How The Mandalorian Changed Bo-Katan From The Animated Shows
With The Mandalorian's second season winding down, now is as good a time as any to take a look back at all of the incredible moments the latest batch of episodes has supplied so far. While the obvious priority was to further the adventures of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his foundling, Grogu, there have also been a handful of nods to the wider Star Wars universe — many that amount to more than simple Easter eggs. Most notably, The Mandalorian brought some of the franchise's most popular characters from the animated realm to live-action for the very first time, much to the delight of die-hard fans.
Ahsoka Tano's (Rosario Dawson) first TV appearance outside of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels was the most notable of the bunch so far, but she wasn't the only alum from these programs to make the jump into meatspace. Fellow Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze also made a quick return this season, portrayed by her voice actor, Katee Sackhoff, in the action-packed episode "Chapter 11: The Heiress." After the elation at seeing Sackhoff as the beloved Bo-Katan, fans were quick to point out that, much like Ahsoka's controversial lekku (via The Direct), she too required some physical changes to best transition from animation to the real world.
Sackhoff recently sat down with SlashFilm and discussed exactly that — explaining the thought process behind her slight Mandalorian redesign, and why it was entirely necessary.
Real-life human anatomy called for some changes to Bo-Katan's costume
During the interview, SlashFilm asked Sackhoff if there were any subtle changes to Bo-Katan's armor that deviate from her look in The Clone Wars and Rebels. In response, she explained that you can't perfectly translate everything from a cartoon into the real world for anatomical reasons, saying, "Women's bodies are shaped very differently. I have hips. Unlike Bo in animation, I have a bum. So we really had to work on where to place the armor so it would add to and not distract from."
She added that, in bringing Bo-Katan's iconic gear into live-action, they had to strike a careful balance between aesthetics and practicality, this way she resembled her alter-ego and could also move and fight similarly to how she does in animation. "It was all about trying to make the armor not only look like Bo-Katan ... We didn't want it to look bulky, and we wanted it to look tactile and usable."
Additionally, Sackhoff also touched on her combat scenes, which surely played into the design of her and her stunt double's costume. "I'm so lucky to have an amazing stunt double, Caitlin [Dechelle], who is absolutely brilliant. Her martial arts skills are unparalleled. She's so good at what she does, and she makes me look good." She also gave Dechelle credit for her work on the wire-rigged jetpack scenes, since "it helps Bo look good, and that's what the fans deserve."
With only one episode of The Mandalorian season 2 left to air, as of this writing, it's unlikely that fans will get to see Bo-Katan and Mando team up on the battlefield again this season. Nevertheless, it's good to know that the folks behind her long-awaited live-action interpretation took great care in making it as perfect as they could.