It's crazy that we haven't had a live-action Star Wars show yet, but in 2019, it's finally
happening.
It's been a long time coming, but the very first live-action Star Wars series is on it's
way.
Here's everything you need to know before you watch The Mandalorian.
In October 2018, The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau posted a picture on Instagram that
evoked the classic Star Wars opening crawl and laid out exactly what The Mandalorian
will be about.
The series will focus on "the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of
the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic," and will explore the rocky transition
from the Galactic Empire to a brand new government.
If that makes The Mandalorian sound like a western, that's not an accident.
At Star Wars Celebration 2019, Favreau and fellow producer Dave Filoni confirmed that
The Mandalorian, like the original Star Wars, is heavily inspired by both spaghetti westerns
and Akira Kurosawa's samurai films.
Like the heroes in those stories, the Mandalorian is a lone fighter "of questionable moral character"
who flies a ship called the Razor Crest and does whatever it takes to survive.
Plot specifics are still slim, but we know that actor Pedro Pascal will star as the title
character, who like Star Wars fan favorite Boba Fett wears a suit of iconic Mandalorian
armor.
Still, according to reports, Pascal isn't modeling his performance off Boba Fett, but
rather on Clint Eastwood's classic character The Man with No Name.
Pascal previously headlined the Netflix series Narcos, but you probably know him best as
Oberyn Martell, the dude who had his head crushed by the Mountain on Game of Thrones.
Joining Pascal will be Carl Weathers.
Best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, Weathers will play Greef, the
head of a loose coalition of bounty hunters who sends the Mandalorian on a special mission.
"Woah woah woah woah.
There’s still plenty of meat on that bone.
Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato.
Baby you got a stew going!”
Yeah…
Not that kind of mission.
That mission will bring him in contact with a pro-Empire crime lord, played by acclaimed
director Werner Herzog , as well as Cara Dune, a former Rebel shock trooper played by MMA
legend Gina Carano.
Other confirmed cast members include Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito as a TIE Fighter
pilot, as well as Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte, Supernatural's Emily Swallow, American
Gods' Omid Abtahi, and comedian Bill Burr.
That's a lot of star power!
Clearly, Disney isn't messing around.
If series producer Jon Favreau's name rings a bell, there's a pretty good reason for that,
as he's quietly become one of Disney's biggest power players.
Favreau first made his name back in the day by directing the hits Swingers and Elf.
But he rose to a whole new level in 2008 as the director of Iron Man, the movie that single-handedly
launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revitalizing Robert Downey Jr.'s career, and made Tony
Stark a household name.
Plus, he co-starred in it too as Tony's assistant Happy Hogan!
"I thought I lost you back there!"
"You did, sir!
I had to cut across Mulholland!"
Since then, he directed Iron Man 2 and produced The Avengers before becoming Disney's go-to
director for live action adaptations, including The Jungle Book and The Lion King.
And he's also a bona fide Star Wars geek.
Not only did he voice the character Rio Durant in Solo, he also helped flesh out the lore
of the Mandalorians as the villainous Pre Vizsla in the animated series The Clone Wars.
And speaking of that....
If you aren't a hardcore Star Wars historian, you might not even know what the name Mandalorian
means.
Don't worry, though, we have you covered.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, the bounty hunter Boba Fett wore a suit of Mandalorian
armor, which we learned in the prequel trilogy was handed down from his father, Jango Fett.
Presumably after a thorough cleaning.
But there's much more to it than that.
In The Clone Wars, it was revealed that Jango Fett wasn't even from Mandalore, he was just
wearing someone else's armor.
Instead, the planet Mandaore has a long and complex history.
Ravaged by centuries of war, including an ancient conflict with the Jedi, Mandalore
was again plunged into civil war during The Clone Wars.
Darth Maul used this as an opportunity to seize power, conquering the planet and using
it as a base of operations for his criminal syndicate, the Shadow Collective.
So, yeah, Maul's brief Solo cameo wasn't quite as random as it seems, well, except for the
fact that he got chopped in half once..
But, you know, happens.
Happens to the best of us....
It's fitting that the history of the Mandalorians was explored in a cartoon, because Boba Fett
himself first appeared in an animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special.
While the rest of the film is reviled, the animated short "The Faithful Wookiee" is worth
a watch.
It was produced by Nelvana Studios, whose animators looked to westerns when storyboarding
the short, meaning The Mandalorian's spaghetti western roots have been baked into the show's
DNA right from the very start.
As revealed at the Solo premiere, The Mandalorian will take place a few years after The Return
of the Jedi, and a couple of decades before The Force Awakens.
At this point, the Rebel Alliance has transformed into the New Republic, while the former Imperials
who'd eventually form the First Order are still licking their wounds in the galaxy's
Unknown Regions.
Leia Organa is busy serving in the Galactic Senate.
Her husband, Han Solo, splits his time between taking care of their kid Ben, i.e. the future
Kylo Ren, racing spaceships, running his own shipping company, and teaming up with his
buddy Lando for the occasional New Republic mission.
Don't expect to see any of them in The Mandalorian, however.
