There has been a lot of speculation about what Nick Nolte’s role in Star Wars: The Mandalorian will be. MSW informants have provided information I’ve been able corroborate with various other sources and I think we have a pretty clear picture of what exactly what Nolte is playing and the process that has allowed him to play it.

Several sources are saying Nick Nolte is playing an ugnaught. I’m not kidding, many sources say Nolte is playing one of the little pig dudes we first met in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on Cloud City.

Ugnaughty by Nature: A Nick Nolte Star Wars Story.

Nolte’s character will not be digital. It doesn’t appear Nolte is performing the role on set either. Instead a new practical animatronic mask has been developed that works on voice command. So the mask which is being worn by a small woman matches Nolte’s infliction perfectly. The mask’s mouth movement is said to be phenomenal. MSW sources also have said that the mask was developed by Stan Winston’s shop of experts.

Since I was a small boy, I knew only an actor like Nick Nolte could bring this action figure to life.

After digging on this for some time, we’ve learned that Nolte was never on set, at least not so far to the best of our knowledge. He was actually working on another project and it was during a break from that he performed his Star Wars role, which appears to be complete at this time. It seems he did his entire part in just a few hours in a makeshift recording studio in a linen closet of all places (which is where I record my music so I’m not knocking it).

We have no idea how many takes of each line Nolte did and other information like that. So it is still really hard to tell how much of his ugnaught we will see in the series. But it does sound like Nolte did one day of voice acting work for the part and it was only a few hours of work. If his character is of few words, he could be most of it or it could be an indication his part is not that substantial and the star was cast for promotional purposes like many films do. That said, sources say he brought something special to part and we’re gonna dig the character (more on that soon).

Let me put some more bass on Nick Nolte’s voice.

Informants who have seen the Ugnaught mask say it is absolutely amazing what they have done with the look and the technology. While we’ve seen firsthand the amazing things they’re doing with those huge wrap-around screens like they used in the films to make space flight more realistic (which they’re doing to make whole environments and cities in this series) this technology actually furthers practical effects too.

The Mandalorian is going to be cutting edge in every way possible on every level, from the digital to the practical. The series has a huge array of talent involved and by all accounts is sounding like a dream Star Wars project fans are going very lucky to have the horizon.

The Mandalorian will premiere on Disney+ in 2019. Disney+ will also premiere the return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Sometime in the next year production on a Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel series will go into production for the streaming service.

If you enjoyed this update, please make sure to donate an unopened Star Wars toy to a hospitalized child with this year’s Kessel Toy Run.