Star Wars: Temuera Morrison Addresses The Book of Boba Fett Showing the Bounty Hunter Unmasked

Nearly 40 years since audiences saw his seeming demise in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, fans caught their first glimpse of Boba Fett in the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian, with his unmasked appearance showing off battle scars from his survival over the years. While Star Wars: Attack of the Clones confirmed that Boba was a clone of Jango Fett, played by Temuera Morrison, giving us insight into how the character looked under his iconic helmet, Morrison recently detailed that the reason he appears unmasked so often in the current Star Wars series is a much more practical reason than a narrative one. Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett debuts new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

"It actually came by chance [in The Mandalorian]. I think I was on the spacecraft, and I said, 'Well, I'm not flying the thing, I'm not fighting. Can I take my helmet off?'" Morrison recalled to Rolling Stone. "And I remember there was a bit of discussion. That's that scene when I was giving [Ming-Na Wen] all my dialogue because I wanted to be the quiet kind. And then [director] Rick [Famuywia] goes, 'Yeah, I think it'll be OK. Take his helmet off.' I would have been disappointed if someone said to me, 'Leave the helmet on for the whole series.' So thank Christ, they said, 'Yes, you can take it off for the scene.' So that's how it started." 

He continued, "And honestly, I think they need to see my face here. But you know, funnily enough, I think [on Mandalorian] they could tell if it wasn't me. [If it was a stunt person, director] Robert Rodriguez would say, 'Oh, I can tell it's not you if you're not under that helmet.' My face would act through the helmet! I don't know how that goes, but if there's an Oscar for best performance under a helmet, I'm going to win it."

Understandably, the nature of obscuring an identity in the galaxy far, far away, and specifically in regards to Mandalorians, is a bit of a complex discussion. Those devout to the Mandalorian culture know that one should never take off their helmet, resulting in Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin rarely revealing his identity and only doing so in extreme circumstances, while figures like Boba Fett or Bo-Katan Kryze have very different opinions on the significance of the armor. 

Stay tuned for details on the future of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, which debuts new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

What do you think of Boba Fett taking off his helmet so often? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!