Will The Mandalorian’s Timothy Olyphant Return For Dave Filoni’s Movie? Here’s What He Said
Let's be real: Cobb Vanth needs his own show.
As a fan of both Star Wars and Timothy Olyphant, I was among many who went head over heels upon witnessing the arrival of the actor’s beskar-wearing Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian’s Season 2 premiere. His presence there was far too limited for my tastes, and his return for The Book of Boba Fett didn’t exactly end on the brightest of notes for him. But assuming all goes well for the character’s return to health, could audiences see Olyphant return to a galaxy far, far away in the mega-crossover movie that franchise great Dave Filoni is putting together?
Now currently back in the metaphorical saddle as Justified: City Primeval’s Raylan Givens, Timothy Olyphant certainly knows how it feels to have one of his characters brought back through popular and creative demand. And while he understandably couldn’t speak directly to the idea of reteaming with Filoni — lest Disney execs stick him in a bacta tank beneath Cinderella’s castle — he did make it sound like he’d readily agree to return to the role if that chance came his way. Here’s how he put it during an interview with The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, speaking to the idea of how popular his character became despite having such a minimal presense:
Though he's been part of awesome franchises and projects like Scream, Deadwood, Santa Clarita Diet and more, Olyphant's characters sadly aren't the kind that toy manufacturers are champing at the bit to bring to retailers. (Justified could have had its own southern-fried universe of action figures and playsets.) But after just one appearance in The Mandalorian, Cobb Vanth toys were set in stone, and his return for The Book of Boba Fett only increased the desire for more. And consumerism math dictates that another return for Dave Filoni's upcoming movie would rocket that interest into the stratosphere of whatever planet he happens to be on at the time. (Especially if Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin is also in the mix.)
But a project's massive toy potential technically has no bearing on how enjoyable it might be to actually bring the project together. Thankfully, Olyphant continued by saying just how much of a blast he had, and said Filoni and others are well aware of his interest in Cobb-knobbing with them again. In his words:
So color me confidently optimistic about seeing Cobb Vanth again, this time on the big screen. That is, unless he returns earlier, perhaps through Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka, in a way that takes him out of the running for the film. But if that happens, we riot.
Ahsoka is set to debut on Wednesday, August 23, for anyone with a Disney+ subscription, and there are more upcoming Star Wars projects on the way to keep us busy until we get more info about Dave Filoni's feature.
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Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper. Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.