Paz Vizsla

Hailing from the planet Mandalore, the Mandalorian Paz Vizsla of Clan Vizsla was a born survivor. He was a descendant of Mandalore Tarre Vizsla, a Jedi Mandalorian who founded the larger faction of House Vizsla and created the Darksaber—a legendary black lightsaber which gave its wielder claim to the throne of Mandalore—over a millennia before Vizsla's lifetime. During the Galactic Empire's reign, the Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze laid claim to rule Mandalore based purely on her blood and her ownership of the Darksaber, which was gifted to her. Vizlsa was a member of the Children of the Watch, who were dedicated followers of the ancient creed Way of the Mandalore. Followers of the Way did not believe in Kryze's claim to power, as she had not won the lightsaber in combat: it had been given over by fellow Mandalorian Sabine Wren.

With Kryze and her Mandalorian followers defying the Empire, the larger faction carried out the Great Purge of Mandalore, heavily bombing the surface of the planet and massacring many Mandalorians in what became known as the Night of a Thousand Tears. Vizsla and other followers of the ancient way had been on Mandalore's moon of Concordia, and so survived the onslaught of the Night. The remaining Mandalorians subsequently scattered throughout the galaxy thereafter and hid in Mandalorian coverts to preserve their numbers. During the reign of the New Republic, Vizsla resided with the Tribe in a covert on the planet Nevarro. Due to the Great Purge, the Tribe's members were forced to remain hidden in their enclave, with Vizsla guarding the armory within as a heavy infantry Mandalorian. In around 9 ABY, Vizsla witnessed the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin enter the covert with a camtono of beskar. Vizsla and several other Mandalorians watched as Djarin gave the beskar to the Tribe's Armorer and leader, intending to have armor forged from it.

Vizsla inspected the beskar, which had been taken by the Empire during the Great Purge and given to Djarin by an Imperial remnant in return for the delivery of the infant Grogu. Accusing Djarin of cowardice, Vizsla confronted him, the anger in his voice growing, leading to an altercation between the two Mandalorians. As Djarin and Vizsla held their vibro-knives at each other, the Armorer broke up the fight, asking them if they had removed their helmets, and reminding them of the Way of the Mandalore. Vizsla stepped aside, allowing the Armorer to forge armor for Djarin.

Shortly afterward, Djarin was confronted by a number of Bounty Hunters' Guild members led by Greef Karga after he rescued Grogu from the Imperial remnant. Karga intended to kill Djarin if he did not hand over Grogu, but the members of the Tribe arrived to protect the bounty hunter, descending from above with their jetpacks. Vizsla landed near Djarin, forming a tightly organized fire team.

Shooting down a number of bounty hunters with his blaster cannon, he helped force the Guild members back and created an escape route for Djarin. Turning to Djarin, Vizsla told him to escape while the Tribe held off the bounty hunters. Djarin stated that the enclave would need to be moved due to the Tribe's interference, which Vizsla acknowledged, citing the Way of the Mandalore. Vizsla provided cover as Djarin escaped to his starship, the Razor Crest, leaving Nevarro. As the Razor Crest departed, Vizsla flew alongside the vessel with his jetpack and saluted Djarin before turning back towards the ground.

As a result of the rescue, the Bounty Hunters' Guild lost control of Nevarro, and the Imperial remnant cracked down on the Tribe for their part in the incident. The covert was attacked by forces of the remnant, and most of its members were killed. Vizsla was able to escape the massacre, though, and the Armorer, who had also survived, stayed at the covert to gather her resources. She believed that some Mandalorians like Vizsla had managed to escape the planet.

One of the few survivors of the Tribe, Vizsla sought refuge on the Glavis Ringworld space station with the Armorer, trying to help her rebuild their forge and settlement from the caverns of Nevarro. They left signs leading to their new covert along Glavis Ringworld's Kolzoc Alley that were visible to vision settings in a macrobinocular viewplate. Soon enough, Din Djarin was able to find the signs and make his way into the covert, collapsing before the Armorer due to his injuries. The Armorer had Vizsla tend to the new arrival, and the heavy infantry Mandalorian took some bacta spray to heal a wound on Djarin's left leg.

