, Nathaniel (April 15, 2023). "Shocking The Mandalorian Theory Reveals The Armorer... Is A Traitor!". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  192. ^ Dick, Jeremy (December 31, 2019). "The Mandalorian Funko Pop! Wave 2 Figures Include Greef Karga, the Armorer and a Blurrg". TVweb. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  193. ^ Fallon, Sean (December 31, 2019). "The Mandalorian Just Got Tons of New Funko Pops". Comicbook.com. from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  194. ^ Gelman, Samuel (December 31, 2019). "The Mandalorian: Funko Unveils Next Wave of Pop! Vinyl Figures". Comic Book Resources. from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  195. ^ "The Complete Star Wars The Black Series PulseCon Pre-Orders". Gear. Retrieved 2021-01-29.

Works cited edit

  • Denholm, Iain (January 29, 2020). "'This is the Way' Actress Emily Swallow Embraces Mandalorian Culture". CH2 Magazine. Vol. February 2020. Hilton Head Magazines.
  • Swallow, Emily; Jordan, Alana (January 14, 2020). 'The Mandalorian': Emily Swallow AKA The Armorer Wanted To Snuggle Baby Yoda!. MEA Worldwide (YouTube). Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily (November 12, 2019). "Emily Swallow star of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian chats with Galaxy" (Podcast). Comic Con Radio. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily (January 25, 2020). "ITCAF Interview — Emily Swallow" (Podcast). Inside the Crazy Ant Farm. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily; Breznican, Anthony; Chow, Deborah (November 22, 2019). "Still Watching: The Mandalorian — "Chapter Three: The Sin" with Emily Swallow and Deborah Chow" (Podcast). Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily; Giannakopoulos, Elias (December 3, 2019). "Interview: Emily Swallow "The Mandalorian"" (Podcast). The Man Cave Chronicles. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily; Gordon, Chris (January 29, 2020). "Emily Swallow — The Mandalorian" (Podcast). Hellblazerbiz: Conversations with the Stars. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily; Regan, Kenric (January 26, 2020). "Emily Swallow – BONUS: The Mandalorian's Armorer" (Podcast). Spoiler Country. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  • Swallow, Emily; Silliman, Brian; Busch, Caitlin (November 27, 2019). "Jabba the Pod: A Podcast About Star Wars – BONUS: Way of the Armorer (Interviewing the Mandalorian's Emily Swallow)" (Podcast). Syfy Wire. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

External links edit

  • The Armorer in the StarWars.com Databank
  • The Armorer on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki

January 01, 1970
armorer, occupation, armourer, fictional, character, star, wars, franchise, appears, disney, television, series, mandalorian, book, boba, fett, dressed, body, armor, gold, helmet, leader, tribe, mandalorian, warriors, which, includes, title, character, mandalo. For the occupation see Armourer The Armorer is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in the Disney television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett Dressed in red body armor and a gold helmet she is the leader of a tribe of Mandalorian warriors which includes the title character of The Mandalorian A mysterious patient and intelligent character the Armorer provides spiritual guidance for the clan and forges and repairs their armor The ArmorerStar Wars characterEmily Swallow as the Armorer in The Book of Boba FettFirst appearance Chapter 1 The Mandalorian The Mandalorian 2019 Created byJon FavreauPortrayed byEmily SwallowBody doubleLauren Mary KimIn universe informationSpeciesHumanGenderFemaleOccupationMandalorian tribe leader and armorerAffiliationChildren of the Watch Jon Favreau the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian was among the creators of the Armorer The character was partially inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa as well as the history and culture of the samurai particularly in the character s slow paced movement and aura of authority The Armorer is portrayed by Emily Swallow who provides both the character s voice and live action performance while her stunts are performed by Lauren Mary Kim When Swallow auditioned for the role she knew little about the character and did not know it was for a Star Wars series The voice Swallow uses for the Armorer has elements of British and Mid Atlantic accents which stemmed from a suggestion made by a casting associate during her audition She also partially modeled the Armorer s voice after characters from the Lord of the Rings film series Aspects of The Mandalorian director Deborah Chow s personality influenced Swallow s performance Kim s combat style in the Armorer s fight scenes was inspired by the Filipino martial art known as Kali The Armorer s costume took several weeks to make and it proved to be challenging to perform in due to limited visibility and the fact that small movements in the costume were very noticeable Swallow wore the helmet and armor costume for up to nine hours at a time during filming The Armorer has been received positively by fans and reviewers alike and has been described as a fan favorite Contents 1 Appearances 1 1 Operating on Nevarro 1 2 Operating on Glavis 1 3 Retaking Mandalore 2 Characterization 3 Concept and creation 3 1 Conception 3 2 Portrayal 3 3 Costume 3 4 Filming 4 Cultural impact 4 1 Critical reception 4 2 Merchandise 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 Works cited 6 External linksAppearances editThe Armorer appeared in three episodes in the first season of The Mandalorian 1 2 She is the leader of a tribe of Mandalorian warriors on the planet Nevarro where they live in a secret enclave She provides spiritual guidance for the clan and forges and repairs their armor 3 4 5 Little is revealed about her backstory 4 and like other Mandalorians she wears highly durable armor and conceals her face with a helmet that she never publicly removes 1 6 7 The Mandalorians are in hiding after having suffered persecution by the Galactic Empire and although the Empire has fallen out of power by the time of The Mandalorian the clan has not yet regained its former status or power 5 Operating on Nevarro edit The Armorer made her first appearance in the series premiere Chapter 1 The Mandalorian 8 The show s protagonist a bounty hunter known simply as The Mandalorian brings her money he received from having collected his most recent bounties 9 10 11 including a bar of beskar steel a very rare form of metal used to make Mandalorian armor 10 12 The Armorer explains that the Empire stole the beskar from the Mandalorians during an event known as the Great Purge 10 12 13 She uses the beskar to make a single shoulder spaulder for the Mandalorian 1 5 9 and asks whether he has yet identified his signet a symbol used to identify clans of Mandalorians When he says that he has not she assures him that he will soon 10 11 13 The Armorer says the remaining beskar will be used to assist the foundlings a term for children who were not born Mandalorian but rather adopted into their culture This pleases the Mandalorian because he was a foundling himself 11 14 15 As the Armorer works on his armor the Mandalorian has flashbacks to his youth 1 9 16 when his family was killed 9 10 17 The Armorer reappears in the episode Chapter 3 The Sin in which the Mandalorian brings her a large amount of beskar which he received as a bounty for collecting a young alien known as the Child and turning him over to a remnant of the fallen Empire The Armorer uses the steel to make a full cuirass for him 18 19 20 She also makes him a set of explosive projectiles called whistling birds named for the whistling noises they make as they fly toward their target 19 21 22 Another clan member named Paz Vizla reprimands the Mandalorian for working with the Empire to obtain the beskar which leads to a brief fight between the two warriors The Armorer quickly and quietly defuses the quarrel 18 19 21 reminding them the Empire no longer exists and that it is good the beskar has been returned to the tribe 19 20 23 She speaks about cowardice honor and the Way of the Mandalore which serves as the tribe s religion and creed 19 24 25 Later off screen the Mandalorians on Nevarro are largely wiped out by the Imperial remnant after the tribe reveals itself at the conclusion of Chapter 3 The Sin to assist the Mandalorian The Armorer is one of the few members of the clan to survive 26 27 28 In the first season finale Chapter 8 Redemption the Mandalorian and his allies come to the Mandalorian enclave while fleeing from attacking Imperials only to find it unoccupied except for the Armorer following the elimination of most of the tribe The Armorer explains that some Mandalorian warriors may have survived and fled off world 28 29 30 She is collecting the armor of the fallen Mandalorian warriors and melting it down for salvage 1 24 When the Mandalorian presents the Child and reveals he has supernatural powers the Armorer tells him about the Jedi Order of which most other characters in the show are not aware She speaks of the history of the Jedi warriors and their past associations with the Way of the Mandalore 24 sharing a story from eons past about a battle between the Jedi and Mandalore the Great a mythological figure in Mandalorian culture 31 32 33 This marks the first time the Jedi are identified by name in The Mandalorian 34 The Armorer instructs the Mandalorian to watch over and protect the Child 1 35 36 whom she calls a foundling as was the Mandalorian himself once 35 29 She says honor demands that the Mandalorian seek out and deliver the Child to the others of his kind 30 31 36 and that until this occurs the Mandalorian and the Child are a clan of two 30 37 38 and that the Mandalorian will be like a father to him 27 29 36 She engraves onto the Mandalorian s pauldron the likeness of a Mudhorn a type of creature the Mandalorian and the Child worked together to kill in Chapter 2 The Child 26 27 the Armorer declares it his signet 35 39 She also gives the Mandalorian his first jet pack 26 35 40 The Mandalorian invites the Armorer to flee with him 34 41 but she refuses to abandon the enclave until she has salvaged what remains 4 34 42 When the Mandalorian and his allies depart the Armorer waits until five Stormtroopers armed with blasters enter the enclave and attempt to question her Armed with nothing but her forging tools the Armorer fights and kills all five in under a minute 24 34 Operating on Glavis edit The Armorer reappears in The Book of Boba Fett in Chapter 5 Return of the Mandalorian Now hiding in the ringworld of Glavis the Armorer and Paz Vizla the only two survivors of the massacre on Nevarro are found by Din Djarin who has recently completed his quest to deliver his foundling to the Jedi In the course of his quest Djarin also claimed the Darksaber a lightsaber that acts as the ancestral blade of the Mandalorian ruler Inspecting the Darksaber after Din Djarin asked her about Bo Katan Kryze the Armorer explains her history and the saber prophecy to Djarin He also provides her with the beskar spear which Ahsoka Tano had given him a weapon the Armorer disapproved of since beskar was never meant as a weapon just as armor Djarin asks her to forge the spear into a gift for his foundling Grogu Later the Armorer trains Djarin in the Darksaber s use a weapon he struggles to master She tells him that he isn t fighting with the blade but against it Paz Vizla challenges Djarin for the saber as it was forged by his ancestor Tarre Vizsla but loses The Armorer asks both men whether they have ever removed their helmets as part of their creed While Vizla never has Djarin admits that he has The Armorer banishes Djarin from the tribe saying that he is no longer a Mandalorian However she informs Djarin that the only way of atonement is to come into contact with the Living Waters in the mines of Mandalore but they were destroyed by the Empire during the Purge Despite declaring Djarin an apostate the Armorer allows him to keep his armor and the Darksaber 43 44 Retaking Mandalore edit The Armorer returns in Chapter 17 The Apostate At the covert s new hideout on a different planet she forges a helmet for a young boy named Ragnar Vizsla who is being accepted into the creed The ceremony is later interrupted by an attack from a beast She along with other Mandalorians try and fail to defend themselves from the beast until Din Djarin kills it with his N 1 starfighter Djarin provides proof of the mines existence where the Living Waters are located and making his redemption possible The Armorer agrees that he may be accepted back into the creed should he bathe in the Waters 45 In Chapter 19 The Convert Djarin returns with Grogu and Bo Katan Kryze to the covert