Chapter 5 of The Mandalorian featured many familiar vibes for Star Wars fans but one scene offered our first look at something never before seen in Star Wars canon: sign language.
The Mandalorian seeks safe passage across lands that belong to the familiar Tusken Raiders on Tatooine. He is able to barter with the Tusken Raiders by using a signed language, our first time seeing this form of communication in the galaxy far, far away.
The scene brought to mind the history of the Native American people who also used signed language to communicate between tribes and with frontiersmen for the purposes of bartering.
Before I was able to investigate the credits for this episode I read the following post from my good friend Michael who is a member of the Star Wars Autograph News Facebook group and is also Deaf.
After reading Mike’s post I checked my photos of the credits and saw “Tuskan Raider Scout #1: Troy Kotsur.” While I immediately caught the different spelling of “Tuskan” I did not realize Kotsur was Deaf.
Kotsur appeared in film The Number 23, and popular television shows CSI: NY, Scrubs, and Criminal Minds. He will be in the upcoming film Coda which also stars Marlee Matlin.
I look forward to adding his autograph on an image from The Mandalorian in the near future.
You can follow Troy Kotsur on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.
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