As Vizsla healed the fellow Mandalorian's injury, Djarin thanked him for saving him on Nevarro and apologized for Vizsla having to sacrifice the covert, Vizsla replying that there were now three of them and promising that Djarin would be put to work soon. The Armorer inquired what weapon caused Djarin's wound and the Mandalorian revealed the Darksaber. Vizsla stared at the weapon of his ancestor, Tarre Vizsla, and the Armorer asked him to bring it to her, which he did so. The heavy infantry Mandalorian then watched as the Armorer inspected the black lightsaber and discussed its significance with Djarin.

After the Armorer confirmed that Djarin had completed his quest in returning Grogu to the Jedi, she welcomed him back into the covert and the Mandalorian and Vizsla set up a new forge for her. Vizsla asked Djarin how he had acquired the Darksaber, and the fellow Mandalorian confirmed he done so by defeating Moff Gideon, who had been involved in the Great Purge. The heavy infantry Mandalorian asked if the Moff was killed in the duel, only to hear that he had been sent to the New Republic instead to face justice. Vizsla declared that death would have been justice for Gideon, the Armorer agreeing as millions of Mandalorians had died because of the moff. Vizsla remained present as the Armorer and Djarin talked about the curse that led to the Great Purge.

Djarin later underwent training with the Darksaber under the Armorer, who criticized the Mandalorian's lack of focus with wielding the blade. Watching the session, Vizsla yearned for the saber which had spawned from his lineage and approached the pair, challenging Djarin to a duel for the Darksaber. Djarin accepted, and the pair removed their jetpacks and prepared to fight. Vizsla drew his vibro-knife and activated his shield projector whilst his opponent activated the Darksaber. In the ensuing fight, both combatants clashed their blades against one another, with Vizsla soon having his vibo-knife cut in two.

Taking advantage of Djarin's more sluggish movements with the Darksaber, Viszla forced his opponent's blade downwards and threw him to a lower level. Smacking his downed opponent into a wall, Vizsla proudly picked up the Darksaber and proclaimed that fate had returned it to his clan and decided Djarin's demise. Unfortunately for him, he too wielded the blade sluggishly, allowing Djarin to outmaneuver him swiftly stab him in the gaps of his armor. Djarin held his vibro-knife around his challenger's throat, and the Armorer concluded the duel over, with Djarin being the winner.

The Armorer asked whether any of them had removed their helmet around anyone. Vizsla confirmed that he had not; however, Djarin begrudgingly admitted that he had. Vizsla called the Mandalorian an apostate of the Way of the Mandalore and told him to leave. The Armorer told the disgraced Mandalorian that he could only find atonement in the Living Waters beneath the Mines of Mandalore, which Djarin believed was destroyed. Djarin thus left and took the Darksaber with him.

Vizsla and the Armorer eventually relocated to a new covert, residing in the caves of a rocky desert planet. There they regrew a tribe of Mandalorians, including a number of foundlings, one being Vizsla's own Foundling son Ragnar Vizsla. One day, the tribe held a ceremony for the foundling Ragnar's swearing of the Mandalorian Creed. Vizsla stood to one side with his comrades while the Armorer led a procession to take the helmet to the young boy. Ragnar, stood in a lake, repeated the Armorer in reciting the creed, and he received his helmet, Vizsla and the tribe joining them in saying "This is the Way."

As the recital continued, the Armorer stopped the initiate, detecting a threat. Noticing, Vizsla stepped forward when a giant dinosaur turtle emerged from the lake, nearly eating Ragnar. The other Mandalorians began opening fire on the giant beast, Vizsla telling the younger ones to get to the caves. The heavy infantry Mandalorian then open fired on the dinosaur turtle. With the tribe keeping it's attacks at bay, Vizsla ordered some of his comrades to take to the skies, jetpacking up with a handful of warriors. He gave a trio of them coverfire while they planted detonators on the creature, a move that failed to defeat it.

The dinosaur turtle continued to fight the Mandalorians, knocking many about. When the beast turned its attention to Ragnar, who had not fled like ordered to, Vizsla flew down and knocked the boy out the way before firing on the dinosaur turtle himself. The creature attempted to eat the heavy infantry Mandalorian when Din Djarin arrived in his N-1 starfighter, striking the beast with cannonfire. As Vizsla recovered himself, Djarin launched two proton torpedos into the dinosaur turtle, killing it. Vizsla and his comrades regathered to watch their visitor land and open his cockpit.