with a sample of the Living Waters Upon realizing that he has indeed visited the Waters the Armorer accepts him back into the creed while inducting Bo Katan into the covert as she has also bathed in the Waters and not removed her helmet since 46 In Chapter 20 The Foundling The Armorer forges a new piece of Mandalorian armor for Grogu a rondel bearing Djarin s mudhorn sigil Later The Armorer replaces Bo Katan s pauldron but the Armorer disbelieves Bo Katan encounter s with the mythosaur 47 In Chapter 21 The Pirate the Armorer says to Bo Katan Kryze that she is the one who will reunite all Mandalorians In Chapter 23 The Spies the Children of the Watch and the Nite Owls now united through Bo Katan head to Mandalore The Armorer assists in bringing wounded Mandalorians back to the fleet while others head to the Great Forge where they are ambushed by Moff Gideon and his men resulting in Djarin being captured and Paz Vizsla losing his life In Chapter 24 The Return the Armorer takes part in taking Mandalore back from Moff Gideon Following Moff Gideon s demise the Armorer officially finishes Ragnar s initiation at the waters within Mandalore s mines At the persuasion of Djarin the Armorer allows Grogu to become his apprentice The Armorer is later seen when Bo Katan reignates the Great Forge of Mandalore Characterization editThe Armorer is a mysterious and enigmatic character 2 3 24 with a calm and patient temperament 24 42 48 and a Zen like personality 3 5 49 She is very intelligent and knows how to act quickly in complex situations 42 48 50 She observes what is happening around her and only speaks when necessary 49 and although she displays knowledge of many different things from the Mandalorian s past to the history of the Jedi she often does not reveal her knowledge until she believes the time is right 2 48 51 Swallow said of this she will reveal it in good time but no one s going to get any information out of her without her being good and ready 51 She is very slow paced in her movements 3 5 and displays what Swallow calls a simplicity and efficiency of movement 51 The Armorer plays a relatively small role in the first season of The Mandalorian but an important one repeatedly setting the title character on the correct path of his hero s journey 1 She is the leader of the Mandalorian tribe 3 4 providing guidance and direction to a clan that has lost its way after the now fallen Empire persecuted them 24 52 53 She does so by reminding them of their moral code and set of values 5 54 and encouraging them to regard each other as a family 52 53 The Armorer is the first person in the series to say This is the Way which serves as a credo for the Mandalorian clan and is repeated throughout the first season 55 She believes strongly in Mandalorian traditions 5 50 and is dedicated to ensuring the survival of her tribe 24 37 serving as their spiritual leader and as their armorer 7 37 56 Although strong Mandalorian women had previously been featured in such animated series as Star Wars The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels Swallow felt the Armorer was the first female Star Wars character to serve as the spiritual leader in the same vein as Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda 57 The Armorer is confident and comfortable in her leadership position and conveys unwavering authority with little effort 3 51 58 Swallow said of this One of the coolest things for me in playing her is trusting that she does have that authority without having to be very forceful at all 3 This is illustrated by how she breaks up a fight between Mandalorian warriors in Chapter 3 The Sin without raising her voice or physically interfering 59 This also demonstrates that she is well respected by the members of her tribe 3 24 which Comic Book Resources writer Narayan Liu said is particularly impressive because in such a focused warrior society it would conceivably take a lot to command the respect of one s comrades 24 The Armorer s voice conveys a sense of authority mystery and sophistication and Swallow said she enjoys the contrast between her educated accent and warrior lifestyle saying There s just a lot of seeming contradictions about her that I love 60 Swallow as well as several reviewers have noted that the fact that the tribe s armor is crafted by its leader rather than a trade worker speaks to the importance of armor and the warrior status in Mandalorian culture 24 61 62 Liu wrote of this Who better to forge Mandalorian armor and weaponry than one with experience who fully understands its importance to the Mandalorian culture in this hostile galaxy 24 Swallow feels that through her creation and maintenance of the armor the Armorer is effectively the keeper of their history and rituals 5 61 63 because she actually has a record based on what it is that she s made 61 That role is even more important at the time of The Mandalorian Swallow said since much of the Mandalorian society has been suppressed and destroyed by the Empire 63 In addition to her expertise at foundry work 4 5 64 the Armorer is an excellent fighter 24 64 displaying great strength and speed as well as particularly honed skills with melee weapons as seen in her fight with stormtroopers in Chapter 8 Redemption 3 4 Since the character had been so quiet for much of the first season of The Mandalorian Swallow believes it was a shock when the Armorer fights stormtroopers as well as she does 58 Liu argued that the Armorer was the most efficient fighter in the series even more so than the Mandalorian or other fighter characters like Cara Dune Liu wrote None so far seem more suited to handle the hostility of the Empire and the merciless desert than the guiding hand to the Mandalorians the Armorer who in the season finale proved that she s the best of the best 24 Concept and creation editConception edit nbsp The Armorer was created by Jon Favreau the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian Jon Favreau the creator and showrunner of The Mandalorian was among the creators of the Armorer 65 Creation of the character as well as other elements of the series was influenced by the films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa The Armorer in particular drew influence from the history and culture of the samurai 51 54 66 especially in the character s slow paced movement sense of ceremony and aura of authority 5 66 67 Favreau and others involved in the show debated what gender to establish for the character 65 and ultimately decided to make her a woman but Swallow said they didn t want to make it a big deal 68 69 She said I think they just sort of felt like Why not 65 The animated series Star Wars The Clone Wars had also featured several strong female Mandalorian characters and leaders which Swallow said may also have been a consideration in determining the Armorer s gender 65 Portrayal edit The Armorer is portrayed by actress Emily Swallow who provides both the character s voice and live action performance 6 60 70 Her stunts were performed by Lauren Mary Kim who was also the stunt performer for various other characters on The Mandalorian 6 71 Swallow auditioned for the role 3 but she knew little about her character or the series at the time of her audition 3 72 73 The character was described as having a recurring role in a Disney series 74 which was identified only by the code name Untitled High Budget 3 74 It was not disclosed that it was a Star Wars show though Swallow s agent suspected that might be the case 75 76 77 Swallow was given only a six word description of the Armorer character in advance of the audition Leader Strong Zen but with authority 3 74 However a casting associate at the audition gave her a little bit more backstory for the character which Swallow said was helpful 78 Although she said the audition itself was fairly low key and mundane 79 80 81 with only her and a single casting associate 82 she was given only a handful of scenes to perform but little context about how they fit into the overall story of the show which she described as bizarre 72 83 Swallow later reflected that it was good she did not know it was a Star Wars project because she felt it would have made her more nervous 49 84 85 and instead she was able to approach the audition like any other 77 83 The scene she read in her audition was a variation of the scene in Chapter 3 The Sin in which she breaks up a fight among members of the Mandalorian clan 49 86 87 though the final scene was changed slightly when adapted to television 83 Her audition dialogue included the Armorer s line This is the Way which would become one of the most popular lines of the series 49 86 The casting company made clear the character would be masked in case some actors opposed having their faces concealed 88 89 Swallow previously did mask training in graduate school acting classes at New York University Tisch School of the Arts 5 88 90 but this marked the first time she had used the training on television 88 91 92 which she called an interesting challenge 49 88 93 Favreau believed Swallow s mask training was evident in her performance 91 In preparation for the role Swallow re watched the original Star Wars films 94 which she admired 95 96 saying I still get so completely swept up in them in the heart of them and so to be a part of that legacy is incredible 95 She also watched shows like Star Wars The Clone Wars which she had not seen before 97 and she tried to conduct internet research about the history of the Mandalorians 83 94 but found it difficult because as soon as you google anything related to Star Wars there are infinite rabbit holes you can go down 94 so she regularly questioned The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni about the history of Star Wars and whether certain actions were consistent with the continuity 94 98 99 Due to his past work in other Star Wars series Swallow called him an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge and said it was a comfort to be able to draw upon his expertise 98 99 Although Swallow herself is American the voice she uses for the Armorer has elements of British and Mid Atlantic accents 60 This stemmed in part from her audition when a casting associate asked her to try some takes with a British accent since they had mostly been considering British actresses for the role before her 72 78 80 Swallow had experience performing with a British accent from her theater work as well as on the animated series Castlevania 80 She also partially modeled the Armorer s voice after characters from the Lord of the Rings film series 60 Swallow believes the Armorer s accent conveys authority and mystery 60 78 though she added Maybe it s because I m American that I think that it s so interesting 60 Swallow also brought a subtlety to the part that she said was influenced to a certain extent by her previous work on the television series Supernatural where she played a powerful primordial entity named Amara Swallow said while playing the part she realized Amara seemed more powerful if her movements were minimal and deliberate and she applied this same approach to the Armorer 100 Swallow drew some inspiration for her performance as the Armorer from the personality of Deborah Chow who directed the episode Chapter 3 The Sin and was the first woman to direct a live action Star Wars story 2 3 101 Swallow said she particularly drew from Chow s intense curiosity 3 102 as well as the way she conveyed authority and commanded a room in a very graceful and simple way 3 101 102 Swallow felt the Armorer had this same effect by the way particularly by the way she breaks up the fight in Chapter 3 The Sin without even raising her voice 2 59 Swallow said she did not realize how much Chow influenced her performance and interpretation of the Armorer until later when reporters asked her about the origins of the character 101 Chow did not know this herself until informed by a reporter after which she said it was a great compliment 103 Chow has praised Swallow s performance and called the Armorer such a great character 104 Costume edit The Armorer costume is predominantly red body armor 6 along with a gold helmet punctuated with tiny horn like spikes 12 16 105 The helmet has a T shaped visor similar to those of all Mandalorians as first featured on the popular Star Wars character Boba Fett 106 However Vanity Fair writer Anthony Breznican observed that her helmet is more ornate and elegant than those of other Mandalorian characters on the series which he believed was meant to communicate an aura of leadership and regality It is stylized more like an ancient Spartan warrior than the others particularly around the visor 3 107 The costume also includes thick red gloves for welding and foundry work 108 as well as a fur shoulder piece 3 9 which Emily Swallow said she liked but it sure doesn t seem very