Members of the press have posted their social media reactions to The Mandalorian, after Disney screened thirty minutes from the upcoming live-action Star Wars series for journalists. In addition to being the first of its kind, The Mandalorian will serve as a litmus test for future live-action shows set in a galaxy far, far away when it premieres on Disney+ next month. Disney and Lucasfilm are already working on two more Star Wars series for the service, in the forms of the Cassian Andor prequel and Obi-Wan Kenobi solo adventure. For that reason, it's important that The Mandalorian make a strong impression right out of the gate.
Fortunately, for the Mouse House, the outlook is pretty optimistic right now. The Mandalorian trailer footage has been well-received so far, with fans praising its cinematic style and high production values. The show is set five years after Return of the Jedi and takes place in the criminal underworld of the Star Wars galaxy, so it's expected to be a little darker than other Star Wars-related projects before it. Based on the early footage reactions, it's very much that and more.
Disney held a press event for The Mandalorian today and screened thirty minutes of footage from the series' first few episodes. As you can see from these responses posted to Twitter, those in attendance (which included Screen Rant's own Mansoor Mithaiwala) were by and large impressed by what they saw.
It's not surprising to hear The Mandalorian looks and feels like a movie, given its total budget (estimated at $120 million) and the creatives involved. Iron Man filmmaker Jon Favreau served as the showrunner and assembled a top-notch team of directors for the series' first season, including Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), Deborah Chow (American Gods), and Rick Famuyiwa (Dope). It's also encouraging to hear the show doesn't shy away from being grittier than Star Wars movies past. The Mandalorian won't go so far as to feature TV-MA content, but a show about bounty hunters, gangsters, and renegade Imperial officers should have a bit more edge to it.
Fans have been hoping The Mandalorian would take advantage of the episodic series format and delve deeper into aspects of the Star Wars galaxy that the movies simply don't have time to focus on. Thankfully, these reactions indicate the show does just that, and will flesh out the franchise's mythology in creative and exciting ways. Since the clips Disney showed were all taken from different episodes, those in attendance couldn't really comment on the series' overarching plot threads. So, hopefully, the story of The Mandalorian will prove to be as compelling as the world-building and aesthetic seemingly are.
The Mandalorian premieres Tuesday, November 12 on Disney+, and will roll-out new episodes on a (typically) weekly basis thereafter.
Source: Various [see the above links]