The Kingsman Connection You Missed In The Mandalorian Chapter 15
Between superheroes and Star Wars, a hostile takeover of the box office started around the turn of the century. Since then, one fact has become apparent to actors: "you either die a hero (or villain), or live long enough to see yourself get cast as a different hero (or, again, villain)." Universe-sized franchises have overwhelmed the cultural landscape, and overlap has become inevitable. Thor and Valkyrie joined the Men in Black in MIB International. Wolverine, Batman, and Alfred Pennyworth did Victorian-era birthday magic in The Prestige. Superman and the Lone Ranger teamed up in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Nobody seemed to notice that last one.
And in Star Wars, universes collide with astonishing frequency. Daniel Craig's appearance as a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens preempted his team up with Adam Driver in Logan Lucky by two years, and the second season of The Mandalorian brought an iconic pair of Deadwood dayplayers back together. And in the latest episode of the hit Disney+ series, another pair of onscreen worlds collided, as Star Wars facilitated a Kingsman: The Secret Service reunion — sort of.
The reunion comes during Mando and Mayfeld's infiltration of the Imperial remnant base, when the unlikely duo is invited to share a sip from the thermos of a familiar looking officer.
The Kingsmandalorian
It all starts with character actor Richard Brake — who, to further an earlier point, killed Bruce Wayne's parents as Joe Chill in Batman Begins. In The Mandalorian's "Chapter 15: The Believer," Brake appears as Valin Hess, an antagonist and zealot who, based on his accent, represents the first Imperial officer in Star Wars history from south of the space Mason-Dixon line — or "Spacin'-Dixon Line," if you'd prefer. Fans of very polite British slaughter will remember that Brake also made a memorable appearance in 2014's Kingsman: The Secret Service, his character credited as "The Interrogator."
Sharing the screen in rare, bare-faced form is Pedro Pascal, the titular Mandalorian. Before he donned a set of beskar armor and got down to the business of freezing Horatio Sanz in carbonite, Pascal was seen in 2017's Kingsman: The Golden Circle, there playing Agent Whiskey, the rogue Statesman and lasso enthusiast who helped lay down some pain in the film's bar fight sequence.
With the deep pool of talent from which The Mandalorian has been pulling, it seems clear that this won't be the last time that universes collide in the series. As Disney has pointed out time and time again, it's a small world, after all.