practical for somebody who is surrounded by fire all the time 3 The costume tapers below the waist in a fashion similar to a skirt though one with what Swallow calls a strong powerful quality that doesn t call too much attention to itself 68 The Armorer s costume took several weeks to make Swallow called it an incredible process 109 and was impressed by the attention to detail 110 Swallow first saw sketches of the costume a few weeks before filming began and she said my breath was taken away 111 adding I feel like it s one of the most amazing combinations of elegant and powerful that I ve ever seen in a costume 68 The costume was designed to give the character a sense of regality and communicate her position of leadership and authority over the other Mandalorians 112 Pedro Pascal the actor who plays the title character on The Mandalorian jokingly said upon first seeing the Armorer s costume on set Wait a minute why does she get to look so much cooler 3 113 Swallow has said the experience of wearing the costume is not nearly as dignified as it translates on film 3 It was often difficult to move in it 3 and the helmet provided very little peripheral vision 2 114 115 Even simply walking across the room was difficult because of the limited visibility and because Swallow could not look down she often feared she was going to trip 3 102 though her character s deliberately slow walking pace helped avoid doing so 114 116 117 Swallow said I m really glad that it looks as dignified and impressive as it does because being inside of it feels ridiculous 118 She and the other Mandalorian actors would occasionally bump into each other hit their helmets against each other or trip over each other 3 115 116 Swallow said I really hope that at some point they release a bloopers reel because when you put like two or more Mandalorians in a room together chaos ensues 119 Filming edit nbsp Before The Mandalorian Emily Swallow and Pedro Pascal pictured had known each other from the New York theatre scene and both having appeared on the show The Mentalist at the same time All of the Armorer s scenes were filmed and completed more than a year before The Mandalorian was publicly announced 7 111 120 which Swallow described as liberating because she did not feel pressure stemming from publicity or the Star Wars fan community 120 Before shooting began Swallow spent time discussing the character with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni 2 51 121 She was not provided with a detailed backstory about the Armorer but they described for her the inspirations behind the character which she said was useful for her performance 122 Swallow credited Favreau with creating a comfortable and collaborative filming environment in which no one felt pressure despite the enormity of the Star Wars franchise but rather excitement and a desire to make a quality product 123 124 125 Swallow felt there was a magical feeling and giddy playfulness on the set unlike any other she had experienced before 126 and she said it reminded her of being a kid and playing Princess Leia 124 Favreau was present when most of the scenes with the Armorer were shot 127 and Swallow felt he did a good job of keeping everyone on the same consistent path 128 129 130 but also allowing each of the directors to bring their own unique style and abilities to their episodes 127 129 131 Swallow said filming The Mandalorian was the most secretive process in which she had ever been involved 7 132 133 to the point she could not even tell her family or friends what she was making 111 Swallow was initially provided only portions of the episode that involved her character 2 122 134 and only later was she allowed to read the scripts for the full episodes 122 When she wanted to read the scripts she had to access a web portal which tracked when she logged on and for how long 132 During the filming the production staff was even more stringent with secrecy because photos from the set had recently leaked to the Internet 135 and paparazzi photographers were on the rooftops around the studio 136 Whenever Swallow walked around the lot while wearing her costume she had to conceal herself by wearing a black cloak with a hood which she called her cloak of invisibility 135 136 Swallow knew little about the show outside of the scenes specifically involving her character 137 and she did not know certain cast members were even in the show until they were later announced in news releases 138 A microphone was fitted inside the helmet so she could deliver dialogue while filming 49 139 140 Unlike most roles Swallow has played she was not required to wear make up or have her hair styled to portray the Armorer because the character is masked which is something the actress appreciated 49 141 However she wore the helmet and armor costume for up to nine hours at a time during filming 140 The costume was not heavy but the helmet was fitted with foam padding so it fits closely to Swallow s head 49 140 and she occasionally asked to remove the helmet between takes because she felt claustrophobic 140 Portraying emotion was a challenge because her face was completely obscured so she could not use her eyes or facial expressions 142 143 144 During filming she quickly learned that small movements could make a large impact due to the costume which she believed was beneficial for her performance but also presented challenges because minor gestures could become distracting or convey the wrong emotion 2 114 145 During the filming of the first episode in particular Swallow said the actors portraying Mandalorians had to learn on the fly how to master these movements and determine how they appeared on camera 146 Several months of preparation work and rehearsal were done in advance of filming the actual sets 147 The Armorer s scenes for Chapter 1 The Mandalorian and Chapter 3 The Sin were shot concurrently with each other 5 148 149 with episode directors Filoni and Deborah Chow respectively alternating shoots on the set 5 149 150 Swallow said Chow in particular gave her time to try different things and explore the character 3 The Armorer s scenes were filmed on sound stages with settings designed to resemble tunnels and sewers 2 151 Swallow said she and the other actors portraying Mandalorians had to develop a type of language for their masks and armor costumes 142 149 152 She occasionally dropped props like her tongs or hammer due to her thick gloves 49 153 154 Scenes with her hammering metal or putting things into fire took a long time to prepare and film due to mobility challenges with the costume 3 153 The fire was not real but rather a digital effect added later 155 Swallow and the filmmakers spent a considerable amount of time discussing how the Armorer would handle the beskar steel in Chapter 3 The Sin including such details as how she could look at it and stack it Since the material is an important part of Mandalorian culture and history the character treats it with a type of reverence but it is also tainted due to its previous association with the Empire with the filmmakers comparing it to Nazi gold Swallow felt her character s handling of the steel purified it and returned it to its past noble standing 156 The Armorer s fight scene against five stormtroopers at the end of Chapter 8 Redemption was performed by stunt performer Lauren Mary Kim 6 70 71 The Armorer s combat style in the scene was inspired by the Filipino martial art known as Kali It was the Armorer s only moment in the first season in which Swallow was not the one wearing the costume for the entirety of the scene Swallow told the show s fight coordinator that she would be willing to undertake martial arts training and perform a portion of the scene but she was told the stunts would require years of training Swallow trained in Kali for a few weeks and did as much as possible such as the transitions before and after the fight scene 6 70 Swallow and Pedro Pascal knew each other prior to filming The Mandalorian They were familiar with each other through the New York theatre scene and both appeared on the show The Mentalist at the same time 157 158 159 Swallow was a fan of Taika Waititi who directed Chapter 8 Redemption and she expressed her admiration for him and his work but tried not to be too effusive because she said the Armorer doesn t really fangirl I think 160 In the first season finale The Armorer appeared in scenes with the animatronic puppet used to portray The Child who became a viral sensation with fans and became affectionately known as Baby Yoda 161 162 Swallow said she fell in love with it like everybody else 2 163 adding I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it I just wanted to snuggle it 162 164 Swallow met Star Wars creator George Lucas during one of her filming days after he visited the set as a surprise for Favreau s birthday 114 165 166 Sometime after her scenes were filmed she did dubbing for parts of her dialogue in a recording studio in New York 167 168 Cultural impact editCritical reception edit The Armorer has been received positively by fans and reviewers alike and has been described as a fan favorite 133 169 170 Narayan Liu of Comic Book Resources called the Armorer the strongest character on The Mandalorian and described her fight with stormtroopers at the end of the season finale as one of her greatest moments in the show so far Liu wrote There are a wide variety of bounty hunters and trained soldiers that appear throughout the series but the Armorer is unmatched 24 Brian Silliman of Syfy Wire called the Armorer one of the more interesting characters featured thus far in The Mandalorian and a fantastic addition to the lore of the galaxy far far away 2 He complimented Emily Swallow s ability to portray emotion despite her face being concealed and was particularly impressed by how Swallow and Pedro Pascal forge an emotional connection in their scenes despite both wearing masks 171 Charlie Ridgely of Comicbook com said fans became invested in the Armorer from her first appearance and that she gained more depth as the series progressed He described her as the most mysterious and intriguing of the Mandalorian characters 6 as well as one of the most dangerous characters in the show 161 Judith Anne Dela Cruz of Epicstream called the Armorer an intriguing character writing There s definitely tons of cool characters in The Mandalorian but a number of Star Wars fans have their eyes drawn to The Armorer 70 Armaan Babu of MEA WorldWide wrote The Mandalorian introduces a wide array of new characters to the Star Wars universe but perhaps none so commanding as The Armorer 5 Matt Berger called the Armorer one of the biggest surprises from the series premiere of The Mandalorian and that her crafting of the Mandalorian armor was one of the most mesmerizing sequences of the episode He also wrote that the Armorer had one of the most unique looks to any Mandalorian that the Star Wars world has ever seen 16 Q V Hough of Screen Rant said the Armorer played a small but integral role noting her importance in advancing the story and setting the Mandalorian on his path 1 Nick Venable of CinemaBlend said he was intrigued by the interpersonal relationship between the Armorer and the Mandalorian 17 Charles Ridgely of Comicbook com praised Lauren May Kim s stunt work as the Armorer describing her fight scene with stormtroopers in Chapter 8 Redemption as epic and saying she had fans jumping out of their seats 71 Screen Rant writer Jessie Atkin expressed hope that the Armorer would return for the second season of The Mandalorian and that additional details about the character and her backstory would be provided 172 The Armorer was ranked seventh on a Screen Rant list of the most interesting characters from the first season of The Mandalorian 42 eighth on a separate list of the ten best characters from the show 173 and third on a list of 10 Characters We Hope To See Return In Season 2 105 Additionally the Armorer s armor was ranked tenth on a Screen Rant list of the ten best costumes in the first season of The Mandalorian 174 Swallow said most of the direct feedback she has received and seen about the Armorer has been positive 175 176 177 She has attended Star Wars fan conventions since the release of the show and said she has been greeted with so much joy and positivity particularly from young girls who appreciated that the Armorer is a badass warrior 176 Swallow said she has been particularly impressed by fan art of the character that she had been sent on social media including drawings of the Armorer and models constructed resembling her armor 169 175 178 Swallow has shared some of this fan art on her own social media account including a drawing of the Armorer fighting stormtroopers 169 and an image of the Armorer making a gesture similar to Rosie the Riveter in the We Can Do It poster 179 