Sometimes the best Star Wars stories don’t come from the screen — they come from behind the scenes. And honestly, this one is one of my favorites. Imagine showing up for work one day, and George Lucas himself strolls onto set, takes a look around, and casually decides your Star Wars character’s name.
That’s exactly what happened during the making of The Mandalorian.
George Lucas Makes a Surprise Visit to The Mandalorian Set
By the time The Mandalorian Season 2 was filming, the series had already proven itself as a massive hit, blending old-school Star Wars energy with new ideas. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni carried the torch, but they weren’t the only ones around. George Lucas would occasionally stop by the set, not to take over, but just to watch, chat, and offer bits of wisdom.
Simon Kassianides, the actor behind the Mandalorian Axe Woves, recalled in an interview that Lucas happened to drop in one day while he was getting ready for his role. The costume team was still finalizing details, and the character — a Mandalorian loyal to Bo-Katan — didn’t even have a finalized name yet.
That’s when Lucas chimed in. He simply looked at the armored Mandalorian in front of him and said: “There should be a character called Axe.”
From that moment on, Axe Woves had a name — one coined by the creator of Star Wars himself.
Kassianides later recalled the moment in an interview:
“My very first time meeting Jon [Favreau] and Dave [Filoni], and being fitted for Season 2… Jon and Dave looked at each other and asked if I knew how the character got his name. I just said it’s a pretty cool name. And they said that the day George Lucas visited the set, he was sitting there and just suggested that there should be a character called Axe, quite randomly. But from that moment onwards I thought, I better get my textbooks out. I mean humbling, right? I mean, you’re involved in something like that. And you realize that the guy conjured up this really cool name. You know just that it adds to it all.”
Why the Name ‘Axe Woves’ Fits a Mandalorian Perfectly
I don’t know about you, but the first time I heard the name Axe Woves, it just sounded right. Short, punchy, and tough — the kind of name that fits perfectly in Mandalorian culture. And the cool part? That wasn’t a name brainstormed in some writers’ room. George Lucas himself casually dropped it while visiting the set, and it stuck.
It makes sense, too. Mandalorians were partly inspired by Norse culture, and nothing says “Viking warrior” like an axe. Lucas, with his knack for pulling from real-world mythology and anthropology, tapped straight into that vibe with one offhand suggestion. Suddenly, this new Mandalorian had a name that carried weight both in-universe and out.
For Simon Kassianides, the actor behind Axe Woves, learning the story behind the name was a surreal moment. He recalled Favreau and Filoni telling him during an early fitting that Lucas himself had come up with it. His reaction? Pure humility — and a little pressure. “From that moment onwards I thought, ‘I better get my textbooks out,’” he joked.
But what really makes this name stick is how it matches the character’s presence. Kassianides said he imagined Axe as someone who survived the Purge of Mandalore, building his reputation through scars and silence rather than symbols. “There’s no emblems on the shoulders. There’s nothing about the helmet… maybe he built a reputation on the battlefield,” he explained. That raw, stripped-down approach pairs perfectly with a name as sharp and unforgiving as Axe Woves.
And it’s not just the name that makes Axe stand out. Kassianides has talked about how positive the fan response has been, and how much freedom he felt working with Favreau and Filoni to shape the character’s pain and backstory. “Very quickly on set, you realize that you’re in really safe hands. The best hands in the world,” he said, crediting them as storytellers who knew exactly how to balance fresh ideas with respect for the saga’s roots.
With a name that feels carved out of myth and a story that’s already resonating with fans, it’s no wonder Axe Woves has become a standout. And honestly? Knowing George Lucas himself named him makes the whole thing feel even more legendary.