Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian

[soulsinging]

I’m sooooo disappointed.

My Star Wars fandom has been plagued by astonishment and bemusement at the fan obsession with Boba Fett. First of all I thought he was unremarkable when I saw him as a kid, and also as an adult find his death embarrassing for someone with his reputation.

Cut to the prequels and reinvent Boba as the cooler Jango. I can get on board with it but feel it’s Lucas scratching that itch of his that compels him to connect everything - fatuously.

Then we have Clone Wars and a preponderance of episodes on the holier-than-thou Mandalorians and their unoriginal clannishness. Even as a Maul fanboy these arcs bored me.

Then, then (!) Sabine’s whole arc in Rebels focuses on the Mandalorian heritage.

No. More. Mandalorian. Nonsense.

I agree. I liked Boba in the originals for having all the coolest features and being cool as a cucumber around Vader, but the legend far exceeded the character. The gymnastics required to somehow cram Jango, Boba, clones, and stormtroopers together always struck me as unconvincing. Then the Clone Wars dove DEEP into Mandalore, which I never really enjoyed. For starters, their entire movement seemed overtly fascist and racist/xenophobic. Maybe they felt that was a necessary counterpoint to the Jedi's hippy Buddhist mumbo jumbo (the jedi sure kill a lot of people despite their supposed embrace of non-violence), but it still never sat well with me that they were presented as heroes in some sense.

 

[Boaz]

So I watched the first seven episodes last week while dogsitting... and if I was still twelve years old I'd love it. I'm not, so I don't.

I get that it's more of a western posing as sci-fi, Firefly did it much better.

 

[paeng]

Much better than Star Wars movie sequels. Borrows too much from Westerns and Japanese swordsman shows, though.

 

[ctg]

15 Emmy nominations.

This was a big week for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, which was nominated for 15 Emmy awards. In addition to being up for Best Drama, the show was also nominated for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Giancarlo Esposito's portrayal of Moff Gideon. Esposito took to social media this week to celebrate his nomination and he wasn't the only one. Taika Waititi also received a nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for voicing IG-11. The actor/director also had a great reaction to the news on social media. Despite not making the list of acting nominees, the show's star, Pedro Pascal, also took to Twitter to celebrate the show's many nominations. While Pascal is excellent as Mando, we're not exactly surprised he didn't make the list considering he spends 99% of the show acting in a helmet (which is an impressive feat all on its own).

Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal Reacts to Show’s 15 Emmy Nominations

This was a big week for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, which was nominated for 15 Emmy awards. In [...]

comicbook.com

 

[Joshua Jones]

Much better than Star Wars movie sequels. Borrows too much from Westerns and Japanese swordsman shows, though.

True on both counts. But, to be fair, Westerns and Japanese swordsman shows are new territory for the franchise, so at least they're doing something new for the franchise, rather than endlessly repeating the same characters and tropes.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Furthermore I’d argue the knowledge of the above martial arts films/tv is a small subset of viewers in comparison to target audience.

My only gripe is that the AT-ST was presented as a big problem on Sorgam when two were easily taken out by teddy bears on The moon of Endor.

But I’m happy to offset that against

1) the child
2) the tie in with Rebels
3) Pedro Pascal’s voice and legs
4) the child
5) the child

 

[Rodders]

The trailer for series 2 is due this month.

They have to be careful with the child, though. Too much and we'll get bored with her.

 

[Joshua Jones]

Furthermore I’d argue the knowledge of the above martial arts films/tv is a small subset of viewers in comparison to target audience.

My only gripe is that the AT-ST was presented as a big problem on Sorgam when two were easily taken out by teddy bears on The moon of Endor.

But I’m happy to offset that against

1) the child
2) the tie in with Rebels
3) Pedro Pascal’s voice and legs
4) the child
5) the child

Solid points. I cannot sympathize with the interest in Pedro Pascal, as this appears to be more... primal... in your case than mine. That said, I need to figure out his leg routine!

