Star Wars is coming to TV in a brand new way with the very first (and super pricy) live-action series, which was recently revealed to be called The Mandalorian. Executive producer Jon Favreau announced the big news via social media, although details beyond the title and premise were scarce. Now, more information has released, and it turns out that Taika Waititi of Thor: Ragnarok and a number of others are on board to bring new stories to that galaxy far, far away.
Fans of Star Wars, get excited! Production has officially begun on the new series, and Taika Waititi will direct an episode for its big premiere on the Disney streaming service. Also directing episodes will be Dave Filoni of Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars, Jurassic World star and Solemates director Bryce Dallas Howard, Deborah Chow of Jessica Jones, and Rick Famuyiwa of Dope. As previously announced, Jon Favreau is on board as executive producer and writer. Sharing executive producing duties are Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson on top of Filoni and Favreau.
There's no news yet as to what will happen in the episodes these directors are set to tackle, but it's worth noting that these directors have worked on wildly different projects throughout their careers. Both Taika Waititi and Deborah Chow have helmed superhero projects, although for under different banners and with very different tones. And that's only one example! Despite some criticism of The Last Jedi in the aftermath of The Force Awakens, Star Wars movies are often similar in tone and structure within their trilogies. Is the variety of directors a sign that the series won't necessarily feel like one big story? Will there be standalone episodes, or will The Mandalorian be completely serialized?
Unfortunately, we can only wait and see at this point. Of the directors who have signed on to helm episodes of The Mandalorian, Dave Filoni is the one with Star Wars saga experience. He's slated to direct the very first episode of the new show, and his involvement is one of the elements of The Mandalorian that I'm most excited about. Filoni has directed episodes of Star Wars Rebels, will direct new episodes of The Clone Wars, and contributed to Star Wars Resistance.
Not only is Filoni well-versed in Star Wars lore with experience working alongside George Lucas, but his work on Clone Wars and Rebels makes him an expert on all things Mandalorian in current Star Wars canon. Given that The Mandalorian takes place after the fall of the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens, it's also possible that Rebels' explosive Mandalorian Sabine Wren could appear in live-action. Why not bring Katee Sackhoff on board as Mandalorian leader Bo-Katan as well?
Only time will tell what's in store with The Mandalorian. The next Star Wars project coming to the small screen is Star Wars Resistance, which was impacted by Rebels and Clone Wars in some interesting ways. Resistance is also set in the era between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens (although much closer to Force Awakens), so perhaps we should keep our eyes peeled for any Mandalorians on Resistance this fall!
