The Client: An Overview
A human male, known as "The Client," once held the rank of Imperial officer within the Galactic Empire. Following the fall of the Empire, he aligned himself with an Imperial remnant under the leadership of Moff Gideon. In 9 ABY, he, alongside the Imperial scientist Doctor Penn Pershing, set up operations in a safe house situated on the planet Nevarro. Their mission was to secure and extract blood from Grogu, a Force-sensitive infant alien. While others referred to the infant as "the Child," the Client consistently called him "the asset," and enlisted numerous bounty hunters from the local Bounty Hunters' Guild to pursue his objective.
One such hunter seeking a bounty was the Mandalorian Din Djarin, who encountered the Client at his designated safe house. As an initial payment for the task, the Imperial offered Djarin a beskar ingot, along with intelligence and a tracking fob to locate and secure "the asset." Djarin successfully hunted down Grogu and returned him to the safe house. Delighted with the mission's accomplishment, the Client rewarded the bounty hunter with a camtono containing twenty beskar ingots. When Djarin inquired about the intended fate of the infant, the Imperial dismissed his questions and instructed him to leave.
The Client, with Pershing's assistance, proceeded to extract blood from Grogu. Despite the Client's indifference to "the asset"'s well-being, the doctor ensured the infant's survival. Meanwhile, Djarin, experiencing a change of heart, went back and rescued the Child from the safe house. In response, the Client, backed by Imperial reinforcements, seized control of Nevarro City and dispatched bounty hunters from the Bounty Hunters' Guild to recapture Grogu. Greef Karga, the Guild's agent, lured Djarin back to Nevarro under the guise of helping him reclaim the Child from the Client, but ultimately switched his allegiance, opting instead to support the Mandalorian and his allies.
Djarin was handcuffed and escorted by Karga and the Mandalorian's ally Cara Dune to the Client in the Nevarro Common House, carrying an empty pram as a diversion in place of Grogu. There, the Imperial engaged in conversation with Djarin, discussing the planet Mandalore's defiance against the fallen Empire, before requesting to see the Child. Before he could do so, the Client received a communication from Gideon. The moff instructed his associate to re-examine the pram for the infant before ordering his squad of death troopers to open fire on the common house, resulting in the deaths of the Client and his subordinates.
Born sometime between 70 BBY and 61 BBY, the human male known as "the Client" rose to the position of Imperial officer within the Galactic Empire, earning an Imperial medallion signifying distinguished service. The Empire met its end at the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, yet the Client remained dedicated to its remnants, proudly displaying his medal and eventually collaborating with an Imperial remnant led by the warlord Moff Gideon. Under Gideon's leadership, the Client established a discreet presence in a safe house located in Nevarro City on the Outer Rim planet Nevarro, maintaining a low profile with a small detachment of stormtroopers for security. Doctor Penn Pershing, a scientist and former Imperial officer, served under the Client and Gideon, operating a laboratory within the safe house.
In 9 ABY, Gideon tasked the Client with securing and extracting blood from Grogu, a Force-sensitive infant of the same species as the esteemed former Jedi Grand Master Yoda. At the time, the infant was simply known as "the Child," though the Imperial referred to him as "the asset." The Imperials possessed the Child's last known coordinates and tracking fobs capable of pinpointing "the asset"'s location within close proximity.
Recognizing the need for a swift and discreet resolution, the Client initiated a highly lucrative, yet unofficial, operation to enlist bounty hunters in the retrieval of Grogu. He informed Greef Karga, the Bounty Hunters' Guild's representative on Nevarro, about the assignment. Deviating from standard procedure, the Client opted to meet prospective hunters in person, withholding any information beyond Grogu's age and tracking signature. He provided chits for them to access his safe house. While numerous bounty hunters from the Guild accepted the task, none succeeded. During this period, Karga informed Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, about the opportunity following the completion of his previous contracts. After the Mandalorian agreed to take on the job, the guild agent informed the Client that Djarin was on his way to meet him, describing the hunter as the best in the parsec but also expensive.
The Client awaited Djarin at his desk within the safe house, guarded by four armed stormtroopers. A GNK-series power droid guided Djarin to the room, where the Client greeted him. Pershing then hastily entered the room, startling the Mandalorian into immediately drawing his weapons and prompting the stormtroopers to do the same on the bounty hunter. Pershing apologized, and the Client stood to introduce the scientist before asking that Djarin lower his guns. When the bounty hunter demanded that the stormtroopers lower theirs first, stubbornly bragging about his odds to defeat the four, the Client obliged and signaled to the troopers.
