Will Star Wars Make The Mandalorian Jeans Guy Canon?
Hours after The Mandalorian episode "The Siege" hit Disney+, one character demanded the attention of viewers above all. Meet Admiral Jeff Blue-Jeans, the show's very own Starbucks coffee cup moment.
This Star Wars: The Mandalorian article contains spoilers.
No character captured the spotlight in last week’s episode of The Mandalorian quite like Admiral Jeff Blue-Jeans, who literally stole the scene when an eagle-eyed viewer caught him in the background of an action sequence in “The Siege.” If you missed it the first time around, the cunning admiral can be seen in the bottom left corner of a shot, scheming while Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and Mando fight off a platoon of stormtroopers inside the Imperial base on Nevarro.
Judging from his single appearance in the Star Wars saga (that we know of), it’s clear that he prefers to operate in the shadows, just as his Emperor once did, but like the classic Star Wars villains of yesteryear, he dons a unique look that allows him to stand out: a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a truly menacing watch. That we never see the admiral’s visage only makes this shot more unnerving. In fact, it’s possible that the admiral is no man at all but, as director Carl Weathers said himself, “a bogey!”
So, what do we know about Admiral Jeff Blue-Jeans other than his sense of style is second to none? Unfortunately, not much. Despite the fact that many Bothans died trying to leak a Wookieepedia entry meant to uncover the admiral’s plans for Mando and friends, the page was quickly taken down, leaving only a screengrab for New Republic sleuths to examine.
“Admiral Jeff Blue Jeans was a male Imperial officer who fought with the Empire on several occasions,” the entry read before it was pulled by Wookieepedia’s admins. “Known for his strange look of a T-Shirt and blue jeans, he was a cunning warrior and a respected individual.”
Fortunately, despite attempts to cover up the truth, a few brave freedom fighters managed to get the word out about the mysterious admiral through memes like this one:
While we sit here wondering when we’ll be able to pre-order our very own Admiral Blue-Jeans action figure (complete with a wall that conceals most of his body), we have something else on our minds: is the admiral now part of official canon? Usually, the answer would be a no-brainer. The admiral is right there, clear as day, doing a Star Wars, which should technically make him part of Disney continuity automatically. Yet, like “Maclunkey” and “midi-chlorians” (called “M-count” now, according to the episode) before him, it seems that the Whills have decided to strike the admiral from their sacred journal, a fate worse than being digested by the sarlacc.
The admiral isn’t the first beloved Star Wars character to be wiped from continuity since Disney rebooted the Expanded Universe almost a decade ago, but he does seem to be the first non-canon character to appear in an official canon entry in the timeline, and it’s likely that this will be all he’ll ever be remembered for. That, and his Levis. Were we at the opera, Emperor Palpatine would call this a tragedy.
But Star Wars is about hope. Even an infamous continuity error like Han Solo’s dice, which appeared in exactly one shot inside the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit in A New Hope before disappearing forever, was eventually canonized in The Last Jedi. It’s always possible that the admiral could don a new pair of jeans to reignite our nostalgia 40 years from now. And if not, Disney should at least consider him for the next Lego Star Wars Holiday Special?
While Admiral Blue-Jeans, Gina Carano, and the dark troopers have commanded much of The Mandalorian discussion in the days since the premiere of “The Siege,” plenty has also been said about Weathers’ work behind the camera, which often captures the energy and tone of A New Hope. From a chase sequence meant to evoke the Death Star trench run, to a nod to the famous opening shot of the movie, to a fight at the start of the episode that would make an armless Ponda Baba shudder in the grave, “The Siege” plays like Weathers’ love letter to George Lucas’ original vision, and we’re truly glad to see his take on the classic tale. If nothing else, the Admiral Blue-Jeans meme has only helped immortalize the first of what will hopefully be many more Star Wars stories from Weathers.
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John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.