Was Jango Fett A Mandalorian (& How Did He Get The Armor)?

The Book of Boba Fett allowed us to get to know more about Boba Fett, the most popular Star Wars bounty hunter. However, one thing we learned in the prequel trilogy was that he is the exact genetic copy of his father, Jango Fett. Another notable thing is that in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin was willing to allow Boba to wear Mandalorian armor on account of Jango. So, was Jango Fett actually a Mandalorian, and how did he get his armor?

Jango Fett is a Mandalorian because he pledged himself to a Mandalorian clan after he was made a Mandalorian foundling. He was given the armor after pledging himself. Based on the rules that the Mandalorians follow, foundlings are considered Mandalorians even if they weren’t born as Mandalorians.

One of the biggest changes that were introduced in the Star Wars continuity in The Mandalorian was the rules that the Mandalorians follow. It might be true that we got to learn more about Mandalorian culture in Star Wars: Clone Wars, but The Mandalorian introduced a different Mandalorian belief that retconned the way we see Jango Fett and, in extension, Boba Fett.

Is Jango Fett Actually A Mandalorian?

The original Star Wars trilogy introduced us to the badass bounty hunter named Boba Fett, whose armor and amazing approach to his job allowed him to become very popular among the fans despite his limited screen time. Since he was revealed in the original trilogy, Fett only grew to become more and more popular among the biggest fans of the Star Wars franchise.

Meanwhile, the prequel films, particularly Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, allowed us to see Boba Fett’s past when he was introduced as a child alongside his father, Jango, who was the genetic donor of the clone army that the Galactic Republic was secretly forming to combat the Separatist droid forces.

Jango Fett was the galaxy’s best bounty hunter, and that is why he was selected as the prototype for the clones. Meanwhile, Boba himself was cloned to be an exact genetic copy of Jango but was left unaltered, unlike the regular clones. 

And, for a long time, because of the armor that Jango wore (the same armor that Boba wears) before he saw his death at the hands of Mace Windu, we believed that he was a Mandalorian. So, was Jango Fett really a Mandalorian?

The Clone Wars Problem

The confusion regarding Jango Fett’s status as a Mandalorian came about as a result of the events of the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series. In an episode in that series, Obi-Wan Kenobi was in Mandalore for a mission. He spoke to prime minister Almec of the New Mandalorians and told him that he had a run-in with a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Jango Fett.

However, Almec completely disowned Jango Fett and told him that he was never a Mandalorian. He even said that Jango only has Mandalorian armor because he stole it during the Mandalorian Civil Wars between the New Mandalorians and the traditional warrior Mandalorians.

Because of Almec’s declaration that Jango Fett was not a Mandalorian, the standing canon before the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm was that he was never a Mandalorian. Even after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Jango still wasn’t a Mandalorian because the events in the first six Star Wars films and of Clone Wars were made canon. As such, Almec’s declaration still held true.

The Mandalorian And It’s New Rules

When Lucasfilm released The Mandalorian, new rules regarding the Mandalorians were introduced to the continuity. Most of what we learned from the Mandalorians in Clone Wars were more about the peace-loving New Mandalorians and Pre Vizsla’s Death Watch, a radical group of warrior Mandalorians. However, The Mandalorian introduced a more religious group of Mandalorians that followed a strict code.

The Mandalorian allowed us to understand that children who have lost their homes and were subsequently found by Mandalorians are called Mandalorian foundlings. That means that they are de facto Mandalorians because they were essentially adopted into the Mandalorian culture. This also means that, regardless of a person’s race or species, they can be a Mandalorian as long as they fall under the Mandalorian foundling rule.

In fact, Din Djarin, the star of The Mandalorian, was never born as a Mandalorian but was saved as a child and became a foundling. The same case applies to Grogu or The Child, who was declared to be a foundling and is a de facto Mandalorian.

Jango Is A Mandalorian

Now, going back to Jango Fett, season 2 of The Mandalorian showed an older Boba Fett demanding the return of his armor from Din Djarin, who acquired the artifact from Cobb Vanth over at Tatooine. Djarin was reluctant to give him the armor at first because only Mandalorians were allowed to wear Mandalorian armor.

Boba Fett proved that he was a Mandalorian because he showed that his father, Jango, was a Mandalorian foundling. He did so by activating the armor’s chain code, which showed the armor’s history through Mandalorian glyphs that proved that it rightfully belonged to Jango, whose master was revealed to be a Mandalorian named Jaste.

But what about what Almec said about Jango back in the Clone Wars? As far as the continuity is concerned, Almec’s words are still canon. However, we can presume that he only said that Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian because the New Mandalorians were more rigid when it came to who could be considered a Mandalorian. 

And because the New Mandalorians were the ones ruling Mandalore, they could dictate the rules, and that is why Almec completely disowned Jango Fett, who probably fought against them in the Mandalorian Civil Wars.

How Did Jango Fett Become A Mandalorian?

As mentioned, Jango Fett became a Mandalorian on account of the Mandalorian rules regarding foundlings. This came to light in season 2 of The Mandalorian when Boba was looking to prove to Din Djarin that the armor rightfully belonged to him.

Boba also said that his father Jango declared for a Mandalorian clan back when he was young, and that meant that he adopted himself into the Mandalorian culture and essentially became a Mandalorian foundling. He even participated in the Mandalorian Civil Wars. 

After learning of such, Din Djarin allowed Boba to keep the armor because it was rightfully his on account that he is Jango’s son and is, in extension, a Mandalorian as well, even though he might have adopted Mandalorian culture.

Why Did Jango Fett Have Mandalorian Armor?

As mentioned, the first reason given regarding Jango Fett owning a Mandalorian armor is that he stole it from the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian Civil Wars. This was according to prime minister Almec of the New Mandalorians.

However, the truth was that Jango was indeed a Mandalorian foundling who pledged himself to his master Jaste’s Mandalorian clan. Because he was now a Mandalorian, he was subsequently given the armor, which is something that all Mandalorians wear in battle.

Did Jango Fett Have Beskar Armor?

For a while, it was believed that Jango Fett’s armor, which is essentially Boba Fett’s armor right now, was only made of durasteel and not of Beskar steel.

And it wasn’t uncommon for Mandalorians to use durasteel as well because Beskar isn’t as common as it seems to be. Some Mandalorian foot soldiers wore durasteel instead of Beskar.

But it became obvious in the events of The Book of Boba Fett that the armor was made of Beskar steel. In The Book of Boba Fett, Boba’s armor was strong enough to withstand blaster shots in the same way that Din Djarin’s armor did. This confirms that his armor is just as durable as Djarin’s armor, which is made of pure Beskar. As such, Jango Fett’s armor was made of Beskar as well.