The new Disney television show takes place far from the New Republic's capital and will
likely feature mostly new characters.
Still, The Mandalorian is set to feature at least one classic Star Wars foe: IG-88, a
bounty-hunting droid who appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, will be played in The Mandalorian
by Taika Waititi, who stole the show as Korg in Thor: Ragnarok.
"Hey man.
I'm Korg, this is Meek.
We're gonna jump on that spaceship and get outta here.
Wanna come?"
The Mandalorian will also be full of familiar sights and sounds, including Jawa sandcrawlers,
lizard-like Dewbacks, Return of the Jedi-style speeder bikes, and one droid that classic
Star Wars fans will recognize immediately.
The Mandalorian's main cast might be brand new, but don't worry.
You're still going to feel right at home.
Showrunner Jon Favreau clearly has the chops to get it done, but he won't be making The
Mandalorian alone.
Instead, he and executive producer Katheleen Kennedy have rounded up a stable of behind
the scenes talent that's just as impressive as the roster of stars they've lined up in
front of the camera.
Perhaps most importantly to Star Wars fans is the involvement of producer Dave Filoni.
Filoni is one of the figures most responsible for modern Star Wars canon.
Beyond directing the Clone Wars feature film, he co-created the animated series Rebels and
Resistance.
He also is responsible for creating the fan favorite Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano, plus
he provided the voice of the scene-stealing droid Chopper.
Filoni's involvement will make sure that the series is completely in tune with Star Wars
lore.
And Filoni is just one of several big names who will be directing episodes of The Mandalorian.
Joining him behind the camera is Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who as we previously
mentioned is also playing IG-88, as well as actress Bryce Dallas Howard.
Howard is best known for starring in films like Jurassic World, but she has begun shifting
her director to directing, just like her father, Solo director Ron Howard, once did.
Further down the list you'll find Rick Famuyiwa, director of the criminally underrated Dope,
as well as Deborah Chow, a television veteran who's worked on shows like Reign, Jessica
Jones, Mr. Robot, Better Call Saul, and The Man in the High Castle, y'know, just some
of the best dramas currently on television.
Honestly, it's hard to imagine a better lineup, but then again, it's not every day you get
to contribute to a cultural institution.
We wouldn't be surprised if The Mandalorian has talent lined up around the block, just
waiting for a shot at a galaxy far, far away.
While The Mandalorian would be a hit on almost any channel, you're not going to be able to
watch it via regular cable.
The show will air exclusively on Disney+, Disney's streaming service that's going to
be the new home for, well, almost everything.
The series launches on November 12, 2019, and The Mandalorian pilot will be available
on day one.
A subscription will cost $6.99 a month (or $70 if you subscribe for a full year).
If you're a Star Wars fan, you're probably going to want to subscribe.
In addition to The Mandalorian, Disney+ will host all of the Star Wars movies, a new season
of animated series The Clone Wars, and behind-the-scenes documentaries and, reportedly, that's just
the beginning.
Disney+ will also be crammed full of Marvel content, including all of the MCU movies,
a Scarlet Witch-Vision team-up called WandaVision, a Loki solo series, a Falcon and Winter Soldier
show, and the animated What If?
adaptation.
Every single one of Disney's animated films, even those initially relegated to the "vault,"
will be on Disney+, as will original Disney programming like High School Musical: The
Series, a rumored Muppets revival, and more.
Throw in all 30 seasons of The Simpsons and more from Disney's new Fox library, and you're
going to getting a heck of a lot of content for your money.
Watch out, Netflix.
The Mandalorian is coming.
"Homer Simpson here, proud addition to the Disney Family and soon appearing on Disney+.
I for one salute our new corporate overlords."
And isn't coming alone.
Disney has announced that there will be second live action Star Wars series coming to the
Disney+ streaming service.
It just might not be the one you think.
Fans, of course, have been waiting for over a decade to see episodes of the long-rumored
live action Star Wars series Star Wars Underworld.
First announced by George Lucas way back in 2005, Star Wars Underworld was reportedly
set between the prequel and original trilogies, focusing on the criminal underbelly on the
Imperial capital planet of Coruscant.
Lucasfilm reportedly developed over 50 completed scripts for the series, but there was one
big problem: the show was too expensive to make, clocking in at a whopping $20 million
per episode.
So Lucas put production on hiatus until technology advanced enough to make filming cheaper.
Before that happened, though, he sold Star Wars to Disney.
In 2013, Disney announced they were re-evaluating Star Wars Underworld… and nothing has ever
been done with it since.
So when the company announced two live action series, fans hoped the time had finally come.
But, well, not quite.
Instead, the second live action series will star Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, one of the
lead characters from the hit film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The show is described as a prequel series set between the original and prequel trilogies,
focusing on, quote, "the formative years of the Rebellion."
Still, there's some hope that Star Wars Underworld will eventually see the light of day, because
The Mandalorian is reportedly going to cost Disney $10 million per episode to make.
Suddenly that $20 million per episode price tag for Star Wars Underworld doesn't seem
so impossible after all.
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