Mandalorians, Droids, and Terminators
In "Return of the Mandalorian" (The Book of Boba Fett 1.5), the Armorer recalls the Night of a Thousand Tears, when the Empire committed genocide against the Mandalorian people. The flashback to the Imperial purge, with bombs destroying cities in mushroom clouds and fearsome robots patrolling the burning ruins, directly evokes the imagery of the Terminator films, which depict a post-apocalyptic future in which robots decimate humankind with nuclear bombs and then hunt the survivors in the aftermath.
This reference fits neatly with the role of droids in the story of The Mandalorian's first season. In James Cameron's 1984 film The Terminator, the eponymous Terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a robot sent back in time from a post-apocalyptic future to hunt down and kill the unborn child, John Connor, in the womb of his mother Sarah Connor. In "The Mandalorian" (The Mandalorian 1.1), the droid bounty hunter IG-11 is sent to capture the child, Grogu. IG-11 is about to kill Grogu in his egg-shaped pram before Din Djarin steps in to save him.
In The Terminator's 1992 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator is reprogrammed to become a protector of the adolescent John Connor. He ultimately sacrifices himself to fulfill this role, choosing to lower himself into molten metal ore that melts him. Like the Terminator in Terminator 2, IG-11 is reprogrammed to protect Grogu instead of hunting him, and like the Terminator, he ultimately sacrifices himself to fulfill this role, wading into a lava river that melts him before he self-destructs.
In both The Terminator and The Mandalorian, robots programmed to hunt and kill are redeemed to protect and heal. IG-11's transformation reflects that of the eponymous Mandalorian, Din Djarin, who starts off as a hunter before becoming a protector.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Din Djarin / IG-11
Shows: The Mandalorian
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: children / droids / hunting / Mandalorians
Influences: Terminator
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