FAQ

In The Empire Strikes Back the carbonite freezing process was a Bespin mining tool which Darth Vader and Boba Fett tested on Han Solo before trying to use it on Luke. Fett even expressed doubts about Han surviving the process, showing it was not, at the time, a standard bounty hunter technique.

The Mandalorian takes place years after the original trilogy, so it's somewhat plausible that, after being used with success on a high-profile bounty like Solo (with the result being displayed by Jabba for months), the carbonite technique was eventually adopted by other bounty hunters with simplified, more portable equipment. It's also possible that the manufacturer of the Carbon Freezing equipment decided to capitalise on the freezing of Solo to manufacture the device used by the Mandalorian as a product for Bounty Hunters to use to transport their prey to their clients.

It's also possible that the equipment on Bespin, normally used for freezing mined Tibanna gas, simply was not fine-tuned enough to cope with routinely freezing people. Vader's remark about it being crude but adequate supports this. Also, Lando's remark about Han being "in perfect hibernation" and Leia's reference (in ROTJ) to his hibernation sickness both suggest that carbon freezing of people is a 'thing'... enough that there's a term for the after-effects. That Vader would even think to freeze Luke, as per his original intention, suggests it's a known method for securing prisoners.

In any case, the carbonite usage is also more efficient for the Mandalorian, who prefers to have multiple bounty pucks for the increased commissions - stacks of frozen prisoners are care-free and require little space Vs cells with active prisoners requiring food, meds, etc., needing additional space in an already small spacecraft.

They use "tracking fobs". The closer you get to a target, the faster the fob will beep. It isn't clear how the fobs locate the targets. It's likely tracking the DNA signature of the species of the target, also known as a "chain code".

The first season takes place five years after Return of the Jedi (9 ABY) and 25 years before The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. (Which takes place in 34 ABY). Its not clear how much time has passed over the seasons but likely no more than a year.

Not directly. Din Djarin ("The Mandalorian") and Jango Fett were both "foundlings". As in, children who were not born on Mandalore or one of its moons. But were adopted by Mandalorians and raised in a clan. Both are bounty hunters, but Jango Fett died in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which took place over 30 years before the events in The Mandalorian TV show. At the time of his death, Jango Fett had a clone son (Boba Fett), but it has not been established if he had any other surviving relatives.

Most Mandalorians do remove their helmets. There is only certain sects that follow the "old ways" and always keep their helmets on. The latter are allowed to remove their helmets to eat, bathe, sleep, and so on. But only if they are alone. They are not permitted to show their faces to anyone. Including in their tribe.

Yes. Seasons 1 and 2 were released on 4K and standard blu-ray on December 13th, 2023. Season 3 was released on December 3rd, 2024.