After speaking with the Armorer, Djarin went on a mission to Mandalore to find the Living Waters, discovering that the world was survivable. With the help of the Mandalorian Nite Owl and revolutionary Bo-Katan Kryze, Djarin was able to find and bathe in the Waters, his companion having to save him when he fell too deep. The pair soon returned to Vizsla's covert, where the heavy infantry Mandalorian spotted their ships land. Joined by a group of other covert Mandalorians, Vizsla stopped Djarin and Kryze, calling the former an apostate once again. Djarin claimed he had been to the Mines of Mandalore, but Vizsla still believed that the Mines were destroyed and that the planet was cursed. Kryze declared herself as witness, Vizsla asking who the "Nite Owl" was.

Kryze revealed her identity to Vizsla, who declared her too an apostate as House Kryze had fallen from the Way. Djarin, though, reaffirmed that he had been to the Living Waters, bringing out a flask as proof. Thus Vizsla brought the two visitors to the Armorer to test Djarin's proof. The heavy infantry Mandalorian explained Djarin's claims to the Mandalorian armorer, and the Armorer tested the water, proving that Djarin was telling the truth. As she had also technically bathed, Kryze was also declared redeemed, and the Tribe welcomed the two into the covert, Vizsla watching from the side.

Later, while the tribe was training, Ragnar was suddenly snatched by a shriek-hawk. Vizsla warned the others about shooting the creature, as it could harm the foundling. Vizsla pursued the beast, but ran out of jetpack fuel. However, Kryze took her ship to track it, and managed to track the shriek-hawk to its nest. The Armorer ordered a search party. Vizsla, Djarin and Kryze joined. Kryze landed the ship as close as she could so as not to alert the shriek-hawk. Vizsla gave Kryze the honor of eating before the fire, as she was the leader of the search party, while the others had to look for places where they could eat privately.

The next morning they began their climb to the peak, and reached the shriek-hawk's nest. It was not there and they began to search for the foundling. Djarin detected a heat source, and Vizsla immediately ran towards it, despite Kryze's warning. Vizsla explaind his urgency by revealing that Ragnar is his son, and called out for him. However, the heat source was shriek-hawk's own offspring, and then it appeared, attempting to feed the foundling to them. When Vizsla scrambled to help Ragnar, the shriek-hawk picked Vizsla up in his mouth and Ragnar in his claws. Kryze used her jetpack to go after them, but was buffeted away by the shriek-hawk's wings. After she recovered, she was joined by Djarin, and together they were able to fire lariats into the shriek-hawk's body. Kryze used her cable to get to the shriek-hawk's head, where she stabbed it repeatedly in the eye until the the creature roared in pain and dropped Vizsla.

The other Mandalorians managed to get their lariats around the creature, and Djarin was able to get his lariat around one of its wings, sending it off balance. He rescued Ragnar from its claws, and the shriek-hawk plunged into the lake. As it struggles to take off again, a dinosaur turtle rised from beneath it and snapped it up in its jaws, pulling it down into the water. Djarin and Ragnar landed next to Vizsla, where Vizsla urgently asked if Ragnar is alright, and hugged him. Ragnar assured him that he is okay, and Vizsla thanked Djarin, to which Djarin replied, "This is the Way." Vizsla echoed it.

Later on, Nevarro was attacked by a group of pirates led by Pirate King Gorian Shard. High Magistrate Greef Karga sent out a call for help to Captain Carson Teva of the New Republic. Teva visited Coruscant, requesting resources to aid Nevarro, however, it was declined. Determined to aid the planet as well as prove his belief that the pirates has been hired by Gideon, Teva visited the Mandalorians, having already become well acquainted with Djarin during his quest to bring Grogu to the Jedi. As Teva landed, two Mandalorians aimed their snipers at him from above the cave entrance. Vizsla, accompanied by a squad of other Mandalorians, confronted Teva, ordering him to clear out before telling him that the New Republic was not welcome on their planet.