Although Swallow has appeared in franchises with large fanbases before such as Supernatural she said the level of fandom for Star Wars was bigger than anything she had ever done 180 Swallow said it has been liberating to portray a character in a mask because there is no attention paid to her physical appearance in reviews and among fans 181 182 saying Nobody cares how I look They love the character so much and it s really kind of freeing 181 Unlike on Supernatural Swallow does not get recognized in public for her connection with The Mandalorian which she enjoys 183 The line This is the Way first spoken by the Armorer and repeated by her several times throughout her appearances became one of the most popular and oft quoted lines of dialogue from The Mandalorian 55 184 185 Silliman said even after just one week the line was being spoken everywhere 55 Fans often request that Swallow write the catchphrase when she signs autographs 184 Swallow said she first realized the line was a hit when she attended the premiere of The Mandalorian in Los Angeles on November 13 During a screening of Chapter 3 The Sin when one of the Mandalorians says This is the Way during the final climactic battle the entire audience repeated the line back to the screen after which Swallow said OK I think we have something here 186 She said of the phrase It s pretty fun to have something that seems to be lodged in people s psyche as a real phrase for all The Mandalorian people 184 There has been a great deal of speculation among fans as to the identity of the Armorer Some have theorized she is Sabine Wren a Mandalorian warrior and one of the main cast members of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels 187 Others have argued the horns on her golden helmet and the red color of her armor are references to Darth Maul a Star Wars antagonist who at one time ruled the Mandalorians Maul is a member of the species Zabrak all of whom have an array of small horns atop their heads similar to those on the Armorer s helmet leading to speculation she may be a Zabrak herself or at the very least a former member of the Shadow Collective 12 16 105 188 Following the airing of Chapter 23 The Spies several reviewers and fans started speculating that the character could actually be revealed as a villain specifically as a spy of Moff Gideon given how Moff Gideon wore a horned Mandalorian helmet reminiscent of hers in addition to claims of how the Armorer had had a share of mysterious actions since her very first appearance in the series premiere up to that point such as sending Din Djarin to look for a Jedi alongside Grogu in a search that culminated in Gideon capturing Grogu disappearing after Gideon s forces attack Nevarro in the first season finale until resurfacing in a space station in the show s spin off The Book of Boba Fett telling Djarin to redeem himself by bathing in Mandalore s waters despite those waters supposedly no longer existing flexibly allowing Bo Katan Kryze to join her coven despite the years of animosity between her Mandalorians and Bo Katan s volunteering to go to Mandalore with the Mandalorians led by Djarin and Kryze despite never leaving for any missions conveniently not being with her people when Gideon ambushes them at the Great Forge Gideon being aware of their combined fleet despite Mandalore s atmosphere interfering with any comms and Gideon having beskar Mandalorian armors forged for his forces all these instances have been deemed as purported foreshadowings to reveal the character s true allegiances in the third season finale 189 190 191 The possibility of the Armorer turning out to be a villain led fan speculation to reinforce the theory that the Armorer could be The Clone Wars character Rook Kast who was an ally of Darth Maul who knew about the existence of the Death Watch and the Jedi though such possibility would cause questions on how Kast escaped from Bo Katan s imprisonment at the end of the Clone Wars why would Bo Katan not recognize her voice or if the Children of the Watch derived themselves from the Shadow Collective 188 Others however theorized that the Armorer could turn out to not be evil and instead give up her life to save her people with some other character like Axe Woves the Armorer s Tribe and the Nite Owls actually collaborating with Gideon s Imperial remnant all this time or even the Armorer and Gideon themselves being former Death Watch members who supported Maul like Gar Saxon and who have been manipulating all Mandalorians with a fake creed 190 191 Merchandise edit A Funko Pop figurine of the Armorer was announced on December 31 2019 192 193 194 A Star Wars The Black Series action figure was released during Hasbro s September 2020 PulseCon 195 References editCitations edit a b c d e f g h Hough Q V December 30 2019 The Mandalorian Who Plays The Armorer Screen Rant Archived from the original on December 31 2019 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l Silliman Brian November 27 2019 The Mandalorian s Emily Swallow on the Armorer s secrets and the Baby Yoda puppet Syfy Wire Archived from the original on December 24 2019 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Breznican Anthony November 22 2019 The Armorer Unmasking The Mandalorian s Mysterious Blacksmith Vanity Fair Archived from the original on December 5 2019 Retrieved 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2019 7 58 8 45 Swallow And that I just love that she cause we get to see little hints of that with our hero with our main man Mandalorian you know that she s referencing things from the past and it seems like she probably knows something about his past specifically but she s a smart one man and she s very patient and she s not going to reveal anything to him too soon cause I think she sort of sees that he needs time to discover a lot of these things on his journey And so that s definitely interesting for those of us who are watching because I do so many people have said to me It seems like she knows so much and she s revealing so little And I love that it s so much fun a b c d e f g h i j Denholm 2020 p 30 a b Evans Kiki January 23 2020 The Mandalorian Characters Sorted Into Their Hogwarts Houses Screen Rant Retrieved January 23 2020 a b c d e f Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 64 38 65 25 Swallow When I talked with Jon and Dave before we started shooting Jon talked a lot about Kurosawa and those films which was something I guess George Lucas also drew from when he was making the original movies And he talked about the samurai and the simplicity of movement and the efficiency of movement and kind of that unwavering authority that doesn t have to push too hard And I love that about her and I feel like that s sort of what lets us know that she knows a lot more than she s letting on And she will reveal it in good time but no one s going to get any information out of her without her being good and ready a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 28 17 29 05 Swallow And that s also something that spoke to my heart so deeply with this character that she cares so deeply about reminding these sort of I mean the Mandalorian are a bit orphaned right now they don t really have a place to be where they feel safe and she connects them to who they are and to these codes that are so important to them and reminds them that even when like there s danger and there s a bit of distress and they don t know who they can trust they can always go back to this code and if they stick to this code they are sticking to the core of who they are and they have each other It is a family a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 29 51 30 06 Swallow The Armorer I think is trying to keep the Mandalorians that are there grounded in who they are and what is important to them because if they don t have that what else do they have in the universe that has been a little bit of chaos right now a b Ridgely Charlie January 24 2020 Star Wars The Mandalorian Star Emily Swallow Calls Season 2 Unexpected Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 25 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b c Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 22 32 23 01 Silliman Your catchphrase that you gave birth to under it that says This is the way Sparrow Oh my god Silliman Which Star Wars catchphrases are created fairly easily but when that line came up were you at all aware that that would go the distance Because even in a week it s everywhere Sparrow I felt like it could It felt I mean it felt pretty important to me But yeah I had no idea that it would have the impact it did Swallow 2020 8 47 8 58 I did go in knowing that this character was like the leader of these people that were in hiding and were kind of like a spiritual guide in a sense and somebody who has this calm quiet authority Swallow amp Gordon 2020 26 35 27 05 Swallow And I do think I mean there s lots of strong Mandalorian women that are in the Clone Wars and the animated series but in terms of the like the Star Wars movies and now this it s I think one of the first times that the more spiritual leader is a woman Because usually that s Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda And they ve been dudes There s absolutely nothing wrong with that a b Swallow amp Gordon 2020 27 36 28 06 Swallow She is like the coolest presence in the room that she commands authority without I mean I don t think anyone was aware that she was capable of the force that she shows in that last episode and I love that that it just kind of comes out of nowhere because she doesn t need to use it the rest of the time Gordon No she just walks in the room and everyone is silent and everyone just commands respect at the very sight All the other Mandalorians there just immediately fall and follow that respect of that leader a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 14 31 15 05 Swallow I loved especially in that scene in episode three when there s this fight breaking out right next to her a lot of like metal armor clanking together guys being guys like she doesn t raise her voice She sits there and lets it play out she stops it at exactly the right moment and she s able to calm everybody in that room down without being forceful and that is something I think I saw Deb do It was really useful for the Armorer a b c d e f Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 70 02 70 53 Swallow Adding some element of like a mid Atlantic or British dialect to me definitely conveys authority I mean I thought a lot about like Lord of the Rings and characters that I d seen in that And I think that also to me that contributes to the mystery I don t know why Maybe it s because I m American that I think that it s so interesting Breznican Well it does sound more sophisticated You know it s a very sophisticated kind of British accent A very educated person She s not a cockney from the you know the back streets of London She s from Oxford Swallow I think it s so interesting that it s yeah it s sort of that educated voice in this warrior figure There s just a lot of seeming contradictions about her that I love a b c Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 65 25 66 19 Breznican It s interesting that the Armorer is considered the leader Normally like a blacksmith would be just a trade worker you know But that is what the leader of this group does Did they discuss much about that dynamic and why that s the case I guess because the armor is such a key part of who a Mandalorian is Swallow Yeah I think because the Mandalorians were traditionally the warrior part of their tradition is so important to them So I think that s probably one of the reasons that she is held in such esteem And then also because she s the one who makes all this armor she sort of has it makes sense to me that she would also be the one who is sort of the keeper of their history and the keeper of their ritual because she actually has a record based on what it is that she s made and the armor that she s had to replace and the battles that these warriors have gone through Acebedo Bayani Miguel November 14 2019 Star Wars Emily Swallow Reveals More About Her Mandalorian Armorer Epicstream Retrieved February 9 2020 a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 6 57 7 58 Swallow So I mean I personally I assume that she was just another Mandalorian within the clan of Mandalorians but I think that she probably comes from a tradition of these armor makers and I think that the armor makers because they have this physical log of battles and everything based on the pieces that they ve replace and the signets that they ve made they are necessarily sort of the keepers of the history of the people and I think that in this time with the fall of the Empire and with the Mandalorians especially the clan that we get to see