The grandson of legendary Western actor John Wayne is a crucial part of The Mandalorian, even though his face is never seen on-screen. The Mandalorian is one of Star Wars’ biggest success stories. It was the franchise’s first foray into live-action television, and The Mandalorian is the most-watched original show on Disney+. It’s also spawned a host of spinoffs in its own right, from The Book of Boba Fett to the upcoming movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu. Din Djarin and Grogu are veritable juggernauts of Star Wars, and they owe a great deal of their popularity to an unlikely source: John Wayne’s grandson.
The Wayne family has a long history with the Star Wars movies, as John Wayne’s last role was in the original Star Wars. The Duke’s grandson, Brendan Wayne, has had a much more prominent role in the franchise. Brendan is one of three actors who play Din Djarin and he was often in Din’s Beskar armor in place of Pedro Pascal. Wayne was often in Din’s suit more than Pascal himself, as Pascal’s schedule often meant he couldn’t be on set for filming. While almost any stunt double could play Din due to his Mandalorian helmet, Brendan Wayne is still absolutely imperative to The Mandalorian’s success.
Brendan Wayne Uses His Grandfather’s Swagger As Mando
Having the same general body type of Pedro Pascal isn’t enough to really bring Din Djarin to life. There are so many sublte movements and pieces of body language that go into the physical portrayal of Din, and Brendan Wayne was responsible for most of them. Almost all of Din Djarin’s unspoken swagger, his screen presence, and his physical intimidation, comes from Brendan Wayne. It’s hard to imagine what kind of character Din would even be without Wayne’s work as a stand-in actor. He almost certainly wouldn’t be as intimidating, and he never would have replaced Boba Fett as Star Wars’ favorite bounty hunter.
Part of the reason Brendan Wayne is so great as Din Djarin is because he channels some of the most captivating parts of his grandfather’s acting. John Wayne was a legendary cowboy – the Duke starred in countless Westerns, and he was known for being a massive presence on the screen. When John Wayne walked into a saloon, everyone inside knew better than to mess with him. Brendan brought the same gravitas that John Wayne was known for to The Mandalorian, and that’s a big reason Din Djarin became such a legendary cowboy, and a big reason the show is as successful as it is.
The Mandalorian’s Western Influences Have Made It Such A Success
Brendan Wayne helped make The Mandalorian feel like a Western, and that blend of genres contributed quite a bit to the show’s success. The Mandalorian delivered something many fans had been wanting for decades: a space cowboy. Ever since Boba Fett made his mysterious debut in The Empire Strikes Back, viewers had been waiting for Star Wars to tell an on-screen story about a gunslinger who fired blaster bolts instead of bullets. Din Djarin was the long-awaited fulfillment of that wish, and Brendan Wayne was a big reason he felt like a worthy way to pay off the decades-long hopes of Boba Fett fans.
Another reason The Mandalorian benefited so much from its Western influences is because it was a return to the very roots of the original Star Wars. George Lucas pulled inspiration from a wide variety of sources while creating the galaxy far, far away, and one of those sources was classic Western movies. Star Wars has always had some elements of that inspiration, most notably through bounty hunters, but The Mandalorian brought it to the forefront unlike anything else in the franchise. It’s hard to overstate how important the Western genre and Brendan Wayne’s acting are to The Mandalorian.