The latest episode of The Mandalorian explains the purpose of a new TIE Fighter design. The iconic ship from the original Star Wars trilogy is often reused and redesigned for appearances in various mediums, and the latest model was met with ridicule online. Spotted on a new Star Wars T-shirt, the new TIE Fighter was shown to have its wings folded out in a V-shape. This new version is called the "Outland TIE Fighter". The V-shaped wings were considered silly, and disliked by fans.
Large-scale space battles and the ships used to fight them will always be an integral part of Star Wars. Among the most well-known spacecrafts in the Star Wars universe are the A-wing, the X-wing, the Y-wing, and of course, the TIE Fighter. The TIE (Twin Ion Engines) Fighter is a ship utilized by the Galactic Empire to fight the Rebels in the first three Star Wars movies. The relatively small ships are often recognized for their speed and agility, which was showcased in 1977's Star Wars when one was operated by Darth Vader in the defense of the Death Star.
In episode 7 of The Mandalorian, the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) travel to Nevarro to take down the Client (Werner Herzog), killing him and his stormtroopers. but their plan is interrupted when a bunch of new death troopers and stormtroopers arrive, along with a mysterious TIE Fighter. It's revealed that the TIE Fighter is carrying the new villain of The Mandalorian, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). As the TIE Fighter lands, its wings collapse until they touch the ground. This allows for the TIE Fighter to achieve a smooth landing, meaning it's likely called the Outland TIE Fighter because it makes it easier for its pilot to debark from the fighter's top hatch in remote areas without the use of spaceport facilities.
After the TIE Fighter lands, its look resembles the one on the T-shirt, thus proving that fan criticism toward the Outland TIE Fighter was actually unfounded, especially since the temporarily folded-out wings serve a practical purpose. When in the air, its wings are vertical like all other versions of the classic ship. The Mandalorian's TIE Fighter is actually fairly traditional, as it manages to stay true to the basic design of the ship from the original trilogy.
The Mandalorian didn't make any radical changes to the TIE Fighter after all. In respect to other elements of the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian has done well to honor the first three films, rather than make alternations. In fact, The Mandalorian is even making an effort to recreate classic Star Wars action and answer lingering questions from 40 years ago.