The third day of Star Wars Celebration brought us our first look at Disney+’s The Mandalorian. From The Jungle Book and Iron Man director Jon Favreau, the first ever live-action Star Wars TV show will “follow the travels of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic”¦” Though that seemed a bit vague at the time, we knew it would follow the title character and the field of bounty hunting.
So Favreau, Dave Filoni, and castmembers Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, and Carl Weathers took to the stage to talk about the inspiration, their approach to the show, and talk about some of the characters that we will see. Check it out here below.
For the inspiration, Favreau referred to “old Westerns and the samurai films” that would help them get “back to that imagery on a scale that felt like when it began.” The purpose for that was to address the themes of the last days of a warrior, at a time when there was no need for them.
This is a big theme within the Star Wars canon, as it has never really been seen in any Star Wars format. We’ve seen the last days of the Jedi during a very dark time. So The Mandalorian flips that concept on its head and turns it over to a more anti-hero lead, where bounty hunting may not be as necessary as it was once before.
And since the series takes place five years after the events of Return Of The Jedi, they are able to pull from all sorts of films and TV series, like the Original Trilogy, the Prequel Trilogy, and some of Dave Filoni’s shows.
In terms of the character, Pascal said:
The Mandalorian is a mysterious, lone gunfighter from the outer reaches of the galaxy. Some might say he has questionable moral character. He’s in line with some of our best Westerns, some good samurai, all of the good stuff. And he’s a badass.
The actor said that he drew inspiration from old Clint Eastwood movies in order to prepare for the role, and also watched Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa films. But even before he got the part, he wasn’t sure what role he was playing for. He even asked Favreau if he was auditioning for “a bug.” Before he knew it, the executive producer told him that he would be playing the title character.
As for Carino, she will be playing Cara Dune, an ex-rebel shock trooper, who has had a bit of trouble reintegrating herself into society. It seems like the kind of character who would be the right fit for a show like The Mandalorian. After fighting the war for so long, there is nothing else you know but it. And with a film where anyone can turn on you, it’s unclear which side Cara will be on. We will just have to wait and see.
For Weathers, he will be playing a leader of a small group of bounty hunters and is a part of a guild of bounty hunters. Though his character’s description was huge, it wasn’t as big as the plot detail that he revealed.
“He’s looking for someone to go after a product that’s worth a lot to a lot of people. And he finds a bounty hunter named Mandalorian. So he hires this guy and sends him out here and the Mando does what needs to be done.”
Obviously, he could not elaborate on what this product is or why so many want it. But it really doesn’t matter at this point, because everything about The Mandalorian sounds very cool.
The footage that was shown at Star Wars Celebration was a mix of B-roll, footage, and interviews with the directors.
With the directors, we know that Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star Bryce Dallas Howard and Dope director Rick Famuyiwa, along with Debora Chow, and Filoni will be helming episodes. But the prerequisite for directing one is what you had to be a fan of Star Wars. That makes sense. But the biggest thing about this is that we will have a variety of different voices overseeing their respective episode. They all will have a different take and perspective and will show their love in different ways. So it will be interesting to see how that all plays out.
And one of the best things about The Mandalorian is that it will require no prior knowledge of the previous or current Star Wars films. None of the feuds between any of the factions will play a major role in this. This is called The Mandalorian after all. Sure there may be few nods, but it sounds like you are going in with a clean slate.
As for filling in the gaps between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Favreau revealed that they called upon the 501st Legion to fill in as Stormtroopers. For those who don’t know, the 501st Legion is a group of Star Wars fans devoted to sharing their love of the franchise through costumes and props they’ve built themselves at a variety of charity events. If anyone knows Star Wars inside and out, it’s them.
Carino was even shocked at how detailed some of the armor was when compared to some of the professionally made ones.
The Mandalorian debuts exclusively on Disney+ on November 12, 2019.
Video
[Source: Star Wars YT]
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Leave a comment