Djarin soon arrived, de-escalating the situation. Teva explained the situation to him, before Djarin stated that the covert would need to move now that their location had been revealed. Vizsla stepped in and suggested that they kill Teva, however, Djarin ordered him not to, as Teva had saved his life before. The Captain went to give Djarin the message sent by Karga, before Vizsla and the other Mandalorians equipped their weapons. As a result, Teva moved much slower, before tossing the message over to Djarin. Eventually, Teva departed the planet, but not before promising to keep their location a secret.

The covert soon returned to their cave, where Djarin gave a speech convincing the Mandalorians to assist in the battle. Following this speech, the Armorer asked of anyone else wished to speak, which Vizsla accepted. Vizsla explained the history the Mandalorians had with Karga, and brought up the question of why they should help him, before stating that they were Mandalorians, and it was their duty. He then expressed his appreciation to Kryze and Djarin for saving his son Ragnar, before repeating the mantra of the Way. Eventually, the Mandalorians arrived on Nevarro, and defeated the pirate forces there. The battle resulted in the death of Gorian Shard, and Karga expressed his appreciations to the Mandalorians, offering them residence down by Bulloch Canyon. Following the battle, Vizsla spoke to Kryze, telling her the the Armorer wished to speak with her, before guiding her down to their former base down in the sewers. The Armorer allowed Kryze to remove her helmet, and asked her to recruit other Mandalorians. When Vizsla asked why she showed her face, the Armorer stated that Kryze walked both worlds.

When Kryze returned to Nevarro with her unit, she mustered the call for Mandalorians to reunite, and formed a party of volunteers to join her in establishing a scouting foothold on their homeworld, with Paz being the first member of the Tribe after Djarin to volunteer to join the party. Once on Mandalore, Vizsla got into a fight with Axe Woves, but the two were stopped by Grogu before it could escalate too far. Upon finding the Great Forge, they were ambushed by Moff Gideon's forces, who led the Mandalorians into a trap. Discovering that the Empire had a stronghold on their world the entire time, Gideon captured Djarin and ordered the total extermination of the remaining Mandalorians both on-world and in orbit. Buying time for Kryze to create an escape with the Darksaber, Vizsla almost singlehandedly held off the incoming Imperials until everyone successfully escaped the trap point. With Kryze calling for him to escape with her, Vizsla instead sealed the doors behind him, and would give his life in a last stand to ensure the others were not followed. After defeating all the Imperial commandos, he was then surrounded by three Imperial Praetorian Guards. While Paz was able to briefly put up a fight, they then killed him, holding true to the Creed to the very end.

A hulking human male from Mandalore, Paz Vizsla was a mysterious Mandalorian of the Heavy Infantry rank. He despised the Galactic Empire and anyone who affiliated themselves with it due to the events that had happened to the Mandalorians during the Great Purge. A born survivor, he was determined to help preserve the Mandalorian heritage after the event.

Vizsla accused the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin of being a coward for taking jobs from former Imperials. However, despite their differences, Vizsla followed the Way of the Mandalore foremost, protecting Djarin when he was attacked by the Bounty Hunters' Guild. Vizsla was extremely devoted to the Way and to his lineage, claiming to be the rightful owner of the Darksaber due to his ancestry and calling Djarin an "apostate" for his admittance to removing his helmet in front of others. When he observed that Djarin was unsuccessful in his training with the Darksaber, he was sure that he could beat Djarin and thought that he was more worthy to wield the weapon. However, he was unable to defeat Djarin in combat.

Vizsla later attended his son Ragnar's swearing of the Mandalorian Creed. When the ceremony was interrupted by an attacking predatory creature, he ordered that the children be sent into the caves for safety. When Bo-Katan Kryze joined the Mandalorian Covert, Vizsla was initially skeptical of her due to her past. Vizsla cared deeply about his son, as shown by his immense parental determination to track down and kill a creature that had abducted Ragnar. The creature was eventually killed with help from Djarin and Kryze, who helped Vizsla rescue Ragnar. This action forever earns Vizsla's respect. When Djarin called on the Covert to rescue the people of Navarro from invading pirates, Vizsla vouched for Djarin, stating that they should come to Navarro's aid and that Djarin and Kryze were leading the way to a brighter future. Vizsla was among the few volunteers who joined Kryze in scouting Mandalore for reclaiming the planet. Vizsla sacrificed himself to buy time for the Mandalorians to escape Gideon's trap, holding to his word and the Creed until his last breath.