that they re in hiding and it s incredibly important for somebody to hold on to that history so that it s not lost So I think that you know she came from a line of people who did that but now in these circumstances that s even more important a b Lowry T S February 6 2020 The untold truth of Mandalorians Looper com Archived from the original on February 6 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b c d Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 69 10 69 49 Breznican Making the leader of these Mandalorians a woman it is striking and significant in a way So what did they tell you about why they made that decision without again making a big fuss about it or making it seem unusual Swallow I think they just sort of felt like Why not You know it could go either way and it s something that I know we ve seen in the animated series There have been a lot of powerful Mandalorian women But we haven t gotten to see that as much in the live action Star Wars And so maybe that played into it a little bit But I don t think there was like a I think it was just sort of like Well it could be a woman or a man Wouldn t it be interesting if it was a woman a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 29 01 29 42 Swallow They talked about and I think even George Lucas he was super interested in Kurosawa films and the rituals of the samurai and that formality and that order and that sort of spiritual aspect That was something that Jon talked about right away with the Armorer and how she is sort of a spiritual figure for this clan that s in hiding And you know we talked about the importance of ritual and the importance of their code and the importance of all these things that are central to their people and that have sort of gotten lost because they ve been overthrown Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 6 28 6 57 Swallow Jon talked a lot about and this is something that George Lucas was really enamored of as well he talked about Kurosawa films and the you know the order of the samurai and the the status of some of the warriors in that culture and the regality and formality and the deliberateness of movement a b c Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 68 28 69 00 Swallow Jon talked about how they discussed this character they decided to make it a woman but they didn t want to make it a big deal that they re were making a woman and I love that about it too That like clearly she is a female and she even sort of has a skirt but even that like has such a strong powerful quality that doesn t call too much attention to it I feel like it s one of the most amazing combinations of elegant and powerful that I ve ever seen in a costume Swallow amp Gordon 2020 26 18 26 35 Swallow I really appreciate that she s a woman but it s not a big deal that she s a woman Gordon Yeah it doesn t matter Swallow It s just matter of fact And Jon s decision to make her a woman was just kind of like they were creating this character and they were like Well why not a b c d Dela Cruz Judith Anne January 23 2020 Emily Swallow Says She Did All of The Armorer s Scenes in The Mandalorian Except One Epicstream Retrieved February 8 2020 a b c Ridgely Charlie December 30 2019 Star Wars The Mandolorian Fans Are Giving it Up for the Real Heroes of the Show Comicbook com Archived from the original on December 31 2019 Retrieved January 23 2020 a b c Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 62 10 6241 Swallow So I really had very little information I had a couple of scenes and they were very bizarre You know I didn t have anything to attach it to But in some ways I m so glad for that now like now seeing what this has become and how huge it is and how exciting it is because I didn t really get that worked up about it And I remember just being in the room with a casting associate and doing it a few different ways on tape And at one point he said You know why don t you try it with a British accent because I guess they had mostly being seeing Brits for the role Swallow 2019 10 05 10 43 When I auditioned for it I did not know what I was auditioning for It had a code name The character that was listed in the scene was anything that was at all familiar to me And I knew that it must be something along the lines of like superheroes or something Disney related because you get a lot of fake scripts and stuff for auditions but I did not know what I was auditioning for And even after I got cast they were very vague about it It had a code name and my agents were like we think we know what this is but it was sort of one of those things that We can neither confirm nor deny a b c Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 63 34 64 10 Swallow I can actually probably I m going to look up the audition email on my computer and tell you what information I had Breznican Real time research here This is good Swallow Yeah Oh here we go OK Recurring role of Armorer in the Disney streaming service straight to series Untitled High Budget BREZNICAN That s that s what it the code name High Budget Project Got it Swallow So they said about her Leader Strong Zen but with authority And that was it Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 24 25 24 39 Busch Did you even know you were trying out for a Star Wars TV show Swallow I knew that it might be It was my agent said We think this is what this is but we re not really being told Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 26 03 26 40 Giannakopoulos So when you went for your audition did you know that you were auditioning for Star Wars Swallow I did not My agent said they thought it might be you know It had a code name but there was nothing in it that even remotely related to Star Wars And so I thought Oh OK well that s interesting But like I knew at that point nothing about The Mandalorian had been announced so I didn t have anything to attach the audition to to even know like even if it was Star Wars I didn t really know what I was getting into a b Swallow 2020 8 08 8 35 I had a vague idea what it might be My agent said We think this is something to do with Star Wars but it was very very secretive At this point you know I d gone in for plenty of things that have like fake scenes and fake names so you kind of just say OK I m going to treat this like I would any other audition and kind of make the connections that I think I can make and not worry about the rest a b c Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 25 16 26 00 Swallow But I also I m so grateful to the casting office that was running the audition Sarah Finn Sarah Finn Casting because they gave me a little more backstory about like the elements of this character that were important to this scene and the kind of authority that she did have over the other people in the room And then they were the ones that suggested that I do it I guess they mostly had been seeing Brits for the role so they suggested that I do a take with a British accent and that sort of stuck We decided it gave her another air of mystery and sort of authority to have that Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 26 04 26 19 Swallow It was a really really mundane audition Like I didn t know what I was getting myself into and I m so glad because you know I would ve been worked up about it I would ve been nervous and usually that means you don t do as well if all those things are happening a b c Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 26 50 27 23 Swallow My audition was so incredibly low key I went in for the casting office and went on tape with one of the casting associates and I did the scene there were a couple of scenes and I did them and then I remember he said You know we ve mostly been seeing Brits for this role so why don t you do a take with a British accent And so I was like All right yeah I ll do that Because I d done that plenty I did that on Castlevania I did that plenty in theater so I was like Sure Schmidt JK November 23 2019 Star Wars The Mandalorian Actress Details the Secretive Audition Process Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 12 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 27 40 28 00 Swallow But yeah I did the scenes it was with this casting associate and nobody else and then they started to reveal a little bit more about it when they offered it to me but at that point like they d hardly cast anyone There so weren t really big names attached yet a b c d Bernardini Gabrielle November 12 2019 Emily Swallow Teases Disney Series The Mandalorian There Is A lot More Moral Ambiguity Exclusive Distractify Archived from the original on November 13 2019 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 28 00 28 21 So I still didn t quite know what I was getting into which I m really glad for because I shot all of my stuff a year ago before the series was ever announced before anyone involved with it was ever announced and I m so grateful for that because I think that it really let me work in a way where I like I didn t have to feel the pressure of being part of this huge thing Swallow 2020 8 35 8 47 I m really glad for that because with the Mandalorian I mean I had no idea how big it would be and I m glad because I think it would ve been a lot more stressful a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 24 39 24 54 Swallow But that line This is the Way I remember being in my audition scene Silliman Really Swallow The scene that I auditioned with was some version of that scene in the third episode where the fight breaks out Swallow 2020 8 58 9 11 And my audition scene was pretty similar to that scene in the third episode where she s kind of bringing down the hammer in a very polite way with the Mandalorians that are getting ornery and trying to fight with each other a b c d Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 64 20 64 37 Breznican Did you know it would be a masked character Swallow I did They made that clear in the audition in case I was like No way I m gonna do that But that was really kind of an interesting challenge to me because I started acting in theater and I did a lot of mask training like when I was in grad school And I d never gotten to use that in television Swallow amp Regan 2020 21 26 21 37 Swallow I knew when I was auditioning that this character was going to be masked and I appreciate because there might be some actors who would be like Nope don t want to do it if you re not going to see my face Swallow amp Gordon 2020 33 37 33 54 Swallow That for me it was really fun I think especially because of my theater background and having done way back in grad school having done mask work and doing a lot of physical work It was really a fun challenge to have to be more aware of that I enjoyed it a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 10 44 11 20 Silliman Do you have any mask background Swallow I do actually I started acting in theater and I got my MSA in acting and part of that is doing mask training and that wound up being incredibly useful you know I d never had to call on that for anything that I d done on television before And I don t even know if they knew that necessarily when they cast me but Jon did say once he found that out he was like Oh it really shows that you kind of know how to use the mask Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 31 52 32 12 Swallow That was very different from anything I d done on TV before and actually let me kind of call back on some of my theater training and mask work that I d done in theater which was really cool because I hadn t gotten to do anything like that on camera before and it turned out that was a useful thing to have Swallow 2020 9 47 9 57 I knew when I auditioned that my face wouldn t be seen but I didn t know exactly what the mask and all of that were going to look like and I really enjoyed the challenge a b c d Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 33 00 33 40 Giannakopoulos When you got the role did you go back to watch the original Star Wars again just to prepare yourself for this Swallow Oh yeah Yeah I did that and I tried to educate myself more on the Mandalorian people I knew with the animated series there had been a bit more about that But it was pretty daunting because as soon as you google anything related to Star Wars there are infinite rabbit holes you can go down So I definitely did some poking around but it was helpful to get to talk to Jon and to Dave about what was most important for this story that we were telling a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 24 11 24 24 Swallow I go back and I look at those first movies and I still get so completely swept up in them in the heart of them and so to be a part of that legacy is incredible Swallow amp Jordan 2020 10 42 10 54 Swallow I grew up with those three original movies and so I had like Ewok stuffed animals