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'The Mandalorian': Here's the lowdown on the history of the Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster, the character's signature weapon

One of the earlier images released was by Jon Favreau himself, on October 13 last year, on his Instagram page. The image depicted a long rifle that some immediately recognized as first appearing in the infamous 'The Star Wars Holiday Special' in 1978

Precious little has been shared from the sets of 'The Mandalorian', but every bit that has been shared has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb by eagle-eyed fans of the 'Star Wars' franchise.

One of the earlier images released was by Jon Favreau himself, on October 13 last year, on his Instagram page. The image depicted a long rifle that some immediately recognized as first appearing in the infamous 'The Star Wars Holiday Special' in 1978. 

Known then as the Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster, it was wielded by Boba Fett and used to save Luke Skywalker from a large, dragon-like creature in the animated short 'The Story of the Faithful Wookie'.

The weapon emitted a beam that drove the creature off. As Boba Fett's armor and weapons are recognizable as Mandalorian make, it stands to reason that the weapon is similarly of Mandalorian design.

The design of the weapon then was a much more simplified version, but then again, so was the animated style of the short. A more advanced version featured aspects of various Boba Fett action figures.

The weapon was mostly forgotten, until its appearance in the 2008 videogame 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed', where it was redesigned as an electro staff for a character named Chop’aa Notimo.

Notimo, it should be noted, is also a Mandalorian. The weapon fell back into obscurity again until Jon Favreau’s Instagram post revived interest. 

While most websites managed to quickly identify the blaster from the 'Star Wars Holiday Special', Slashfilm.com went a step further, noting that certain aspects of the weapon bore a significant similarity to the Cycler rifle.

The rifle, wielded most famously by the Tuskan Raiders of Tatooin, is meant to fire actual projectiles, as opposed to energy blasts. 

This Mandalorian weapon was most recently featured on the trailer released on October 28. 

The trailer gives us our first live-action look at the weapon in action. When ambushed, The Mandalorian uses it to fire an electric charge at an enemy, knocking him backward.

In that regard, it is not dissimilar to the electro staff featured in the video game. The end of the trailer, however, also sees The Mandalorian aim the weapon at an unseen figure, implying the weapon is more than just a glorified taser and can shoot long distances as well.

The weapon's full capabilities will doubtless be explored once the show is out.

'The Mandalorian' releases on November 12 on Disney+.