One of George Lucas’ original Star Wars rules is broken by Omid Abtahi’s Dr. Pershing, a major recurring character in The Mandalorian. In the third episode of The Mandalorian‘s first season, we meet Dr. Pershing, an Imperial scientist who specializes in cloning and creating artificial beings called strand cast.
Pershing refused to terminate the Child despite extracting biological data from Grogu to continue Moff Gideon’s experiments. But it’s not just what he does that makes him unique; it’s also how he looks. Since they go against a longstanding rule set by franchise creator George Lucas, Dr. Pershing’s glasses have caused quite a stir in the Star Wars community.
Pershing: The First Star Wars Character To Wear Glasses
In Disney’s Star Wars canon, Pershing is the first live-action human to wear glasses. Only two live-action characters in the Star Wars Legends canon wore glasses—Noa Briqualon in the Ewoks: The Battle for Endor film and Saun Dann in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.
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The Clone Wars glasses first appeared in the Star Wars canon. Although other Star Wars cartoon and comic book characters have worn glasses, Pershing is the first to do so in a live-action Star Wars production.
In the Star Wars saga, regular eyeglasses are rarely seen, though there is no shortage of goggles or other forms of protective eyewear. George Lucas did not want glasses to appear in the original Star Wars trilogy. This decision was made to sell better the idea that the films take place in a fantastical world far removed from Earth’s everyday technologies.
As with pirate king Gorian Shard’s steering wheel in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, Pershing’s glasses represent a departure from Lucas’s original conception of the Star Wars universe, in which both wheels and glasses had long since been obsolete.
Dr. Pershing’s Glasses Point To A Major Star Wars Change
Pershing may not wear the same type of glasses people on modern Earth use to improve their vision. He always has them on, even when it’s dark inside, so they’re not just for sun or dust protection, and the fact that they’re tinted suggests they serve some other purpose.
Pershing still needed his glasses even when he and Elia Kane were scavenging a decommissioned Star Destroyer. In The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3, his glasses were removed after Kane used a New Republic mind flayer on Pershing. Whether or not Pershing’s glasses make a comeback is an open question.
Glasses may seem like a minor infraction of George Lucas’ rule, but they actually show how dynamic the Star Wars universe is. Longtime fans and franchise newcomers will appreciate The Mandalorian‘s willingness to try out new concepts and build on the canon.
As The Mandalorian continues to win over viewers with its compelling narrative and unforgettable characters, it will be interesting to see if and how other canonical aspects of the Star Wars universe are challenged or reinterpreted. Even in a galaxy far, far away, change is constant; the Star Wars universe is not immune to this fact, as evidenced by the presence of Dr. Pershing’s glasses.
Source: Screen Rant
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