The first of Disney’s Star Wars streaming shows written and produced by Jon Favreau has a title – The Mandalorian.
Favreau has posted a brief synopsis on Instagram hinting at what can be expected for the show. It will give us a new Mandalorian gunslinger. The story, featuring all-new characters, is set just three years after Return of the Jedi and 27 years before The Force Awakens.
Favreau has also thrown another cat amongst the pigeons as in his post he mentions “the legacy of Jango and Boba Fett.”
It has been a point of discussion whether the father and clone (son) bounty hunters were indeed Mandalorians or whether they had procured Mandalorian armour during their business endeavours to increase their sense of menace.
If The Mandorlian indeed carries on “the legacy” of Jango and Boba it now seems safe to assume the pair are now fully-fledged Mandalorians.
Star Wars fans have previously been exposed to the world of Mandalore through the animated series The Clone Wars, and most recently Star Wars Rebels to further build Mandalorian lore.
In Star Wars lore Jango Fett claimed to have been born on the Mandalorian world of Concord Dawn, but was disavowed by the Mandalorian government that, during The Clone Wars series, turned its back on its warrior-driven culture and adopted a new pacifist ideology.
This new Mandalorian ideology was fiercely opposed by the political/terrorist group Death Watch, who wanted Mandalore to return to their warrior-driven ways.
It will be interesting what the premise of the show will be. The use of the term “gunfighter” leads one down the path of a space-based western series. Hopefully, we will get to see an old grizzled Cad Bane as well, although he will need to make it through the upcoming final season of The Clone Wars first.
The Mandalorian will air on Disney’s streaming service Disney Play, which is planned for launch by the end of 2019.
This service will not be available to Australian Star Wars fans until a later date which at this point has not been announced. However, one would assume they will appear on Australian cable TV service Foxtel until Disney expands down under.
**Addition to article 5/10/18**
Lucasfilm has now announced on StarWars.com the directors and producers of The Mandalorian. Fans will rejoice to the news that Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels) is directing the first episode. Additional episodic directors include Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok).
In other interesting news, which could also indicate the beginning of a handover process to the next generation of Star Wars producers, the series will be executively produced by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Colin Wilson.