With the standoff settled, Djarin sat at the Client's request and the Imperial presented a down payment of an ingot of beskar, a metal used for Mandalorian armor which had been heavily plundered by the Empire during its purge of the Mandalorian homeworld of Mandalore. The Client explained that more of the material would be handed over on delivery of "the asset" which they sought. After Pershing clarified that "the asset" that they wanted needed to be delivered alive, the Client revealed that he would also accept proof of termination for a lesser payment, a statement that did not please the scientist.
When Djarin asked for the puck, the Client revealed that, for discretionary reasons, they could only provide a tracking fob, the last four digits of "the asset"'s chain code—his age of fifty years—and the Child's last known location. The Imperial assured the Mandalorian that an individual of his skill would easily accomplish the task. Djarin took the down payment and the fob and exited the room to complete the job. As the bounty hunter did so, the Client remarked that the beskar belonged back in the Mandalorians' hands, adding that it was good to restore the natural order of things.
Utilizing the provided data and tracking fob, Djarin successfully located and secured Grogu on the planet Arvala-7. He contacted Karga en route back to Nevarro, who advised him to deliver "the asset" directly to the Client. Upon the Mandalorian's arrival, the Imperial awaited him at his desk, accompanied by Pershing. Overjoyed, the Client rose from his seat and approached the Child's hovering pram, employing the fob to verify the identity of "the asset." Pershing then scanned Grogu, confirming his health and suitability for experimentation.
The Client acknowledged Djarin's well-deserved reputation. In response to the bounty hunter's inquiry about the number of other hunters equipped with fobs, the Imperial explained the need to ensure the acquisition of "the asset." The Client then presented the promised payment, a camtono containing twenty ingots of beskar, expressing his satisfaction in returning the material to Mandalorian hands. Before departing, the Mandalorian questioned the Imperials' intentions for the infant, but the Client dismissed his inquiry with a glare, asserting that the transaction was complete and should be forgotten, in accordance with Guild tradition.
Following Djarin's departure, the Client and Pershing discussed the procedure for extracting Grogu's blood. The Imperial insisted on a swift extraction by any means necessary, but the doctor prevented him from harming "the asset," arguing that Gideon had explicitly ordered Grogu to be brought back alive. In that argument, the Client told Pershing to simply extract what they needed from the Child as quickly as possible, as he could no longer promise that the doctor would be kept safe.
Unbeknownst to the pair, Djarin was spying on their conversation. The Mandalorian had grown attached to Grogu and returned to rescue the Child. After the Client left him, Pershing was able to retrieve some of "the asset"'s blood. At that point, Djarin broke into the safe house and liberated Grogu from Pershing, sparing the doctor. The fobs for the Child were then reactivated to entice the members of the Bounty Hunters' Guild to intercept the rogue hunter and take "the asset" back, but Djarin's Mandalorian tribe intervened and helped their fellow Mandalorian escape with the infant.
After Djarin escaped with Grogu, the Client took control of Nevarro City, with Imperial remnant reinforcements coming from an Imperial facility on the far side of the planet where Pershing was experimenting with Grogu's blood. The Imperial forces attacked the Mandalorian tribe at its covert in the city's sewers and killed many of them. The Client also used the Guild, sending its hunters out to find Djarin while he sought to lie low where the Client could not find him.
With all the Guild hunters who intercepted Djarin having been killed, Karga coaxed Djarin to return to Nevarro, pretending to want help in overthrowing the Client and freeing Nevarro City from its occupation. The agent in reality intended to kill the Mandalorian and take Grogu to the Imperial. Both convened on the planet with their respective posses, but after being saved by the Child, Karga betrayed his own hunters and chose to help Djarin and his allies, the ex-rebel Cara Dune and the Ugnaught Kuiil, to take out the Client.
Karga and Dune escorted a handcuffed Djarin to Nevarro City, intending to get close to the Client before releasing the Mandalorian and killing the Imperial. They also brought Grogu's empty pram as they made their way to the Nevarro Common House, which the Client used as his office. The Client himself was seated in the cantina, guarded by a squad of stormtroopers. Rising from his seat, the Imperial inspected Djarin's new Mandalorian armor, forged from the beskar that he had given to the Mandalorian. Offering to Karga a drink, he invited the agent and Djarin to sit with him at a table.