I agree that the AT-ST did seem as more of a threat in this than Return of the Jedi, but to be fair, the AT-ST seems better equipped to combat in the context of Sorgam than Endor. In Sorgam, the threat is directly in front (where all the weapons are pointed) and there aren't opportunities to get above it or hide many traps. Frankly, if the general in charge of the Endor fiasco weren't killed in the Death Star explosion/his position become irrelevant after the fall of the empire, his tactical failings here would warrant Vader giving him a hologram call to... appoint... his second in command as the new general. In contrast, the raiders used it intelligently as fire support from behind the lines.

So, basically, I take this (accurate) gripe as more of a gripe against Return of the Jedi than the Mandalorian.

And yes, Baby Yoda is amazing. I also loved IG-11. So much nerding happened at my house when that droid appeared onscreen...

 

[Burrunjor]

I haven't seen it yet, but I want to. I LOVE Gina Carano. She is such a goddess.

 

[ctg]

Disney has dropped the first trailer for the second season of The Mandalorian, the Emmy-nominated first live-action Star Wars TV series created by Jon Favreau. Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian, the series takes place a few years after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order.

“This is the way”: Disney drops first trailer for The Mandalorian S2

“The songs tell of battles between Mandalor the Great and an order called Jedi.”

arstechnica.com

 

[Rodders]

That looks excellent. I can't wait.

 

[ctg]

That looks excellent. I can't wait.

I don't. Part of me don't want to write about those episodes, knowing how little interest I made last time.

 

[Boneman]

I love the look of this!

 

[ctg]

The directors of Season Two are Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, and Robert Rodriguez. Filoni, Howard, and Famuyima all directed episodes of the first season, while Weathers starred in some of those installments. Favreau is the creator of the series, though was only a producer of the first season, with the filmmaker now directing. Reed and Rodriguez are the newcomers, though Reed has previously been involved with Disney as the director of the two Ant-Man films.

What might disappoint fans is that Taika Waititi, who directed the standout first season finale, won't be returning to direct, though he will eventually return to the galaxy far, far away by directing a live-action feature film. Also worth noting is that the new season consists of eight episodes while seven directors have been confirmed, with one of the filmmakers directing two episodes of the new season. The first season saw Filoni, Famuyima, and Deborah Chow all directing multiple entries, though Chow has been tapped to direct the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series.

Earlier this year, Favreau also confirmed that the upcoming episodes could vary more in length from what we saw in the previous season.

Star Wars: Full Slate of The Mandalorian Season 2 Directors Confirmed

Ever since a second season of The Mandalorian was confirmed, only a handful of details were [...]

comicbook.com

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

I don't. Part of me don't want to write about those episodes, knowing how little interest I made last time.

I thought your write-ups were interesting, @ctg!

 

[ctg]

 

[Parson]

Wow what a lot of work. Thanks for sharing @ctg

 

[KGeo777]

I watched the first episode. Despite some interesting things it gave me a fan film vibe.
The TESB character had a mystique around him (helped by the voice) which ultimately did not live up to reputation since Lucas never met a hero or villain he didn't want to deconstruct like a Berkeley professor.
The original Boba Fett seemed like a sinister Man With No Name and then was enfeebled in ROTJ--became something entirely different in the prequels, and the Mandalorian (at least in the first episode) seems like a kid friendly Clint Eastwood portrayal.

Walt Disney understood the value in having a challenging independent nemesis but no chance with Wall Street Disney executives. But I don't think a mean bounty hunter would work for a series lead anyway.

Coincidentally I watched a 1975 movie FRAMED and there's a mafia hitman in it (Gabriel Dell) who was the uncredited first voice for Boba Fett (in the Holiday Special).

"Taika Waititi also received a nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for voicing IG-11"

That reminds me, the voice was one of the things I disliked in the episode. Should have been some kind of weird droid speak, not sounding like someone who just got off shift at Starbucks.

 

[KGeo777]

 

[ctg]