Details on the Tech Jon Favreau Used to Develop THE MANDALORIAN and George Lucas' Involvement

I’m more excited about Jon Favreau and Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian more than any other Star Wars project in development right now. I’ve hardly seen any footage from it, but I’ve been hearing some incredible things about what was shown during Star Wars Celebration.

Thanks to actor Giancarlo Esposito, we have some new information to share with you regarding the series, his role, the cutting-edge technology used to develop the series, and he even discusses George Lucas’ involvement. When talking about the tech used in the series with Collider, he says:

“Jon Favreau’s brilliant. Technically, this show has a new technology [that’s] never really [been] refined as much as it is right now. We’re in a place called The Volume, where we do most of our acting, where set pieces are brought in, where we can control the physical atmosphere of what is projected on the walls and control how gravity is; you get a feeling that gravity is being played with. This is a show that’s gonna be really fantastic.”

This is the same way that films like Avatar and Read Player One were shot. One thing we do know is that Favreau used a lot of practical sets and effects to bring the story of The Mandalorian to life. It’ll be really interesting to see how all of this in combined with “The Volume,” which is located in Southern California.

We also know that George Lucas visited the set of the series, but it sounds like maybe he was actually pretty involved with the creative process.

“I’ve got a great costume. We got great set pieces. I’m not giving anything away because [Jon Favreau] is an artist, truly an artist. [He was] working with George Lucas on this particular piece and making it a piece that we can really relate to now in our world that we’re in. Besides the fact that there are so many Star Wars fans out there that really don’t get enough of this, finally we have a [Star Wars] piece that for the first time ever is shot outside of a London studio.”

Esposito went on to reveal that Favreau worked with Lucas to create the series in the first place:

“Well you know what’s cool about Mandalorian is you figure a guy who wrote it, who figured it out with George Lucas, would direct every episode. That would be all ego, right? He has amassed some incredible directors from different parts of the planet to give their take on an episode. I find that to be so phenomenal because then we have new and fresh ideas every single episode, coming into this show, that reflect the fans—because the directors are also fans. They’re from Australia, from England, from wherever you are, it reflects their take of their people on how they saw the original and how they’re going to do it as well. So you get new, fresh energy into a piece that is already energetic because of all the stuff that’s going on on the screen, because of all the technology that they’ve worked out. This is going to be a fantastic show.”

As you see, it’s stated clearly that Favreau figured out the series with Lucas. I love that Lucas was involved with the creation of this series! it gives me more hope that it will be filled with the same spirit as the original trilogy, which served as inspiration for the tone of the new show. Favreau previously said he developed the series as a “low budget affair”:

“Since I wrote most of [The Mandalorian], I wrote it to fit within our volume, and in trying to keep the scale of it like the first Star Wars film, which was a relatively low-budget affair, even though the effects were spectacular.”

The series also stars Pedro Pascal (Narcos) as “a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy.” It also includes Gina Carano (Deadpool), Emily Swallow (Supernatural), Carl Weathers (Predator), Omid Abtahi (American Gods), Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), and Nick Nolte (Affliction).

The plot of the show is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order and here’s the synopsis:

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

It was also previously revealed the story will follow a bounty hunter who is protecting a baby that he was initially sent to kill. You can read some more details regarding that here.

The Mandalorian is written and executive produced by Favreau, with Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels) directing the first episode and serving as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. Additional directors include Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok).  

The Mandalorian, which will debut on Disney+ on November 12th, 2019.