Lant Davan

Lant Davan
Biographical information
Died	9 ABY, Bothan-5
Descriptive information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/him
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Blue
Skin color	Light
Chronological and political information
Affiliation(s)	New Republic New Republic Correctional Corps

"You put down the blasters right now."

―Davan confronts the mercenaries

Lant Davan, designated "DC1," was a human male soldier and corrections officer who held the rank of lieutenant within the New Republic Correctional Corps. He served as the sole organic crew member on the correctional transport Bothan-5. In 9 ABY, Davan was present in the transport's control room when a team of mercenaries infiltrated it to free a prisoner.

During a heated confrontation, Davan pointed his blaster at the criminals and held up a tracking beacon, threatening to alert the New Republic of their infiltration. He was killed when the mercenary Xi'an threw a dagger at him, despite the Mandalorian Din Djarin's efforts to prevent any killing, but not before the soldier activated the beacon. Most of the mercenaries ended up trapped aboard Bothan-5 during their infiltration, with the team leader Migs Mayfeld receiving a fifty-year sentence at the Karthon Chop Fields for his involvement in the mission and Davan's death.

Biography

Killed in action

"Stop! Just stop right there."

―Davan is alarmed by the mercenaries

In 9 ABY, Lant Davan—using the designation "DC1"—served as a soldier and corrections officer in the New Republic Correctional Corps, holding the rank of lieutenant. He was the sole organic crew member and prison guard of Bothan-5, one of the New Republic's most secure correctional transports, which was additionally guarded by New Republic security droids. At some point, the transport was boarded near the Dilestri system by a team of mercenaries who sought to rescue the prisoner Qin. After defeating a number of New Republic N5 sentry droids, they arrived at the control room where Davan was based. The soldier sprang up from his seat and aimed his A-180 blaster at the four mercenaries. Despite telling the infiltrators to put down their blasters, Davan was slowly surrounded by them.

Davan was killed by Xi'an.

Davan held up a homing beacon—which would call in New Republic reinforcements—in an attempt to threaten the mercenaries. The team leader, Migs Mayfeld, told the soldier to put the beacon down, calling him an "egghead." While the leader and two of the other mercenaries wished to kill the soldier, the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin opposed the idea, attempting to negotiate with Davan. Mayfeld intervened, insisting on killing the soldier. Djarin argued with Mayfeld and the Devaronian Burg to keep Davan alive, igniting a tense standoff between the three while the corrections officer watched, slightly lowering his blaster. The remaining mercenary, the Twi'lek Xi'an, then threw a dagger at the soldier, killing him, but not before he activated the beacon. After Davan's murderer removed her dagger from his chest, the mercenaries realized that New Republic reinforcements were on the way.

Legacy

"Security records also show that you put your own life in harm's way to try to protect that of Lieutenant Davan from the New Republic Correctional Corps."

―Carson Teva, to Din Djarin

Migs Mayfeld was sentenced to fifty years at the Karthon Chop Fields for his association with Davan's death and the breakout of Qin.

The mercenaries left the control room and found Qin, and they turned on Djarin and lock him inside a cell. The Mandalorian, however, escaped and returned to the control room, where Davan's corpse still lay. Djarin took Davan's beacon and then trapped the other mercenaries on Bothan-5 before fleeing with Qin. The Mandalorian planted Davan's beacon on the prisoner and delivered him to the space station where his client waited, leading the New Republic reinforcements there.

For his association with Davan's death and Qin's escape, Mayfeld was sentenced to fifty years at the Karthon Chop Fields, a New Republic correction facility on the prison moon of Karthon. Djarin's attempt to preserve Davan's life was captured on the correctional transport's security logs. When two New Republic pilots intercepted the Mandalorian at the ice planet Maldo Kreis, the pair pulled up Bothan-5's security logs and chose to let Djarin go; one of them, Carson Teva, listed his actions involving Davan as one of the reasons.

Personality and traits

"Hey, hey, hey. Listen to me, okay? […] What's your name?"
"D— It's Davan."

―Din Djarin and Davan

Lant Davan was a human male with light skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. An anxious officer, he was frightened upon seeing Din Djarin and his team enter the control room, ordering them to drop their blasters in a stuttering manner to no avail. When the team surrounded him, Davan swiftly revealed a tracking beacon as a threat, breathing heavily as tensions rose. When Djarin attempted to reason with him, asking for his name, Davan stammered in his response.

Equipment

"Nice shoes. Matches his belt."

―Mayfeld mocks Davan's uniform

Davan draws his A-180 blaster.

Davan wore a blue uniform with a New Republic insignia on the left shoulder. He wore white shoes that resembled those of an Imperial stormtrooper. Mayfeld sarcastically remarked that the shoes matched Davan's belt, which displayed an officer's disk upon the buckle. Davan also wore a white helmet with a black tinted visor—the same type as the ones used by the Alderaanian consular security. Davan's designation, "DC1," was printed in Aurebesh on the right side of the helmet. He possessed both a holstered A-180 blaster and a tracking beacon.

