Get your blasters ready, because the Star Wars universe is about to get a whole lot bigger. That galaxy far, far away will soon be populated with all new characters, planets, and adventures when Disney unveils The Mandalorian, the live-action Star Wars series that chronicles a mysterious bounty hunter as he travels the stars in search of his quarry. Created by longtime Disney/Marvel collaborator Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book) , it will feature all the elements Star Wars fans love plus a few new surprises that are sure to make it a streaming sensation.
Whether you’re tired of Disney’s stamp on Star Wars or excited for its next endeavor, there are definitely aspects of this series that look promising. It has an all-star cast, a fantastic team of directors, an original score, and it looks to pay homage to the classic trilogy in major ways. With the latest full trailer finally out, we’re diving deeper into the world that’s been created by Star Wars fans for Star Wars fans. Here’s everything we know so far about series.
The Mandalorian blasts onto screens everywhere November 12, 2019, exclusively through the Disney+ streaming service.
IT STARS SOME BIG NAMES
It’s the people in the galaxy far, far away that fans care about, and the characters in The Mandalorian are going to be played by some pretty incredible talent. Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos) is starring as the inscrutable Mandalorian, with backup from Gina Carano (Deadpool) as a fiery shock trooper named Cara Dune formerly with the Rebellion.
Carl Weathers (Predator) will play Greef Carga, the leader of a bounty hunting guild in the Outer Rim. Other cast members include Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Omid Abtahi (American Gods), and Werner Herzog (GrizzlyMan), who will play loyalists to the Empire.
EACH EPISODE WILL BE DIRECTED BY AN A-LISTER
Due to the fact that the series won’t have a very long season — just eight episodes — we can expect to get the most bang for our credits with the assembly of all-star directors that Jon Favreau has lined up. Beginning with Star Wars darling David Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels), it will also feature the talents of Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok).
Waititi will not only direct but also lend a vocal performance to the series, and actress Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) will show her directing chops. With so many unique artistic visions, we can expect some truly compelling storytelling to enrich the Star Wars universe.
IT’S GOING TO HAVE EPIC MUSIC
While the series won’t get any coveted compositions by John Williams, creator of some of the most iconic themes in Star Wars (and in cinema), it will have plenty of epic soundscapes from Ludwig Göransson, whose recent film credits include Black Panther (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score) and Venom.
The composer has stated that he very much hopes to honor the spirit that Williams brought to the Star Wars score, and try to set a cinematic tone that feels right at home in the Star Wars universe. We hope to be humming some new themes from The Mandalorian soon.
IT’S SET AFTER RETURN OF THE JEDI
While we know from the events of Disney’s Star Wars films like The Force Awakens that the First Order and Kylo Ren wanted to finish what Vader and the Emperor started, rebuilding the Empire into a new galactic power. But what happened after the galaxy celebrated the Empire’s fall?
The Mandalorian is set just five years after Return of the Jedi, when the Empire was still licking its wounds and the Rebel Alliance was attempting to build a New Republic. But the Republic’s jurisdiction is far from the area of the galaxy where the series takes place, meaning there are many systems still under the heel of regional Imperial governors unwilling to give up their authority.
IT WILL CAPTURE THE FEEL OF THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
Jon Favreau has explained that he chose the specific post-Return of the Jedi time period because it allowed for over a decade of rich stories about new characters and new places. A fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, Favreau wanted to capture the gritty look and feel it was known for with crowded space ports, grungy freighters, and blaster-scorched armor.
He’s included nods to it with the Mandalorian’s armor, the presence of droids like IG-11 (the same series as IG-88, a bounty hunting contemporary of Boba Fett’s), and even the process of carbon-freezing bounties once thought to be used only for Han Solo for transport by Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back. Expect visits to dusty worlds like Tatooine and snow-covered worlds like Hoth.
IT REVEALS THE UNDERWORLD OF BOUNTY HUNTERS
Being part of a bounty hunting guild has its perks when the mysterious Mandalorian has to consult its leader Greef Carga about making a few extra credits. Carga points him in the direction of an Imperial dignitary, who offers him payment in the form of unique Mandalorian artifacts in exchange for his services.
Armed with the last four digits of his mark’s gene-marker and the authority to bring in his bounty dead or alive — though dead will get him a reduced payment — the Mandalorian sets off on the hunt, taking viewers to never-before-seen locations in the Star Wars galaxy along the way.
DON’T EXPECT TO SEE ANY FAMOUS STAR WARS HEROES
Given that The Mandalorian takes place far from the center of the galaxy where the New Republic is seated, don’t expect to see Rebel heroes Leia Organa or Han Solo or any Jedi like Luke Skywalker. However, there may be references to them if the Republic should suddenly take an interest in the Mandalorian’s dealings with Imperial war criminals.
There are rumors that characters from Star Wars Rebels may appear, but Jon Favreau has stated specifically that he wanted the series to focus on new characters and new planets, thus expanding the scope of the Star Wars universe even more.
THE SECOND SEASON IS ALREADY BEING WRITTEN
In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jon Favreau revealed he’s already writing the second season of the series. This isn’t atypical of new series if interest in high, but certain installments in the greater Star Wars catalog have been divisive among fans. While The Force Awakens and Rogue One received favorable reactions, Solo and The Last Jedi did not.
Still, a 30-minute preview of footage shown to industry insiders has already generated a tremendous amount of positive buzz, with critics calling The Mandalorian a combination of an “Old Western gunfight” and a “samurai showdown”, clearly indicating Favreau has tapped into the successful genre influences of Star Wars creator George Lucas.
DON’T EXPECT A NETFLIX-STYLE RELEASE
When the series drops on the new streaming service Disney+, don’t expect a Netflix-style release. The latter streaming giant is known for releasing each season of its series all in one go, making them bingeable immediately. Disney+ will be releasing the first episodes of The Mandalorian on November 12, but the second episode won’t be available until November 15.
After that, viewers will have to tune in for weekly installments until the finale airs on December 27, making for a total of eight episodes. While it won’t be what some streaming fans are used to, the same concept didn’t hurt Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access, so hopefully the content will be worth the wait each week.
IT’S ONE OF SEVERAL NEW STAR WARS SERIES ON DISNEY+
The Mandalorian will be one of several new Star Wars series coming to Disney+ in the next few years. There’s already a seventh season of David Filoni’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the works for a summer 2020 release, and a Rogue One-era series starring Rebel operative Cassian Andor after that.
What fans are perhaps most excited for is a Star Wars series starring Ewan McGregor, who emerged from the Star Wars prequels unscathed thanks to his phenomenal performance as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. His solo series will begin filming in 2020, and will be set after the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith while Obi-Wan is watching over Luke Skywalker on Tatooine.
