The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian
Genre
Based on Star Wars
by George Lucas
Written by Jon Favreau
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s)
Production company(s) Lucasfilm
Release
Original network Disney streaming service

The Mandalorian is an upcoming American drama web television series, based on and set in the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas, that is set to premiere on the forthcoming Disney streaming service. The series is set three years after the film Return of the Jedi and follows a Mandalorian gunfighter operating in the outer rim of the galaxy. Jon Favreau is expected to serve as a writer for the series and executive produce alongside Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson.

Premise

The Mandalorian takes place "after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order" and follows "a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic."[1]

Production

Background

In February 2010, details were released about a potential live-action Star Wars television series being developed by George Lucas. The series was described as "gritty and dark" and was expected to feature both minor characters and more major ones including Boba Fett, C-3PO, and Emperor Palpatine. Lucas described the series at the time saying, "It's [a] lot more talky. It's more of what I would call a soap opera with a bunch of personal dramas in it. It's not really based on action-adventure films from the '30s—it's actually more based on film noir movies from the '40s!"[2]

In June 2012, further details regarding the series were released by executive producer Rick McCallum in an interview with Den of Geek where he revealed that the series had been in development since early 2009 and that over 50 scripts had been produced in ensuing years. He explained that most of the scripts were in their second drafts but, due to their complex content, were currently financially prohibitive to produce.[3]

In January 2013, following the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in December 2012, then-president of the ABC television network Paul Lee spoke to the current status of the series commenting that "We’d love to do something with Lucasfilm, we’re not sure what yet. We haven’t even sat down with them. We’re going to look at [the live-action series], we’re going to look at all of them, and see what’s right. We weren’t able to discuss this with them until [the acquisition] closed and it just closed. It’s definitely going to be part of the conversation." It was further clarified that Ronald D. Moore had written some of the series' scripts and that extensive art work including character designs, costume designs, and set designs had been developed by concept artists and designers at the design studio of Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. At the time, the creative team had been closely supervised by McCallum and Lucas.[4]

In June 2014, more details regarding the Lucas-produced series were revealed such as that series had reportedly been called Star Wars: Underworld, that additional writers had included Louise Fox and Stephen Scaia, and that the series would have depicted unseen moments from the franchise such as when Han Solo first met Chewbacca and when Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon.[5][6]

In December 2015, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the company was still exploring their options with the material that had been produced for the series saying, "No. No, interestingly enough, thats an area we’ve spent a lot of time, reading through the material that he developed is something we very much would like to explore...So our attitude is, we don’t want to throw any of that stuff away. It’s gold. And it’s something we’re spending a lot of time looking at, pouring through, discussing, and we may very well develop those things further. We definitely want to."[7] In January 2016, then-ABC president Lee gave an update on the status Lucasfilm's plans for a live-action Star Wars television series saying, "they are focused on their movies."[8] Though the following August, following Lee's replacement with Channing Dungey as ABC president, it was revealed during the annual Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour by Dungey that they were "The conversations with Lucas, we have had conversations with them and will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand into our programming."[9] However a month later, Disney–ABC Television Group president Ben Sherwood clarified the state of development of a potential live-action series saying, "Somewhere we hope in a galaxy not too far away there will be a television show that will air on one of our networks. But I wouldn't get anybody's hopes up too high. They have a lot of movies to make between now and then. We are deep into a very productive relationship with Lucasfilm making [Disney XD's] Star Wars Rebels. And we are in ongoing conversations with them on what is the next Star Wars animated show."[10]

Development

On November 9, 2017, it was announced that Disney and Lucasfilm were developing a new live-action Star Wars television series for the upcoming Disney streaming service. The announcement was made by Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger while on a quarterly earnings call with investors.[11][12]

On February 6, 2018, it was reported that Iger had revealed during another financial report conference call with investors that multiple Star Wars live-action series were actually in development by Disney saying, "We are developing not just one, but a few Star Wars series specifically for the Disney direct-to-consumer app. We've mentioned that and we are close to being able to reveal at least one of the entities that is developing that for us. Because the deal isn't completely closed, we can't be specific about that. I think you'll find the level of talent … on the television front will be rather significant as well."[13]