The Client questioned Djarin on why Mandalore resisted Imperial rule, claiming that the Empire brought justice to every system over which it had influence. He then rhetorically asked the Mandalorian if peace had truly been restored after the Empire's fall and stated his opinion that the event had only resulted in death and chaos. The Client requested to be allowed to see Grogu with his own eyes but was informed by Karga that he was asleep. The Imperial insisted that they would be quiet and ordered the agent to open the hovering pram before the former was interrupted by a call from Moff Gideon.
The Client answered Gideon's call, with the moff asking him if Grogu was secured. The Imperial confirmed that he was in their hands and was sleeping, but Gideon told him to inspect the pram again. As the Client looked on in suspicion, a squad of Gideon's death troopers, positioned outside the common house, immediately opened fire on the cantina, killing the Imperial, his stormtroopers, and the protocol droid bartender as collateral damage. Afterward, Gideon and his battalion of troops surrounded the establishment and gave to Djarin and his allies an ultimatum to surrender Grogu. The moff's attempt was unsuccessful, as the Mandalorian and his cohort were ultimately able to escape the Imperial forces, killing many troopers in the process.
The Client, a human male with a height of 1.83 meters (6 foot, possessed light skin, white hair, and light blue eyes, presenting an elderly appearance by 9 ABY. Exhibiting a stoic and stern demeanor, he spoke with a refined, calm, and polite manner. The Imperial maintained composure even when Din Djarin and stormtroopers brandished weapons in his presence, willingly instructing his men to lower their weapons first. His presence intimidated Greef Karga, who spoke with caution when addressing him. While possessing high intelligence and diplomatic skills, the Client lacked significant strength or speed, though he possessed some combat skill. He was not Force-sensitive.
As a vile and sinister individual, the Client displayed unwavering loyalty to the Empire, reminiscing fondly about its reign and continuing to wear the Imperial medallion after its demise. He believed that the fallen faction brought peace and prosperity to every system under its influence, considering it the only one worth supporting, and asserting that its absence had only resulted in death and chaos. The Client harbored animosity towards those who resisted Imperial rule and disrupted what he perceived as the "natural order of things." His expression conveyed a sense of gravity when discussing the times that followed the Empire's collapse.
The Client possessed knowledge of Mandalorian culture, expressing disappointment that their world, Mandalore, had resisted Imperial rule. He viewed Djarin's beskar payment as a means of partially compensating for the Empire's destruction of Mandalore. As Djarin departed, the Client expressed his satisfaction in seeing the beskar returned to its rightful owners. Upon inspecting Djarin's newer Mandalorian armor, he commended the craftsmanship of the traditional Mandalorian artisans. The Imperial made sure to acknowledge the Mandalorian's own reputation, considering it proven when the bounty hunter brought Grogu to him.
The Client was fixated on acquiring Grogu, determined to obtain him by any means necessary, regardless of the latter's survival. Despite previously agreeing with Pershing that they would require "the asset" to be delivered alive, he offered to Djarin the alternative of termination and claimed to be pragmatic when the scientist complained. When the Mandalorian brought Grogu to the Imperial, the Imperial rose from his seat in excitement and smiled as he inspected "the asset."
The Client exhibited both seriousness and secrecy regarding his intentions for the Child, glaring at Djarin when the bounty hunter inquired about the infant's fate, responding with an insult about the endangered state of the Mandalorian's kind. He desired the swift completion of the task of acquiring Grogu's blood, consistently disregarding the need to keep the infant alive in the process. After Karga pretended to return "the asset" to him, he requested to be able to see the Child, insisting on opening the hovering pram despite claims that the infant was asleep.
"The Client" made his debut in "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian," the inaugural episode of The Mandalorian's first season on Disney+, directed by Dave Filoni and broadcast on November 12, 2019. The character also appeared in "Chapter 3: The Sin" and "Chapter 7: The Reckoning," later episodes of the season directed by Deborah Chow and released on November 22 and December 18 of that year, respectively. The Client was portrayed by the award-winning film director Werner Herzog, with John Dixon serving as his stunt double in "Chapter 7: The Reckoning."
While Herzog's casting was announced on December 12, 2018, the character of the Client was first mentioned during the show's panel at Celebration Chicago on April 14, 2019. The character subsequently appeared in the show's official trailer, released on YouTube on August 24 of that year. His credited title of "the Client" was first mentioned on the Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer & International website on December 27. According to Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo, the writers for The Mandalorian explicitly did not want "the Client" to be given a name.