when I was a kid and of course tried to do the Princess Leia hair and all that And Leia was someone I always always of course someone that I looked up to Swallow amp Jordan 2020 10 55 10 08 Swallow But there was a lot that I have since learned that I didn t know Because I followed all the movies but I hadn t gotten into like The Clone Wars and all of these incredible animated series a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 15 42 16 20 Swallow Well it was super super comforting to have Dave there because he is truly an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge And so there s a lot of things in this world that we re creating anew but there s a lot that s tied to the Star Wars lore and so he just knows everything about every movie every animated series all of the backstory so it was great to have him there and be able to ask him questions and ask Would this be in keeping with this things that s already been established or are we breaking from this thing already established That was really cool a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 33 40 34 18 And we were all super super super lucky to have Dave Filoni as one of the directors and one of the producers because he is just an encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge I don t think I ve ever met anyone I think he probably knows more than the Internet knows about Star Wars So it was helpful to have him to know to really ground ourselves specifically in where we are in the Star Wars timeline for this story and what it means with the events that have preceded and what hasn t happened yet It was great to have that there Swallow amp Gordon 2020 34 18 35 02 Swallow One of the first things that I found when I was working on Amara was that it felt like she would be a lot more powerful if she moved very minimally Because it felt like when you have somebody who s that powerful I think trying to like show it by making these big movements it just like you don t buy the power at all You re like Oh no you don t have anything And so maybe that was something you know having worked on Amara for a season and because again once again Emily in real life is not still I am always in motion But kind of trusting that minimal movement and that efficiency and economy was definitely useful for the Armorer as well So that s sort of a point of connection for the two of them a b c Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 14 17 14 31 Swallow It was more of a feeling and you know honestly I didn t even really think about the fact that I had drawn from her until people started asking me about it But it was partly because you know I was I there were definitely days when it felt a little overwhelming to have all of this stuff on And I didn t know if what I was trying to communicate was translating and the way that she spoke with me and the way I saw her command a room was just so I think I said this before like she commands authority without any effort There was this ease that I saw to the way she directed that I think just draws people to her You know she draws you in and that was something that I thought I think I saw in her and I recognized that that could be useful to the Armorer a b c Lovett Jamie November 23 2019 The Mandalorian Star Secretly Hopes a Blooper Reel Gets Released Comicbook com Archived from the original on November 27 2019 Retrieved February 9 2020 Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 81 26 82 00 Breznican I asked about working with you and she said Oh you know I m really glad I got to work with Deborah so early in the development of this character because I put a lot of her presence on set into the Armorer and I wondered if she discussed that with you Chow Seriously Oh my God Breznican That s what she said yeah She said you have this very like you have control of the room but it s a very calm control Chow Oh my God She s never said she never told me that Wow OK Well that s great That s a huge compliment Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 82 26 82 30 Chow But she was awesome She was great and it s such a great character a b c Sherlock Ben January 20 2020 The Mandalorian 10 Characters We Hope To See Return In Season 2 Screen Rant Archived from the original on January 21 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Kessler Robert December 12 2019 The Mandalorian Looking So Like Boba Fett Doesn t Make Sense Screen Rant Archived from the original on January 2 2020 Retrieved February 10 2020 Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 67 09 67 25 Breznican Her armor is very interesting It has a real Spartan quality to it The ancient Spartan mask is very similar to the way the eye slits are cut It s also just maybe more ornate and elegant than the other masks Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 9 24 9 53 Swallow I was wearing those fantastic gloves for welding and to protect me but it was so hard for me to actually pick things up And there were so many takes of you know I spent a lot of time doing these sequences with the hammering and the putting the metal in the fire and forging things and there were so many times when they needed me to pick something up and I just couldn t get a grip on it or I would drop it Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 24 52 25 12 Swallow He brought together all these incredible craftsmen to make the props to make the costumes I mean my costume took weeks and weeks and weeks to make and to see them as they were assembling it was really just such an incredible process Swallow 2019 29 55 30 20 What was really remarkable to me was seeing the attention to detail with every little thing Like with all of the props that my character handled getting to talk to the people who made them and find out how much attention and care they put into it So it s stuff that looks incredible on a large scale but then when you do get to look at it up close it s just completely unbelievable a b c Thompson Avery December 14 2019 The Mandalorian s Emily Swallow Reveals The Role Of The Armorer Is A Full Circle Moment For Her Hollywood Life Archived from the original on January 3 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 67 51 68 07 Swallow I don t know everything about the specifics of why they chose all of the details but I do know there was this attempt to sort of communicating a bit of regality and that she is in a position of leadership over them Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 67 26 67 46 Breznican Can you talk to me about what her costume reveals about who she is Swallow I love that there are those little changes that are so impactful I mean I remember when Pedro saw my mask he was like Wait a minute why does she get to look so much cooler a b c d Lee Jess December 26 2019 The Mandalorian s Armorer star reveals what it s like wearing that armour Digital Spy Archived from the original on January 1 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 30 28 30 48 Swallow I really hope that have a bloopers reel at some point because I have to tell you you get two people that are dressed as Mandalorians in a room together it will inevitably run into each other and bonk helmets and trip over things because we have like no peripheral vision a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 9 53 10 10 Swallow I tripped on things so many times So it was really to my advantage that the Armorer does move very slowly because that kept me from quite as many collisions that I might have had Busch I was going to say I imagine you guys are running into each other all the time Swallow Oh yeah totally Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 32 24 32 35 Swallow I m really glad that the Armorer is a deliberate and fairly slow moving Mandalorain because that made it easier for me to avoid running into things Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 30 11 30 28 Giannakopoulos How was it actually having that armor on Swallow Well I m really glad that it looks as dignified and impressive as it does because being inside of it feels ridiculous Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 9 11 9 24 Swallow I keep saying I hope I really hope that at some point they release a bloopers reel because when you put like two or more Mandalorians in a room together chaos ensues Because we have like no peripheral vision you know a b Swallow amp Regan 2020 17 47 18 15 Swallow With the Mandalorian I actually shot all of my work before the show was even announced and that was so liberating because you know I knew that I was part of something that was part of a big project but I hadn t heard anything about it in the news there was no fan reaction because nobody knew it was being made So that was great that was a huge relief Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 28 41 29 01 And it really it actually wasn t until I got to set like a couple of days before shooting where I got to like sit down and talk with Jon and Dave Filoni about who this character was I mean in detail And they gave me some really great jumping off points because they talked about a b c Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 5 40 6 28 Busch Did they provide you with a backstory when you first started with the character or was it just Swallow They did not provide me with like a oh well I mean I had It goes beyond that First I had the scenes and no bigger scripts and then I was allowed to read the scripts for my episode and then I was allowed to read a few more scripts but most of what I got came from talking with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and they didn t go so far as to assume me like OK this is exactly like where the armorer came from and where she s going but they told me a lot about where the inspiration for the character came from which was incredibly helpful to me Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 11 27 11 45 Swallow I just have to give so much credit to the environment that Jon created for everybody because we felt like we had even though there were a million things happening at once we all were very well aware that it was a lot of money being put into this and that we had the potential to make something really great It never felt like we were under pressure a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 25 12 26 02 Swallow And it was just such a fun set to work on I mean I think it s such a testament to Jon and the rest of the team that even though there was a lot of anticipation about it and a lot of pressure because it was Disney s sort of flagship series for this new streaming thing but it never felt that way It never felt like Uh oh we better not mess up It just felt like You know what We re going to make something really cool and we re going to put our hearts into it and we re going to play It really did bring me back to being a kid and playing Princess Leia and creating that make believe myself I feel like being on set and the process of shooting was just so much fun and it was so playful Swallow 2019 28 19 29 19 One of the coolest things to me about working on this even with all of the mystery and all of the things I didn t know from the first day I got to set there was just this feeling of child like excitement amongst everybody because of how much we all love the Star Wars universe and how excited we were to get to play in that world And it felt like even with all of the money and all the expensive sets and special effects and you re not allowed to say this or that the thing that bound everyone together was just the feeling of really childlike glee that we were going to get to play in this world And that was really cool that it didn t feel like it was some big serious capital B capital D big deal We were just there to play and to create something really cool and that was awesome and I definitely credit that to Jon that he was able to create that atmosphere and put everyone at ease so that they could do their best work Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 20 08 20 37 Swallow And that was a feeling that was so special too on set It sort of felt like I mean we had incredible craftsmen working on the props and working on the costume and working on the sets and everybody is kind off at the top of their field and just had this giddy playfulness because we were all getting to play in the Star Wars universe and that which was unlike anything I ever felt on a set before It was really I mean I keep saying it was magical but it was it was magical a b Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 16 28 17 16 Swallow Jon even though he didn t direct any of the episodes he was there at least for the episodes I worked on he was there most of the time He is just such an incredible leader And I loved watching how he allowed the directors to have their own style and to bring