Vizsla was skilled in combat, able to wield a heavy blaster cannon and fend off a number of attackers at once. During his duel against Djarin, he showed himself rather formidable and used his great strength to his advantage. However, he ultimately lost.

Paz Vizsla wore a suit of Heavy Infantry Mandalorian Armor, which was standard beskar Mandalorian armor with reinforced plating. The armor was primarily blue in color, with some yellow pieces, and had a mythosaur skull emblem on his pauldron. His left Mandalorian vambrace was equipped with a large wrist-mounted flamethrower, and a shield projector. He wore a kama and a jetpack with gravity stabilizers for flight balance. His helmet had a rangefinder. He also wielded a M-55 Medium Repeating Blaster and a vibro-knife.

Paz Vizsla appeared in "Chapter 3: The Sin" of the live-action Disney+ series The Mandalorian, released on November 22, 2019. While not identified in the episode, Paz Vizsla's name was given in the credits. When "The Sin" originally aired, its credits identified him as "Paz Vizla," though they were later updated to read "Paz Vizsla." Vizsla was voiced by series creator Jon Favreau—a nod to his first role for producer Dave Filoni, the character of Pre Vizsla in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars—and portrayed by Tait Fletcher, who previously appeared as a trawler in the first episode of the series. In "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian" of the live-action series The Book of Boba Fett, which was directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and released on January 26, 2022, Vizsla was portrayed once again by Fletcher, with serving as stunt double. In "Chapter 17: The Apostate," released on March 1 2023, the character's stunt double was .

Fletcher learned about his part as Vizsla shortly after he received the news that he was chosen to play the trawler character, but was unaware of the exact role until construction of the suit was underway. Fletcher claimed that playing his two characters was an incredible experience, remarking on the galvanizing nature of Vizsla's character.

The idea of Paz Vizsla originated with Favreau, who wanted to include a Mandalorian antagonist who had heavy armor such that they resembled a Mandalorian warrior on steroids: a heavy-infantry Mandalorian. Concept artist Brian Matyas worked to visualize those ideas, creating a number of designs for the character. One design used sandtrooper shoulder pauldrons to make the Mandalorian look chunkier, which Matyas felt he was overdoing with. In another design, he worked with a less variation in color for the character, in which was more dark paletted, and used a barreled chest to make him look more intimidating.

For Vizsla's helmet, Matyas tried to make the visor more curvilinear, working off the design of Nazi helmets. He was also influenced by the Brutalist and geometric shapes of Art Deco and the German Expressionist movement to make the shoulders look broader. The rangefinder was made chunkier to add to this idea, avoiding the stalk-shaped ones that might seem flimsier. The artist also made the visor smaller to make the character seem larger and played around with jetpack designs, finding it harder to conceive one for someone who did not appear as nimble in flight.

For Vizsla's weapon, art director Doug Chiang wanted something that could contrast Djarin's whistling birds and fork-shaped rifle. He coined a plasma laser that worked like a flamethrower, spilling onto the ground like molten lava upon the weapon's deactivation. Artist Christian Alzmann drew art for Chiang's idea. Matyas envisioned the Vizsla as the type to hold a gatling gun rather than the Western-style double pistols. The blaster cannon he ultimately designed was intended to be a nod to the M56 Smartgun from the science fiction film Aliens.

Matyas was advised to have the gun be fed by the jetpack, an idea that reminded him of the character Baze Malbus from the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Matyas resultantly designed a chunky hose that informed how to construct the delivery system into the fuel canister. Art depicting a Mandalorian using a jetpack to fly alongside the Razor Crest was created by Chiang and John Park; however, the pictured Mandalorian's armor appears similar to Djarin's rather than Vizsla's.

Din Djarin and Other Characters of the Underworld, an issue of De Agostini's Star Wars Encyclopedia series, claims that Vizsla's homeworld was Concordia and that his height was 1.93 meters. The 2021 reference book Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition contradicts both details, stating that the homeworld was Mandalore and that Vizsla's height was 1.91 meters. This article uses the information from the latter source.

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