I loved the "Open Seasons" graphic novel. When I first saw AOTC, I thought Jango was the coolest. In "Open Seasons", it spelled out Jango's origins. An orphaned boy who was picked up and raised by the Mandalorians and eventually, becoming the last of them.I saw the Clone Wars episode, "The Mandalore Plot" and dude said Jango was just a mere bounty hunter. Said he had no idea how he got his armor.
It confused me, cuz it's spelled out in "Open Seasons" who Jango is. Clearly stated: a Mandalorian. The same in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (video game).
I got Clone Wars Season 2 on Bluray for X-Mas and on the 2nd disc there's a featurette called, "Creating Mandalore". Dave Filoni and others talked about art direction, style - but then Dave occasionally discussed Jango and Boba. What he said, stumped me even more.
I dictated what he said but, I had to cut it into 4 parts...'cuz other people were interviewed to discuss art design n' stuff. I jotted down, verbatim, his explanation of things.
PART 1
"Now, all the history of Mandalore that you knew prior to the Clone Wars - it does exist. It absolutely exists. Were they a mercenary people? Yes, they absolutely are. Did they fight against the Jedi? Yes, they absolutely did. Is there a big battle where there is a cataclysm between them and the Jedi? Yes. Have we pushed that idea - that the cataclysm was so great, that the surface of Mandalore was laid to waste? Absolutely, we did. Because, to George, the Mandalorians - above all, dating back to ESB - are Supercommandos. They're a race of people that were a military. They can't be so vagabond as they appeared in the EU. They can't be this group of people that are vastly different in paint job and paint scheme because - if you do that, they look too much, immediately, like a bunch of Boba Fetts. It robbed Boba Fett of his uniqueness. We needed a military. We needed an army. They have a very uniform look. They are trying to bring back the ancient Mandalorian ways of being the Supercommando and regain dominion for their mythology, their stories - which is what you could call - is what the EU is. That they are a warrior race and eventually mercenaries."
PART 2
"So, the idea that Jango Fett is not a Mandalorian - that's something that comes directly from George. I think that - when we fist saw Jango in AOTC - that alot of us, myself included, we assumed, "Oh, he must be a Mandalorian. There he is in Mandalorian armor." So, there's kind of this early assumption that Jango must be a Mandalorian. That was interesting to see. But, that was never stated in the film. It's never stated that he's Mandalorian. He's always just referred to as a bounty hunter."
Then they play the clip:
OBI: "I recently encountered a man who wore Mandalorian armor. Jango Fett."
GUY: "Jango Fett was a common bounty hunter. How he acquired that armor is beyond me."
PART 3
"Once you have that silver, blue, black and grey armor - of course, the first thing is: "Well, why is Boba's green? Where is that coming from?" And, from the point that we've established in the Clone Wars - to the point whenever Boba gets his armor - there's one thing that I think is important, is that; Mandalorian armor exists during the Clone Wars. Mandalorian armor that's very close to the design and use of Boba's armor. Boba has tricked his armor out. He's added a few things that our Death Watch guys don't have because he's a bounty hunter and much like a gunslinger in the old west, would shoot someone and take their hat or take their guns or, y'know, you win a victory over another warrior and you take something of theirs - Boba Fett's armor probably is made up of different pieces of found Mandalorian gear. It's a little hodge-podge of mix n' match which I think, kinda leands itself to the idea that he acquires different pieces of Mandalorian armor over time. Why does he do that? Because his dad wore it. That's the connection for him. So I imagine this Mandalorian armor really isn't being created again and again and again when you look at the time of the Empire. Boba just - whenever he finds some of it, he fixes it up, he uses it. He's probably got a bunch of it in Slave 1. Different rocket packs, we've seen that on Boba. Different wristguards, we've seen that on Boba. So how do our Death Watch go from being these silver, prestine-looking uniform military guys - there must be something that happens in between here and where Boba's getting all this weird green and yellow and red armor. Um, and we'll just have to wait and see."
PART 4
"They are an important part of the Clone Wars in alot of ways. In that, they are as much a threat to what Dooku's doing as they are to the Republic. They can't be left unmentioned when you do the Clone Wars. So it was a real previlidge, I think, for myself and my whole crew to be involved in the creation of one of these legendary planets for George and - he was very specific with me on so many things and I'm always glad when he is because at the end of the day, y'know, 10, 20 years from now - that's, that's Mandalore. And when he looks at it, I want him to say, "That's what I pictured." Y'know? And I'm glad that fans now have the opportunity to see what he was thinking. And I look forward to seeing how, what we've done for George with the Mandalorians, effects now the future of the history and those people and what other creative people bring to the table to add to the rich tapestry which now is this unique Star Wars culture. "
End Transmission.
So does this mean that Jango's backstory is now a clean slate? I've gone to wikipedia, wookieepedia, ect. - everyone still calls him a Mandalorian bounty hunter and his "Open Seasons" origin is still intact everywhere. In fact, I've read that the guy who said Jango was just a bounty hunter was...just not aware of him - or he hates Jango - or that the Mandalorians don't recognize Jango's status there.
What's the deal? After hearing Dave Filoni, it seems pretty clear-cut to me that Jango Fett is just, flat-out, not a Mandalorian. Just a bounty hunter who wears Mandalorian gear. The problem is, I don't see reflections of this anywhere in Star Wars Land.
Is "Open Seasons" now just a "Star Wars Tale"? Am I missing something, 'cuz, again, I'm just not seeing any reflections of this HUGE revelation anywhere! In the COMPLETE Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008), does it state that Jango is a Mandalorian bounty hunter or even that he was once a Mandalorian? Or is "Open Seasons" and "Star Wars: Bounty Hunter" the reasons for the "assumption" by fans that he was Mandalorian?
Can someone help clear this up for me?