their own thing to it and he never like he made sure we were all on the same page in terms of the story we were telling but then he let the individual directors tell the story the way that they wanted to and I think that s so smart because he chose such incredible directors who have established their own style And I think it s fun to get to see that from episode to episode some of the differences in the way they told the story Swallow amp Regan 2020 24 41 25 06 Swallow It s incredible working with him He in addition to being so smart and so creative he s also so kind and gracious and humble and he just brings everyone together and makes sure that everyone s on the same page makes sure that we all know what the greater picture is of what we re creating so from episode to episode linking people back to what the overall story was a b Swallow 2020 13 10 13 56 He s such an incredible team leader and I think he s so great at establishing a spirit of collaboration and faithfulness and making sure that everyone s on the same page and everyone s playing in the same world One of the things I heard that I really saw come across was that he hired these directors who all have very different styles and he encouraged them to direct their episodes using their own styles but also they all talked and they all shared ideas and they all communicated about What is this overall arc in this season And What is the main thrust of this story that we want to be communicating And I think he s so great at listening to people and encouraging these ideas to come out Swallow amp Gordon 2020 21 33 22 07 Swallow Jon Favreau is just I mean he s incredibly smart and creative but he s also the part that you don t know until you work with him that he s just such an incredible team leader and he s so great at bringing together an ensemble of people and getting everyone on the same page and getting everyone focused on the same vision while also welcoming everyone in all of their creative uniqueness and all of their eccentricities and inviting people to not to feel like they need to fit into any mold Swallow amp Regan 2020 25 06 25 41 Swallow And also I think he s such a great leader because he encourages people s individual talents I think he trusts that once everyone knows OK what s the feel of this whole season and what s the tone we re trying to create he really trusted each director to direct in their own individual style and to use things that they re particularly good at And I think he does that with actors too I mean like he kind of finds what it is that makes you tick and helps you use that more and more to serve the character a b Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 28 26 28 41 Swallow Oh my gosh I ve never had such a secretive process of like getting scripts Like I had to log in to this online portal and every time I wanted to read one of the scripts it would like register that I had logged in and how much time I was online and all of this stuff a b The Mandalorian Actress Talks About Playing the Armorer News 13 January 16 2020 Archived from the original on January 17 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow 2019 11 35 11 46 I did not get to read entire scripts I got to read my scenes and he sort of talked to me about how my scenes fit into the greater thing a b Swallow 2020 21 44 22 07 When I was shooting was right around the time that some pictures had been leaked of I think Stormtroopers or something so we were on total lockdown Between my dressing room and the set I had to wear I called him our cloaks of invisibility They were these black cloaks with hoods and we had to completely cover up our costumes any time we were walking around the lot a b Swallow 2019 31 38 32 07 We were at the point on the lot where if we were in costume and we were walking outside like if we had to walk outside to get between sets or something we had to put on these black cloaks that I started to call our cloaks of invisibility because there were paparazzi that were on rooftops nearby trying to take pictures and stuff and there were some pictures that leaked So they were just trying as much as possible to keep it secret Swallow amp Gordon 2020 21 26 21 33 Swallow While we were making it even though I knew so little about anything that didn t involve my character Swallow 2019 11 46 11 59 It s been trippy because there are some actors involved that I had no idea they were involved until I saw a press release because if I m not in a scene with them then I don t even know they re in it Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 70 55 71 06 Breznican Tell me about performing her So you re in the costume Is your dialogue being recorded Is there a microphone inside the helmet Are you being recorded separately Swallow There s a microphone inside the helmet yeah a b c d Swallow amp Regan 2020 22 40 23 22 Swallow On the front end it was a lot easier but then after like eight or nine hours of wearing the helmet and the armor it was not quite as freeing Regan Is it heavy Swallow Not really heavy but because we had to have a microphone inside the helmet it needed to not move around and so there was a lot of like padding inside that made it fit pretty closely to my head so it was sort of you know just felt a little bit like constricting Regan Yeah yeah I would imagine you can even get that claustrophobic feel in it Swallow Yeah yeah a little bit There were definitely times when A lot of the time I would just keep the helmet on between takes because it was such a to do to get it on and off that on long days I just needed to get out of it every once in a while Swallow amp Regan 2020 22 01 22 32 Regan You didn t have to wear any make up though right Swallow Oh man yeah I mean that was like it s ridiculous but that was one part that I got so excited about because normally I have to get to set like two hours before I shoot to go through hair and makeup For this the most high maintenance part of it was I needed someone to help me into the armor like I couldn t do it myself So I was called like half an hour before we had to shoot and it was brilliant that way a b Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 71 23 71 55 Swallow And so um we were all sort of learning on the fly like what the language of these Mandalorian masks was because we realized I mean of course you can t see our eyes you can t see our mouths you can t see the normal ways of communicating emotion And we learned that very small movements had a huge impact Which is great but which is also a challenge because you can wind up communicating something that you don t even want to Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 12 08 12 31 Swallow The obvious thing that you can t emote with your eyes or your face or anything but also that really tiny movements can have great value and that could be wonderful or that could be potentially very confusing in a scene If you had a little twitch that draws the eye could wind up totally distracting from what you re trying to do in the scene Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 30 48 31 05 Swallow It s so interesting to work in a mask and work in armor like that because you realize that all these things that you re used to using to communicate your eyes and your mouth and a tilt of the head and your hands all of those things are covered up Swallow 2020 10 24 10 52 Since you can t see our faces you quickly realize that every move that you make tells some sort of story so you have to decide Is that the story I want to be telling or is that distracting for the story It was a pretty cool challenge because I d never gotten to do anything like that in television So I enjoyed it I liked not having access to my normal facial expressions getting to raise an eyebrow or give a little wink or something It s kind of cool Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 31 05 31 50 Swallow And so especially with this first episode when we were first starting to shoot and we were first starting to see like OK how do these Mandalorians what story is told in their movement when you see it on camera And that was a really interesting thing to learn on the fly as we were shooting and to gather information about All right if I try to like if I m walking across the room and I try to glance down to see where I m going that actually looks huge because I ve got this helmet on and I have to move my whole head So there could be no especially with the Armorer there could be no extraneous movements Every movement felt like it told a story Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 82 03 82 26 Chow One of the things that helped achieve that was the fact that we did a lot of prep and we were in there for months before so there was you know it was very designed We didn t just show up on the day for sure So I think all that prep kind of paid off in helping make the set feel a lot like there was sort of a plan for everything Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 71 20 71 23 Swallow We were block shooting episodes one and three at the same time a b c Swallow 2020 9 57 10 24 Because I was in the first episode and we were block shooting the first and third episodes at the same time so Dave Filoni and Deborah Chow who were directing those we were really working together all of us that were in masks and working them to try to figure out the language of these characters and to find each movement would be communicated Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 11 45 12 02 Swallow We were shooting episodes one and episodes three which Dave and Debra directed we were shooting those at the same time And both of those directors really gave us time and space to kind of learn the language of these masks and this armor Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 18 44 18 55 Swallow For the episodes that I was working on we had two sound stages that had sets in them so I got to see I mean I definitely got to see a lot of tunnels and sewers and stuff Swallow amp Gordon 2020 33 07 33 37 Swallow In real life I am somebody who like I use my hands all the time and I just couldn t do that with her because what we found and we were shooting episodes one and three at the same time so we had Dave Filoni and Deborah Chow who was working together with all of us in these suits and these masks to find out what the language of movement was and what translated and what might be distracting and you know what would take away from what you re trying to get people to understand a b Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 72 39 72 55 Swallow I can t tell you how many times I like dropped my tongs or couldn t pick them up and all of the action sequences that look so great where I m hammering metal or putting things into the fire those took a long time to actually capture Swallow amp Giannakopoulos 2019 32 35 33 00 Swallow Oh my gosh there were so many different the sequences where I m making weapons that is me hammering and putting things into the fire and stuff and there were so many times that I would drop things or I couldn t quite like there was something little I needed to pick up and I couldn t because I had these huge gloves on So I m super grateful that they made it look as good as it does because it didn t always feel that way Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 72 55 73 00 Breznican Was there real fire or was that a visual effect Swallow No that s a visual effect Swallow Breznican amp Chow 2019 74 30 75 57 Swallow I remember spending a lot of time with that beskar steel and stacking it different ways and trying to determine like OK having this massive quantity of this very prized material that had been stolen from our people having it returned now knowing that it may I think that the Armorer senses that it may have been gained through less than noble means Breznican Even the way it s stamped is kind of like Nazi gold Like it s marked with evil Swallow Yeah and they actually mentioned that They talked about that a lot And like trying to determine how that would be handled How would she place it How would she look at it We spent a lot of time with those little details Breznican Is it your sense that in making this armor she s purifying it in a way Swallow I think so Because I think that originally it did come from the Mandalorians I mean as she says to one of the Mandalorian riff raff that raises a fuss and says basically that this is tainted steel she says the Empire is no more and it s been returned to its rightful owners Kind of let bygones be bygones This was ours originally and sure it s been tainted I think more important that whatever evil has transpired is where it came from and where it came from was a noble place and we re going to return it to that noble place and give it that noble standing Swallow amp Regan 2020 26 34 27 