Herzog was invited to play The Mandalorian by its showrunner and creator, Jon Favreau, who was reportedly very set on having him for the role. The highly acclaimed director's only knowledge of the Star Wars saga by that point had been from trailers and excerpts as, by his own account, he did not watch many films. He likewise had no knowledge of Favreau's past work but believed that the showrunner admired his acting, and requested to look at the screenplay. The filmmaker liked what he saw of the screenplay given to him and felt that the dark, untrustworthy figure pitched to him would be easy to play. Herzog also saw the acting job as an opportunity to earn money back after financing his 2019 film Family Romance, LLC with his own means.
Artist Brian Matyas created concept art of the Client after Herzog was cast to play the character. The artist based the character's design on depictions of Italian mafia bosses. Filming for "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" and "Chapter 3: The Sin" took place between October 1 and October 26 in 2018, while "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" was filmed shortly thereafter, from October 29 to November 12. Due to reasons of secrecy, during production of The Mandalorian Herzog was led to believe that the series had a completely different title.
Having never experienced the Star Wars world before, Herzog received background information regarding both his character and the overall context. He even questioned whether the stormtroopers were allied with the Client or were his adversaries. He was greatly impressed by the technology utilized on The Mandalorian's set, specifically The Volume, which he described as an advancement beyond the "outdated" green screen method. This allowed for a more realistic view of the environment where the characters were acting during filming.
In one particular scene from "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian," featuring Greef Karga and Din Djarin inside the Nevarro Common House, Carl Weathers, who played Karga, attempted to demonstrate the Client's influence over his character. He did this by speaking more cautiously when discussing Herzog's character compared to his general conversations with the Mandalorian. Weathers held Herzog and his work in high esteem, consistently referring to the celebrated filmmaker as "maestro" throughout their collaboration on set. Later, in an interview, Weathers expressed that working with Herzog stood out as the most significant moment of his career.
Herzog once observed the filming of a scene featuring Chris Bartlett, who served as the body double for multiple characters in The Mandalorian, including the protocol droid bartender that fell with the Client. This occurred early in Herzog's time on set. Bartlett admitted that he struggled to contain his excitement about being involved in a Star Wars production. He asked Herzog, whom he regarded as a talented actor, if he shared the same enthusiasm. Bartlett recounted that Herzog replied by stating that they were engaged in serious work, creating and giving life to characters that would not otherwise exist. Bartlett later told Star Wars Insider that this statement was absolutely correct. He remembered Herzog's words during his interview with Insider's Pat Jankiewicz as a remarkable, condensed acting lesson.
Filoni later mentioned that the Client was among the first real-life human characters he had directed. His previous experience was largely in animated projects, such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Herzog viewed his contribution to the first season of The Mandalorian as providing the "essential elements" of the narrative. After gaining a deeper understanding of the Star Wars universe, he likened it to an expanding mythology and a novel perspective on people's roles within the universe.
When Herzog first saw Grogu, often called "Baby Yoda," he was amazed by the realism of the puppet and its animatronics. He considered it a significant technological achievement, describing it as "heartbreakingly beautiful." Chow noted that during the filming of the scene between the Client and Grogu in "Chapter 3: The Sin," Herzog became so captivated by the Child's puppet that he seemingly forgot it was a puppet. He began directing it as if it were a real person.
At the conclusion of that shot, Chow and Jason Porter, a visual effects supervisor from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), conducted a "plate shot." This involved removing the puppet to allow ILM to potentially incorporate a CGI version of Grogu if the practical shot proved unsatisfactory. Herzog disapproved of this decision, believing that the Child's practical appearance was a major advancement in filmmaking. He reportedly urged the creators to embrace the magic of the puppet, even calling them cowards. Favreau and Filoni, who were among those who heard Herzog's complaint, eventually agreed and prioritized using Grogu's puppet as much as possible, ensuring that the CGI—the rendered Baby Yoda—did not surpass the puppet's capabilities.
Joe Schreiber's 2021 junior novelization of the first season of The Mandalorian presents some of the Client's dialogue differently compared to how they were spoken or shown in the series. The 2020 storybook The Mandalorian: A Clan of Two, by Brooke Vitale, claims that the Client's soldiers launched an attack on Din Djarin's group, resulting in injury to Greef Karga. However, in Chapter 7, the attackers were a group of Nevarro reptavians. This article adheres to the events as they are depicted in the show.