On March 8, 2018, it was announced that the forthcoming series would be written and executive produced by Jon Favreau.[14] On May 10, 2018, Favreau confirmed on the red carpet at the world premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story that the series would be set three years after the end of the film Return of the Jedi (two years before the official end of the Empire)[15] and that half of the scripts for the first season had been completed.[16][17] On August 5, 2018, it was reported that the series had been budgeted around $100 million dollars for 10 episodes.[18] On October 3, 2018, it was announced that the series had been titled The Mandalorian and the show's central premise was revealed.[1][19] The following day, it was revealed that additional executive producers would include Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson with Karen Gilchrist acting as a co-executive producer. Filoni was also expected to direct the series' first episode with additional directors including Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow.[20]

Filming

Principal photography for the series reportedly began during the first week of October 2018 in Southern California.[21][22][23]

Release

On October 4, 2018, the first promotional image from the series was released.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 3, 2018). "Jon Favreau Unveils Details For His 'Star Wars' Live-Action Streaming Series 'The Mandalorian'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (February 8, 2010). "Live-Action Star Wars Series Is Leaking Details". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ Peaty, James (June 3, 2012). "Rick McCallum interview: Dennis Potter, Star Wars TV series, George Lucas & Red Tails". Den of Geek. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ Hibberd, James (January 10, 2013). "ABC to look at 'Star Wars' live-action TV series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lussier, Germain (June 10, 2014). "Star Wars Underworld Would Have Explained Han Solo Backstory". Slash Film. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ Lyttelton, Oliver (June 11, 2014). "Cancelled 'Star Wars: Underworld' TV Series Would Have Featured Young Versions Of Han, Chewie & Lando". IndieWire. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  7. ↑ Sciretta, Peter (December 9, 2015). "George Lucas' Star Wars TV Show & 1313 Not Dead?". Slash Film. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ Ausiello, Michael; Patrick, Andy (January 22, 2016). "Star Wars Live-Action Series: Why the Force Won't Be Awakening on TV". TVLine. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. ↑ Hibberd, James (August 4, 2016). "'Star Wars': ABC in talks for TV series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa (September 14, 2016). "Disney/ABC TV's Ben Sherwood on a 'Star Wars' Series, "Mistakes" in Michael Strahan's 'Live' Exit and Bob Iger's Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ↑ Stanhope, Kate; Jarvey, Natalie (November 9, 2017). "'Star Wars' Live-Action TV Series to Launch on Disney Streaming Service". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (November 9, 2017). "New 'Star Wars' Trilogy in Works With Rian Johnson, TV Series Also Coming to Disney Streaming Service". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  13. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley; Couch, Aaron (February 6, 2018). "'Star Wars' TV Series: Disney Developing "a Few" for Its Streaming Service". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  14. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (March 8, 2018). "'Iron Man' filmmaker Jon Favreau will create a live-action 'Star Wars' series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  15. ↑ McDonagh, Tim (2016). Star Wars: Galactic Atlas. Disney–Lucasfilm Press. pp. 13, 44. ISBN 978-1368003063.
  16. ↑ Marnell, Blair (May 11, 2018). "Exclusive Details on Jon Favreau's STAR WARS TV Series | Nerdist". Nerdist. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  17. ↑ Evry, Max (May 11, 2018). "Jon Favreau Confirms Setting, Script Status of Star Wars Series". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  18. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (August 5, 2018). "Disney's Streaming Service Starts to Come Into Focus". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  19. ↑ Holloway, Daniel (October 3, 2018). "'Star Wars': Jon Favreau Reveals TV Series Details". Variety. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  20. 1 2 Stedman, Alex (October 4, 2018). "Bryce Dallas Howard, Taika Waititi, and More to Direct 'Star Wars' Live-Action TV Series". Variety. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  21. ↑ Ward, Jason (September 28, 2018). "Jon Favreau's live-action Star Wars Television series starts filming next week, first set photos! | Making Star Wars". Making Star Wars. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  22. ↑ Ward, Jason (September 29, 2018). "Exclusive high resolution photos & podcasting from a Star Wars: The Mandalorian filming location in Southern California! | Making Star Wars". Making Star Wars. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  23. ↑ Sciretta, Peter (October 4, 2018). "The Mandalorian: Directors, First Photo, Details & More Revealed for Jon Favreau's Star Wars TV Series – /Film". /Film. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
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