Ep 88: Star Wars – The Mandalorian Season 1 Review

Topic: Star Wars – The Mandalorian Season 1 Review

 

Is it really a Western form the 1950s and 60s?  Yes, Yes it is. Mom explains in details why that’s the case.

 

Setting

9 ABY(After Battle of Yavin)(Episode 4).  For context, Luke Skywalker was born on 19 BBY(Before Battle of Yavin), and the Battle of Endor on 4 ABY(Episode 6).  5 years after the death of The Emperor, the Galaxy is slowly returning to order with the New Republic, however, the outer rim is like the wild west.  Republic Officals/Law exists, but isn’t common and vastly under manned, and those seeking to hide from the New Republic.  Many Imperial officers and outposts exists in the Outer Rim as the Empire was seeking to control the entire Galaxy.  As a result, most Imperial Officals are attempting to gain power and influence, in order to say they are the next leader of the Empire after Darth Sidious.  The Outer Rim is also home to a number of other races and factions biding for control over their own territories, including bounty hunters.  Famously, the original Trilogy of Star Wars (Episode 4-6) take places within the Outer Rim, including Tatooine(4 & 6), Endor(6), Hoth(5), and Dagobah(5).

 

Creator:

Jon Favreau

A mainstay of the film industry, he stared and featured in various movies including Rudy (1993) & Chef (2014).  He’s arguably one of the major players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), having directed Ironman(2008) and Ironman 2 (2010), and Executive Producer for nearly all movies dealing with Ironman and Spiderman, and acted alongside as Happy Hogan.  He’s directed a number of movies, including Elf(2003), Chef(2014), The Jungle Book(2016), and The Lion King(2019).  He serves at the creator, one of the executive producers, and director of The Mandalorian. 

 

Cast:

Pedro Pascal      The Mandalorian / Mando / Din Djarin

Famously in a number of roles, including Kingsman The Golden Circle (Agent Whiskey), Wonder Woman 1984 (Maxwell Lord), Game of Thrones (Oberyn Martell), & Narcos (Javier Pena).  While Pedro Pascal primarily voices the character and does a fair amount of scenes as him, a bulk of the stunt work is done by stunt actors. He prepared for the role by watching Akira Kurosawa's samurai films and Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns.

 

The Child / The Kid / Baby Yoda

The character is fan named ‘Baby Yoda’ to better describe the character, as he has no known name.  Yoda Species is never specifically called any such name, and only the fan derived name for the species of Yoda and other characters that appear like Yoda.  The character is largely created using puppetry, with some CGI used to accent.  Famously, in order to preserve the character’s appearance and not give away their existence, Disney did not prepare toys or other merchandise for the character.  The lack of Toys and other merchandise for the 2019 Christmas season was a potential loss of 2.7 million dollars for Disney, but the decision was supported by Bob Iger, Disney CEO, who believed the company was a story making company first and foremost, and supported John Favreau’s decision.

 

Carl Weathers   Greef Karga

Apollo Creed

 

Werner Herzog The Client

Famous Director, known for his movies featuring ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals who are in conflict with nature.

 

Omid Abtahi      Dr. Pershing

The Doctor is an interesting character for a number of reasons.  Firstly is that his outfit and actions in the series depict that may be from the planet of Kamino, where clones are created, seemingly setting up the notion that he is out to clone The Child.  Secondly that he is wearing glasses.

 

Nick Nolte          Kuiil

An Ugnaught male, seen previously in Cloud City, as the little guys that were trying scavenging C3PO and seen during the freezing of Han Solo.

 

Taika Waititi      IG-11

These are a series of Droids that were initially developed during the Clone Wars, but later rebelled against their creators and disappeared in to the Galaxy.  They operate similar to a hive mind and work as bounty hunters across the galaxy. Taika Waititi is famous for being the director of the 3rd Thor Movie, and bring more comedy to the character.  He would also direct some of the episodes of The Mandalorian, and voice IG-11.  He’s been announced to be the director and co-writer for an upcoming Live-Action Star Wars film.

 

Gina Carano      Cara Dune

Gina Carano is a former MMA fighter, and gained muscle for the show.

 

Emily Swallow   The Armorer

Emily is known for her television roles, including Kim Fischer on The Mentalist.

 

Amy Sedaris      Peli Motto

Amy is a Pixie of a woman, but basically unrecognizable in this role.  Famously in West Wing.

 

Bill Burr                             Migs Mayfeld

Famously, the actor was not a fan of Star Wars and would mock the series.  He suggested the role by Favreau as his casting would be amusing.  Burr would later state he was impressed with filming, along with praising the writing for the show. 

 

501st Legion

Played the Storm Troopers in the series, famously bringing their own costumes and gear with them for the final episode that demanded lots of Storm Troopers.  Previously, the movie Gettysburg brought on civil war re-in-actors for the hundreds of extras necessary for the filming of that movie, as they brought period piece costumes, props, and experience to the roles.  This is similar how the 501st Legion brought their experience in to their roles as Storm Troopers.

 

501st Legion is a group of Cosplayers that primarily portray the bad guys from Star Wars.  Started in South Carolina, it’s a purely volunteer group that focuses the construction and screen accurate bad guy gear in Star Wars.  They are unaffiliated with Lucasfilms LLC or Walt Disney Company, but are the preferred Imperial Costuming Organization, and are mostly seen at Casual, Promoation and Charitable events, often at the request of Lucasfilm.  Joining requires being atleast 18 years old and a high quality costume from a Star Wars Villain.  Their sister group, the Rebel Legion, primarily consists of Good Guys from Star Wars, and The Galactic Academy, is for children under 18 years old, with no strict costuming rules, and meant for children and teenagers to share their love of Star Wars and costuming.

 

Mandalorian Filming Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufp8weYYDE8

 

 

George Lucas Rule on Glasses

George Lucas wanted his world to seem like something fantastical and unique, so his live action films never had anyone wearing glasses.  Characters could wear goggles, Shades or other items, but could not wear typical Eye Wear.  George Lucas rationalized that with how futuristic the world was, they would have eliminated the need for glasses by correcting your vision, and as a result, the art of making glasses would have disappeared.  George Lucas also made a point of saying there were no Buttons or Zippers on costumes, and that there is no underwear in the Star Wars either, famously trying to convince Carrie Fisher to go braless while in costumes.