The Mysterious Figure From The Mandalorian Probably Isn’t Someone We Know

Don't get too excited about that swoosh-y caped person at the end of The Mandalorian episode 5. The new arrival probably isn't a recognizable character from the Star Wars universe. A mysterious character happened upon Ming-Na Wen's please-don't-be-dead assassin character on Tatooine, giving fans the opportunity to theorize about someone other than Baby Yoda. With only so many hints to go on, let's suss out who that jangly cape could belong to before the next episode hits Disney+.

Before you even bring it up, it's not going to be Boba Fett. Stop wishing for him to show up and steal focus from our Mando! As far as we know, that bounty hunter is still in Tatooine's Sarlacc pit. This episode may have indulged in a lot of Star Wars nostalgia from use of the Mos Eisley cantina to the pit droids from the pod race in The Phantom Menace, to even the way bounty-hunter-wannabe Toro's whining had a young Luke Skywalker tinge to it. But this mystery figure isn't Boba Fett. Boba's cape doesn't even look like the one in the short scene; his is short and brown, not long and black. Don't even try to tell me that Boba Fett has had time to both come back from the dead and get a makeover.

It's not Darth Vader either, who is also dead at this point in Star Wars history, and probably not a young Kylo Ren — but that would be a twist. Adam Driver's character in the new trilogy is Anakin Skywalker's grandson, after all, so we should probably learn his thoughts on sand at some point. Plus, the only other hint we have about this Mandalorian character is that he makes a sound like a chain dragging when he walks, which is reminiscent of how Vader's heavy breathing was always a dead giveaway that he was nearby. At the very least, this character (like Kylo Ren) may have been inspired by the Sith Lord.

The most likely candidate is actually Giancarlo Esposito's character Moff Gideon. He has yet to show up on The Mandalorian, and is wearing an appropriately long and dark cape in the trailer. Star Wars fans know that any character with "Moff" in their name is bad news. That's an Imperial rank, most infamously connected to Darth Vader's right hand man, the evil Moff Tarkin. Since the Empire has fallen, the mere fact that Gideon is still clinging to this title is pretty freaking nefarious.

Another potential candidate is comedian Bill Burr's as yet unseen character, who comes out guns a'blazing in the trailer as well. It could also, honestly, be the Mandalorian's old Guild contact Greef Targa (Carl Weathers). The cloak we saw him in before was a little short compared to the one in episode 5 but he could have changed before traveling to Tatooine. Maybe he wants to be the one to bring his old friend in himself.

The Mandalorian escaped capture almost too easily multiple times in episode 5, so it's kind of good to know that someone is on his tail. He can't keep hopping around the galaxy with the kid forever, and as The Mandalorian season 1 speeds towards the end, a confrontation is definitely nigh.