Everything We Know About The Mandalorian

While The Rise of Skywalker has gotten everybody hot and bothered, some of the real gems of Star Wars Celebration 2019 slipped by relatively unnoticed. This is in large part due to the fact that some of the best video clips weren’t made public. We’ve learned that 5:45 min of footage from The Mandalorian was screened along with a trailer and a discussion panel. Many Bothans died getting us this information. We will give our spoiler free impressions of what was seen in Chicago as well as a more detailed spoiler filled.

 

Cast breakdown

  • Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian
  • Gina Carano as Cara Dune
  • Nick Nolte – ???
  • Giancarlo Esposito
  • Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, a high ranking member of the bounty hunters guild.
  • Emily Swallow – ???
  • Omid Abtahi as Dr. Pershing, an ex Imperial Intelligence officer
  • Werner Herzog -???
  • Taika Waititi as the voice of IG-11
  • Bill Burr – A gunfighter of some sort
  • Mark Boone Junior – ????

 

Crew

 

Producers

  • Jon Favreau
  • Dave Filoni
  • Kathleen Kennedy
  • Colin Wilson

 

Directors

Dave Filoni, Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow.

 

Music

Ludwig Göransson

 

Setting: According to showrunner Jon Favreau The Mandalorian takes place 5 years after Return of the Jedi. Faeru has been insistent that this is not Boba Fett returned from the grave as some had hoped, but, an entirely new character. This is a denizen of the underworld who inhabits the outer reaches of the galaxy. When the series starts he will be just finding bounties and getting paid.

 

Poster and Pics

 

This new poster is quite nice. It has a Sergio Leone kind of vibe to it.

Sneak Peak, Behind the Scenes and Teaser Trailer.

 

Spoiler Free Look

 

The cinematography and special effects are very much in line with the feel of Rogue One. Practical effects and locations mixed with grit and grime give us a lived in feel. This feels like Star Wars.  It has been confirmed that models and practical effects will be the forefront of the FX in this show.

 

Stepping out of  the Shadows

One of the most stand out aspects of the clip is the music. This is the most unique and daring Star Wars has been in a long time. Pretty much every incarnation of Star Wars has, musically, been beholden to John Williams score. Of course, when you have one of the greatest scores of all time that helped shape the franchise it’s understandable. But, it has gotten a little tiresome. Even ——-’s work on Rogue One fails to evoke anything new. There isn’t even a hint of John Williams in the clip we saw but it still feels at home in the Star Wars universe.

 

Great dialogue and acting.

The dialogue is crisp and the deliveries are fantastic.  There are also elements of reminiscent of other great shows like Firefly and Game of Thrones. The seamless blending of action, comedy and intrigue in those shows are present here.  There is also a strong Man with No Name Trilogy vibe here. It is said that Clint Eastwood was an inspiration here for actor Pablo Pescal. That is strengthened by the full mandalorian armor rendering the protagonist almost expressionless.

 

The clip is guilty of a great deal of fan service. However, it is fan service done right. It uses the nods to previous entries as a familiar language. Where as Lucas constantly went to new worlds and found new races to introduce us to, Favreau and crew want to tell us a new story in an familiar setting.  If the show maintains the level of fan service from the clip it will run the risk of self parody and tedium. However, when you look at the pedigree of talent involved – I wouldn’t be that worried.

 

Spoiler Filled Look

 

The clip begins with the Mandalorian sitting in a bar  not unlike the Mos Eisley cantina with Carl Weathers’ Greef. Greef is apparently a member of the bounty hunting guild who provides the hunters with their prey. We instantly get a great understanding of who this character is, how bounty hunting works, and  state of the galaxy here. it‘s an exposition heavy scene that doesn’t feel like exposition at all.

 

The Mandalorian attempts to take all the jobs Greef has. Greef refuses saying “There are other members of the guild and this is all I have.”  When our protagonist asks what the highest bounty is graff tells him “Not much. 5,000”

“That won’t even cover fuel these days.”  

“There is one job.” Greef says coyly.

“Lets see the buck”

“No buck. Face to face. Direct commision. Deep pocket”

“Underworld?” Pascal asks, more curious than concerned.

“Do you want the chit or not? “

We cut to an open market which looks very similar to ones we’ve seen on Jeddah and Tatooine – and very well could be either (Evidence strongly supports tatooine)  We see a Kowakian Monkey lizard roasting on a spit and a few more in small metal cages.

The Mandalorian makes his way through the market and down alleyways. When he reaches his destination he knocks on a door and is greeted by a TT-8L/Y7 droid (which fans will recognize from Jabba’s Palace.) He holds up a device and the droid ispects it before opening the door. The hallway is dark and empty save for an updated Gonk droid. The droid leeds him down a dark hallway, the anticipation become palpable as we reach the door leading to this mysterious client.

When the door opens the Mandalorian is greeted by a group of Stormtroopers. Their armor is battered and dirty. These are soldiers of a fallen regime who have been hiding, like this, in enemy territory for years – and it shows.  

