With the premiere of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian drawing nearer every day, we're getting more new information and insights that give us a better idea of what to expect. The series is both an original one coming only to Disney+ and one of a handful of original programs Lucasfilm is bringing to the new streamer. The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter with Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Taika Waititi, Carl Weathers, Nick Nolte, and Werner Herzog among the supporting cast.
In a recent interview with IGN, director Dave Filoni (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Resistance) opened up about how his past work on Lucasfilm movies and TV shows informed his time on The Mandalorian (he directs two Season 1 episodes). During the Filoni conversation, he opened up about what kind of person the Mandalorian is and what makes him different from franchise heroes like Luke Skywalker.
"This show is dealing with a character that, to me, he’s a bounty hunter, he's on the edge of things himself [...] in the movies, we deal more with Luke, who's a character coming into his own, but he wants to do the right thing. And when you're dealing with the Jedi, they're obviously trying to uphold what's good in the light side of the Force."
Filoni continued, discussing what he believes makes the Mandolorian unique and how his personality will affect his Season 1 arc:
"I think that what's unique about Mando is that he's basically a guy that's just trying to make a living in the galaxy. He's a survivor and he's just trying to find his way on a day-to-day basis. And I think that leads to very interesting character moments and stories for him that are apart from some things we've seen the Jedi deal with more directly. He comes from a different angle because he's a different type of character than they are."
Taking place five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian follows a gunslinging Mandalorian bounty hunter (Pascal) living and working beyond the reaches of the New Republic. Over the course of Season 1, viewers will watch as he clashes with the First Order and picks up tough missions that take him to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. In July, we learned exclusively that series creator and writer Jon Favreau had already written Season 2, indicating to us that we should watch the first eight episodes closely to see what long-term arcs will be set up.
The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ on Tuesday, November 12. For more on other Lucasfilm projects, like the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, coming to Disney+ read up on the latest updates here. If you want recommendations on every movie and TV show coming Disney+, we've got that covered, too.
Check out The Mandalorian trailer below: