'The Mandalorian' Season 2: How Timothy Olyphant's Cobb Vanth connects to Boba Fett in 'Star Wars: Aftermath'
The first season of 'The Mandalorian' was largely self-contained, existing in its own pocket of the 'Star Wars' universe with only tangential ties to the rest of the franchise. Season 2, however, is going all-in on the 'Star Wars' expanded universe, pulling in characters from the movies, the animated series, and even deep-dives into the books. One of the new characters being brought in and portrayed for the first time in live-action is Timothy Olyphant's character, Cobb Vanth, and his inclusion ties into the most definitive telling of the events of the 'Star Wars' universe that bridge 'Return of the Jedi' and 'The Force Awakens'.
'Star Wars: Aftermath' is a series of novels written by Chuck Wendig that tell the story of what happened to the 'Star Wars' universe after the rebels defeated the Empire in 'Return of the Jedi'. The books introduce several new characters -- some of whom appeared in the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy -- as well as providing updates on several other 'Star Wars' mainstays, and explaining how the First Order began to rise. Each of the books also featured an interlude that focused on a human male named Cobb Vanth, which is where Timothy Olyphant's character comes in.
Cobb began his life as a slave but eventually rose to become the Sheriff of Freetown, which is located on Tatooine. Around the year 4 ABY -- 5 years before 'The Mandalorian' is set, and the same year that Han Solo was rescued from Jabba the Hutt -- Cobb found himself a set of rare, and highly valued Mandalorian armor, recovered by a criminal syndicate known as the Red Key Raiders. Though Cobb wasn't aware of it, this armor belonged to none other than the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett, who fell in battle while Han was being rescued. Cobb fought for the armor, and took it for himself, angering the Red Key Raiders in the process.
When we last saw Cobb in the novels, he had been keeping Freetown safe from the Red Key Raiders and making good use of his Mandalorian armor, which is, in fact, Boba's trademark green and battle-worn armor. Given that Boba is one of the characters who is expected to return in Season 2, this puts Cobb in the crosshairs of a very dangerous individual. To make things worse, the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is not likely going to be happy to see a non-Mandalorian wearing the armor, and may team up with Boba to take Cobb down.
'The Mandalorian' Season 2 releases on Disney+ on October 30.