In the wake of streaming dominating the entertainment industry, Disney has decided to join in on the fun. Holding a literal monopoly on entertainment, movies, and television scene, Disney has given Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services a cold break as they’ve now released a monster of their own: Disney Plus. With five infinity stones of their own, Disney Plus is comprised of content from National Geographic, Pixar, Marvel, Disney (classics), and most importantly, Star Wars. Moreover, Star Wars fans have always been left disappointed: Jar Jar Binks, Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, the whole of the prequels, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christen’s performances in their entirety, and many more upsets. But after forty-two years, we-- as Star Wars fans -- have finally got what we wanted: the first Star Wars live-action television series.
It’s called The Mandalorian. Directed by Marvel extraordinaire, Jon Favreau, the show follows Dyn Jarren, also known as simply “the Mandalorian”-- a bounty hunter trying his best to survive in a cruel galaxy. The world of Mandalore is home to the greatest warriors the galaxy has ever scene, most notable of them being Jango Fett and Pre Vizsla. During the Clone Wars, billions of beings died as the Separatist Alliance and the Galactic Republic fought with an inherent disregard for innocent lives across countless planets. But Mandalore, a civilized planet refused to enter the fray and made their best efforts to remain neutral. Labeled as the galaxy’s greatest warrior race, Mandalore too entered a period of change. Duchess Satine and her followers pushed for a paradigm shift: they advocated for pacifism and nonviolence to define Mandalorian culture, not war. Those of whom decided to cling to their warrior lifestyle organized into a group called Deathwatch--a group that resisted pacifist reforms. Despite remaining neutral during the Clone Wars, Mandalore struggled with conflicts of their own.
Decades later, Mandalore was taken and conquered by the Empire. Forced to serve the Imperial army, the descendants of Deathwatch became subject to Emperor Palpatine’s rule. Despite the Empire’s tight hold over the planet, there were some Mandalorians who were either able to flee or who managed to leave before the Imperial army’s occupation. Among them is Dyn Jarren, the main character in The Mandalorian. It is uncertain the path of which The Mandalorian took to get where he is in the series--that remains to be seen as more episodes are released on Disney’s new streaming platform. However, the show has Star Wars fans excited to see how his story will play out.
The Mandalorian’s character takes a new twist unseen in Star Wars. Favreau and the producers of the show designed the character to draw parallels to western desert as well as samurai films. The series is refreshing Star Wars by bringing new elements to the table. The show is said to have the ideal components of the Star Wars franchise: crime lords, bounty hunting, starships, and more; what more could you want?
The Mandalorian is bringing entertainment elements from all over the place drawing visual references from the American West all the way to Star Wars lore. Even for those of whom aren’t Star Wars fans, this series is bound to give you some thrills. It’s interesting to see worlds collide in the entertainment space. Although Disney Plus is a money-making machine for Disney to laugh at consumers, it is bringing some quality to the entertainment industry. The only disappointing part is that Disney, despite its numerous controversies, will still be generating a disgusting amount of revenue from their streaming service with consumers subscribing left, right and center. I guess there’s nothing Star Wars fans wouldn’t do for a live-action thriller series of their own.
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