A lot of us who watched The Mandalorian on Disney+ didn’t know it contained special guest stars in the form of Stormtroopers from the 501st Legion.
When creator Jon Favreau and Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni were running low on Stormtrooper costumes for the final episodes of The Mandalorian, Filoni had a great idea that would also include some of the fans. He reached out to the local chapter of the 501st Legion and asked them to appear as extra Stormtroopers in the show.
Who are the 501st Legion?
For those unfamiliar, the 501st Legion is an international fan organization that construct and wear “..screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, Sith Lords, Clone Troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe.” –Wikipedia
I have done many conventions and show where the 501st have come and they do amazing work. Honestly, they have costumes better than the ones you see in the parks and that’s saying something. The love they have for the franchise and their craft is inspiring. I really appreciate all the work and care they put into it.
The group started in 1997 with Albin Johnson and Tom Crew and has since grown to have 13,000 active members. They make appearances and they do a lot for charity too. So I can’t think of more deserving people to get the guest spots that those from this organization!
@TweetinJoshBe shared this image of the 501st members with Favreu, Filoni and The Mandalorian cast.
So fun fact: for episodes 7-8 of #TheMandalorian, they didn’t have enough costumes for all of the Storm Troopers needed in a scene. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni enlisted the help of a local 501st Legion chapter, comprised of fans with their own costumes, to fill in those spots pic.twitter.com/9BgBWx6hgb
— Probably Josh (@TweetinJoshBe) December 28, 2019
Also notice that there are women in the group as well. That’s right ladies, represent!
The story was going around back in April, but I was working and doing a lot traveling, including visiting Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, and I missed it.
It’s such a fantastic story and worthy of sharing. It’s always exciting for me, as a classic Star Wars fan, to see stories like this.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Sources: @TweetingJoshBe, Wikipedia, CBR, My son Tristan who sent me the Tweet
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