Behind the scenes

Appearance and conception

"It was secretive, very secretive, as all Star Wars things are, and I've known that, but even more so in the live action."

―Matt Lanter

Concept art of Lant Davan by Brian Matyas and Doug Chiang

Lant Davan first appeared in "Chapter 6: The Prisoner," the sixth episode of the first season of the live-action television series The Mandalorian. The episode aired on December 13, 2019 on Disney+. Credited as "New Republic soldier" in the episode's end credits, the character was portrayed by Matt Lanter, who had previously voiced the character Anakin Skywalker in various Star Wars media such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as a small cameo for the episode. In the episode, when Djarin and Burg fight in the control room, Davan's body is positioned differently to how it had fallen in his death scene, having moved to the corner of the room. The 2021 reference book Star Wars: The Mandalorian Handbook by Matt Jones introduced Davan's first name, Lant, made up of the first four letters of Matt Lanter's last name.

Davan was conceived by artists Brian Matyas and Doug Chiang, who intended to represent a "cleaner and more romanticized" version of the Alderaanian Fleet Trooper from the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, as a way of showing the progression of the troopers after a few years of the New Republic being in power. The art used was titled "New Republic police version 2C."

Lanter's portrayal

"Every time I got out of my trailer, I had to have a cloak; I was wearing a cloak so no one could see my uniform. It was kind of the first time we've seen that New Republic soldier on film."

―Matt Lanter

Matt Lanter on set as Davan

According to Lanter, he was asked to play Davan by former The Clone Wars director Dave Filoni, the executive producer of The Mandalorian, through the actor's agent. The filming for "Chapter 6: The Prisoner," including Davan's scene, took place from January 25 to February 2 of 2019. Lanter expressed enjoyment in taking part in the series, comparing it to working on a Star Wars film. He also stated that the costume for Davan had to be remade after Filoni realized it was a "slight wrong color" and that because of the secretive nature of the episode's production, Lanter had to wear a cloak over his costume when leaving his trailer to go on set.

Lanter said that he had a body scan of himself as Davan in a trailer, where he had photos taken from numerous angles of him in a number of different poses using a large number of cameras. The scan came as a part of what he thought was protocol for all characters, and he speculated that it could be for an action figure. Lanter also explained that during the first take of Davan's death, he stumbled into a fake control panel, which he collided with in the scene, and broke it. This angered the set dresser, who advised Lanter to be more cautious with the set in the next few takes. Additionally, Lanter stated that the moment where Migs Mayfeld mocked Davan's shoes was entirely improvised by Mayfeld's actor, Bill Burr.

Inconsistencies

In Joe Schreiber's 2021 junior novelization of The Mandalorian, Davan is described to have been knocked out by Xi'an's knife throw. Contrary to the novel, the card "An Unexpected Complication" from the 2020 Topps Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 1 trading card set states that Xi'an killed the corrections officer. Additionally, in "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" of The Mandalorian's second season, which aired on December 4, 2020, Davan's death is listed among the crimes of Migs Mayfeld. This article uses the information presented in the latter two sources.

Appearances

• The Mandalorian Junior Novel
• The Mandalorian Junior Novel audiobook
• Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga
• The Mandalorian – The Graphic Novel of Season 1
• The Mandalorian — "Chapter 6: The Prisoner" (First appearance)
• The Mandalorian 6
• The Mandalorian Season 2 Junior Novel (Mentioned only)
• The Mandalorian – The Graphic Novel of Season 2 (Mentioned only)
• The Mandalorian — "Chapter 10: The Passenger" (Mentioned only)
• The Mandalorian Season 2 2 (Mentioned only)
• The Mandalorian — "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" (Indirect mention only)

Sources

• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "Directing"
• Bounty Hunting Highlights: 8 of Our Favorite Moments from The Mandalorian - "Chapter 6: The Prisoner" on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "The Prisoner" Episode Guide | The Mandalorian on StarWars.com (backup link)
• 2020 Topps Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 1 (Card: An Unexpected Complication) (backup link)
• "Jedi Master's Quiz" — Star Wars Insider 198
• The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One
• From the Pages of Star Wars Insider: Matt Lanter, the Animated Anakin, Talks His Own Star Wars Saga on StarWars.com (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
• "Matt Lanter: The Animated Anakin" — Star Wars Insider 201
• "Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One Companion" — Star Wars Insider 201
• Star Wars: The Mandalorian Handbook (First identified as Lant)
• "Miscellaneous Ships and Vehicles (1)" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "A Certain Point of View" — Star Wars Insider 222 (Indirect mention only)

Notes and references

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