We are introduced to what appears to be an imperial officer or underworld boss played by Werner Herzog. The man is not wearing a uniform but a long black leather coat reminiscent of a Nazi officers. He wears a medal around his neck that is akin to that of the ones given after the Battle of Yavin to Han and Luke (and Chewie as the comics depicted) Herzog is every bit as great as you would expect as a Star WArs villian. Refined, menacing, and just the right amount of sleazy.”Greef Karga said you were coming”   Herzog says in a voice like gravel.

“What else did he say?”

“That you were the best in the parsec.” Herzog says. (A nice nod to Han Solo’s misuse of parsec in A New Hope)

His guard up, our protagonist becomes startled when a door to the side opens and an Imperial Intelligence officer enters. The Mandalorian pulls his blaster and his rifle. He aims his rifle at stormtroopers who have their blasters trained on him. Meanwhile, he aims the pistol at the officer played by, Omid Abtahi. The officer is a thin, nebbish man with glasses who cowers at the sight of the blaster.  

“No, sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm.” the intelligence office begins to blather.

“Dr. Pershing,” Herzog says rising slowly. He exudes a calm control over a tense situation as he walks towards the Mandalorian.“Please excuse his lack of decorum. His enthusiasm outweighs his discretion. Please lower your blaster.”

“Tell them to lower theirs first.” Pascal says unruffled by the sudden danger.

“We have you four to one,” a Stormtrooper says.

“I like those odds.”  Pascal says with venomous cool.

Defusing the situation Herzog leans in close “He also said you are expensive. Very expensive. Please, sit.” He waves to the stormtroopers who lower their blasters slowly.

The Mandalorian casually holsters his weapons and sits down.

Herzog pulls out a black and red satin cloth and begins to unfold it on the table. We see a sliver bar of metal, with the imperial symbol imprinted on the bottom corner.

“Beskar?” The Mandalorian asks.

“Go ahead it’s real.” Says Herzog.

Beskar is a Mandalorian iron, a rare and precious metal from the old EU that has come back into the fold of he new cannon.

“This is only down payment. I have a container of beskar waiting for you upon delivery of the asset.”

“Alive” Dr. Pershing chimes in finding a fraction of his nerve.

“Yes alive.” Herzog continues, slightly annoyed at the interruption. “Although I acknowledge that bounty hunting is a complicated profession. This being the case proof of termination is also acceptable for a lower fee.

“That’s not what we agreed to,” the doctor jumps in.

“I was simply being pragmatic,” Herzog says.

“Lets see the buck.” The Mandalorian says.

“I am afraid discretion dictates a less traditional agreement. We can only offer you a tracking fob.”

Doctor Pershing hands him the fob.

“What’s the chain(?) code?”

We can only provide the last the 4 digits.

“Their age? That’s all you can give” The Mandalorian sounds as thought he is beginning to have doubts about the job.

“Yes they are 50 years old.” Herzog says. “We can also give you there last reported position data. between that and the fob A man of your skill should make short work of this,” Herzog reassures him.

The Mandalorian wordless agrees and gets up to leave.

“The Beskar belongs back into the hands of a Mandalorian.”

The Mandalorian stops, listening intently to Herzog.  “It’s best to restore the natural order of things after a period of disarray. Don’t you agree?”

The Mandalorian does not respond as he leaves the room.

 

BTS Teaser Trailer Breakdown

Then the audience was treated to a small teaser trailer. Some of the highlights were

  • A blue female Twi’lek looking menacing and sultry.  
  • Comedian Bill Burr as a gunfighter of some sort who has a shoulder mounted blaster.
  • Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as an Imperial officer in charge of a group of Deathtroopers and piloting a TIE – Fighter
  • Jawas with Blasters (implying that this might actually be tatooine)
  • Someone riding  on a Dewback (Also implying Tatooine)
  • Gina Carano’s (Deadpool) Cara Dune being a bad ass and fighting with the mandalorian.
  • The Mandalorians ship The Razorcrest, which looks similar to Firefly’s Serenity.  
  • WE catch a glimpse of Mark Boone Junior (Sons of Anrachy, Batman Begins) who looks exactly like he always does, a big burly badass with a bushy beared. He seems very freidnly with the mandalorian.
  • A Devaronian standing in front of an explosion
  • We see glimpses of a large scale gun fight on whichever planet we’ve been seeing. Dead Stormtroopers litter the ground. It has a The Wild Bunch feel to the carnage.  
  • A droid bartender (at the Mos eisley cantina possibly? – under new management clearly.)
  • IG-11 (think IG-88) spinning on his torso and taking out Stormtroopers
  • A droid that looks very similar to an RA-7
  • The mandalorian using a rifle/shock weapon first seen in the Holiday Special being wielded by one Boba Fett
  • Lots of action shots in space and planetside.
  • All of this with a voice over from Herzog saying ““The Empire improves every system it touches. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now,” he says. “Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? Look outside, I see nothing but death and chaos.””

 

The first episode of The Mandalorian will debut with Disney+ November 12, 2019.

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