04 Swallow He s so down to earth Actually he and I go back several years because I know him through the New York theater scene and then we were both on The Mentalist at the same time because the season that I was on there he was brought in to be a love interest for Robin s character So that was really fun because we hadn t seen each other in a while when we got to do that and then to get to do this which is so entirely different it s just delightful when you get to come across people that you already know and like and then you get to say Oh now we get to work together this is awesome Swallow 2020 10 59 11 09 We know each other from the New York theater scene and then we got to work together on The Mentalist totally randomly so it was awesome to be able to work with him on this Swallow 2019 25 31 25 55 Pedro and I actually I know him from the theater crowd in New York but then we got to work together on The Mentalist because he came in as a love interest for Robin s character while I was on the show And that was so much fun because we knew each other from New York and then we got to work together on that and then finding out that I was going to get to work with him on The Mandalorian was really cool Swallow amp Regan 2020 27 49 28 11 Swallow That was a dream come true because I ve just been a fan of his for so long and I have to try not to fangirl too much I definitely have my moments like I had a moment after we d been working together for a couple days where I was like OK I just have to tell you I think you re amazing and I ve watched this and I ve seen this many times and I m so happy to be working with you And then I like put a lid on it because the Armorer doesn t really fangirl I think a b Ridgely Charlie January 23 2020 Star Wars The Mandalorian s Emily Swallow Admits Baby Yoda Is Just as Cute in Person Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 24 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 a b Cavanaugh Patrick January 14 2020 Star Wars The Mandalorian s Emily Swallow Wanted to Snuggle Baby Yoda Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 15 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 21 01 21 12 Busch Did you ever get to see or meet the Yoda baby puppet even just behind the scenes Sparrow Oh I did yeah and I fell in love with it like everybody else And it does look so real It s so deceptive Swallow amp Jordan 2020 8 25 8 33 Swallow I was thrilled when they brought him in that little bag for the scene that I got to have with it I just wanted to snuggle it Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 19 08 19 34 Swallow I remember there was a day early on on that sound stage I remember seeing this really cool ship that we ve all come to know now again this green screen and George Lucas had come to set that day to surprise Jon for his birthday and he s standing there holding court just you know telling some stories about when he was making the movies and he s surrounded by people who are just completely caught up in what he s saying Swallow 2020 15 40 15 52 He came I think it was for Jon s birthday one day And then I didn t even know he was there and I was walking from our sound stage across the other one and he s standing there holding court telling stories to people Swallow 2020 14 04 14 24 I was doing some looping for one of my episodes so I was in the sound booth in New York and Dave Filoni was on the line and Jon was in and out because he was also doing like final edits on the Lion King So you know jumping back and forth between these two huge projects but totally there totally with it Swallow 2019 13 05 13 25 There was one day when I was doing some ADR for some of my scenes in The Mandalorian and I was in New York in a voiceover studio and I was on the phone with one of the directors in L A and then Jon was also on the line but he had to keep jumping in and out because he was doing final sound mixes for the Lion King a b c Jirak Jamie December 30 2019 Star Wars The Mandaloiran s Emily Swallow Shares Epic Fan Art of the Armorer Comicbook com Archived from the original on December 30 2019 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow amp Jordan 2020 1 19 1 35 Jordan Your character in particular has just become such a fan favorite but I will say there are so many people on the Internet that are begging begging to see more of the Armorer in season two Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 10 20 10 41 Silliman You re so good with emotion through the mask Swallow Oh thank you Silliman And also connecting to just with your scenes with Pedro Pascal even if just one of you was in a helmet like that it would be hard but you guys are connecting through two helmets I mean and it just looks so seamless and it looks so effortless and of course it isn t Atkin Jesse January 28 2020 10 Burning Questions We Still Have After Finishing The Mandalorian Season 1 Screen Rant Archived from the original on January 29 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Pantoja Kevin January 2 2020 The Mandalorian 10 Best New Star Wars Characters Introduced In The Show Ranked Screen Rant Archived from the original on January 3 2020 Retrieved January 21 2020 Atkin Jessie January 8 2020 The Mandalorian 10 of the Best Outfits From Season 1 Screen Rant Archived from the original on January 9 2020 Retrieved February 11 2020 a b Swallow amp Regan 2020 19 58 20 37 Swallow I also haven t really been on the receiving end of a lot of negative stuff so so far so good Regan Are you ready for the eventual amount of cosplay your character s going to get Swallow I cannot wait I mean just the fan art that I ve gotten to see online has gotten me so excited and the things that people are already making I mean people send me messages on Instagram and on Twitter and they have pictures of these like models that they re making of the Armorer s gear Regan Is it a little surreal Swallow It s totally surreal a b Swallow amp Gordon 2020 22 25 22 52 Swallow I actually just did a fan convention a Wizard World in Portland Oregon this past weekend I had done them for Supernatural before but it was the first time I had done one since The Mandalorian came out and I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I ve been greeted with so much joy and positivity and people are so excited about it and little girls love the Armorer and love what a badass warrior she is and that just makes me really happy Swallow amp Gordon 2020 36 10 36 26 Gordon I watch your Twitter and it s just exploding with people and the outpouring of love and support for the Armorer it s amazing Swallow I have I just so appreciate all the support that the character s gotten It makes me feel so happy that people like her so much Swallow amp Jordan 2020 5 54 6 00 Jordan There are so many people who are sending in I know you posted some fan art as well Swallow Yes there s been some incredible fan art yeah Jirak Jamie January 9 2020 Star Wars The Mandalorian s Emily Swallow Shares Powerful Fan Art of the Armorer Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 10 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow amp Gordon 2020 22 53 23 09 Swallow I feel like it s that much more shocking to me because I have experienced a really enthusiastic fanbase I mean the Supernatural fans are phenomenal So even with that this was like another leap beyond that a b Swallow amp Regan 2020 20 59 21 21 Swallow There s also something sort of liberating about having all this fervor about a character where I am in a mask I feel like it s freeing in a way because there s absolutely no attention to my physical appearance Nobody cares how I look They love the character so much and it s really kind of freeing Swallow amp Gordon 2020 28 29 29 04 Swallow It s also so liberating for me as an actress because this is now the role that I am the most known for and it s kind of freeing and liberating that it has nothing to do with how I look because I m just so used to that being a factor in how I get cast in having to make sure I always look my best That just kind of comes with the territory but it s just so much fun that now this character that everyone knows me for is one where you don t even know what I look like It s great Swallow amp Regan 2020 23 44 24 08 Swallow I love getting to just witness it without people having to be self conscious or anything or knowing that I m a part of it I was asked in another interview recently Do people recognize you as Amara or for other shows And you know occasionally that happens and it s kind of great to know Nobody s ever going to guess that I m the Armorer I don t get a lot of street recognition for that a b c Denholm 2020 p 29 Anderson Jenna December 30 2019 The Mandalorian Here s How to Ring in the New Year With the Armorer Saying This Is the Way Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 2 2020 Retrieved February 8 2020 Swallow Silliman amp Busch 2019 23 01 23 52 Swallow The first time I became aware of it was when we had the premiere in L A on the 13th because we got to see all three episodes so everyone had already seen the first episode by that point because it had launched But watching that third episode with the big audience that included the other actors and a lot of our crew and then a couple of like Mandalorian fan clubs when that line came up you could kind of feel this electricity in the audience And then later in the episode in that brilliant amazing euphoric moment when all the Mandalorians come and save him and the one that stops to talk to him says This is the way almost everybody in the audience repeated it back to the screen in that moment I was like OK I think we have something here Bundel Ani December 30 2019 What Is The Darksaber In The Mandalorian This Jedi Weapon May Be Key In Season 2 Elite Daily Archived from the original on December 31 2019 Retrieved February 9 2020 a b Gramuglia Anthony April 14 2023 The Mandalorian Theory The Armorer Is Secretly Maul s Top Lieutenant Comic Book Resources Retrieved April 19 2023 Miller Leon April 13 2023 The Mandalorian Fans Are Convinced a Major Hero Is Secretly an Imperial Spy Comic Book Resources Retrieved April 19 2023 a b Outlaw Kofi April 13 2023 The Mandalorian Finale Theory Claims A Major Character Is Actually Moff Gideon s Spy ComicBook com Retrieved April 19 2023 a b Roark Nathaniel April 15 2023 Shocking The Mandalorian Theory Reveals The Armorer Is A Traitor Screen Rant Retrieved April 19 2023 Dick Jeremy December 31 2019 The Mandalorian Funko Pop Wave 2 Figures Include Greef Karga the Armorer and a Blurrg TVweb Retrieved January 19 2020 Fallon Sean December 31 2019 The Mandalorian Just Got Tons of New Funko Pops Comicbook com Archived from the original on January 1 2020 Retrieved January 20 2020 Gelman Samuel December 31 2019 The Mandalorian Funko Unveils Next Wave of Pop Vinyl Figures Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on January 1 2020 Retrieved January 20 2020 The Complete Star Wars The Black Series PulseCon Pre Orders Gear Retrieved 2021 01 29 Works cited edit Denholm Iain January 29 2020 This is the Way Actress Emily Swallow Embraces Mandalorian Culture CH2 Magazine Vol February 2020 Hilton Head Magazines Swallow Emily Jordan Alana January 14 2020 The Mandalorian Emily Swallow AKA The Armorer Wanted To Snuggle Baby Yoda MEA Worldwide YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 11 15 Retrieved February 9 2020 Swallow Emily November 12 2019 Emily Swallow star of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian chats with Galaxy Podcast Comic Con Radio Retrieved February 6 2020 Swallow Emily January 25 2020 ITCAF Interview Emily Swallow Podcast Inside the Crazy Ant Farm Retrieved February 5 2020 Swallow Emily Breznican Anthony Chow Deborah November 22 2019 Still Watching The Mandalorian Chapter Three The Sin with Emily Swallow and Deborah Chow Podcast Vanity Fair Retrieved February 3 2020 Swallow Emily Giannakopoulos Elias December 3 2019 Interview Emily Swallow The Mandalorian Podcast The Man Cave Chronicles Retrieved February 5 2020 Swallow Emily Gordon Chris January 29 2020 Emily Swallow The Mandalorian Podcast Hellblazerbiz Conversations with the Stars Retrieved February 5 2020 Swallow Emily Regan Kenric January 26 2020 Emily Swallow BONUS The Mandalorian s Armorer Podcast Spoiler Country Retrieved February 4 2020 Swallow Emily Silliman Brian Busch Caitlin November 27 2019 Jabba the Pod A Podcast About Star Wars BONUS Way of the Armorer Interviewing the Mandalorian s Emily Swallow Podcast Syfy Wire Retrieved February 3 2020 External links editThe Armorer in the StarWars com Databank The Armorer on Wookieepedia a Star Wars wiki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Armorer amp oldid 1213737223, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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