The Mandalorian: Top 5 Things Star Wars Fans Need

#1 – We Need a Good Star Wars Story

Let’s be honest here. The Mandalorian will be the primary reason many fans are even considering getting Disney+. Sure there will be other programming, but at $10 million per episode, Disney is banking on its success. It will be the flagship for many others like it, such as Kenobi and the Cassian/K-2SO series. Expectations are sky high for this show. If the story isn’t good, Disney+ should just pack it up now.

Fans have accused Disney of forsaking good story arcs and plots (and particular jobs) in Star Wars for various SJW causes and forced diversity just for the sake of being able to say “diversity”. In truth, fans don’t care. Fans don’t have a problem with a female lead (Leia Organa, Padme Amidala, Jyn Erso), characters that aren’t white (Lando Calrissian, Cassian Andor, Rose Tico, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, Mace Windu), or LGBT (Sinjir Rath Velus, Juhani). We have a problem with characters that are boring. We have a problem with stories that do not develop plot or a character arc. Star Wars is not about gender, sexuality or race. It’s about the struggle between good and evil. The Light and the Dark. It’s about telling a good story.

If the trailer for The Mandalorian is any indicator, SJW pandering does not appear to be the case with this one. Looking through the cast, there are solid, proven actors in there, and fans don’t really care where they’re from. The starring role is Chilean. There are supporting roles who are female, black, white, etc. Wonderful! Just give us a good story and we’ll love it. As for the story, fans can rest comfortably knowing it is in good hands.

Related Article: Why Jon Favreau is perfect for Star Wars (and Rian Johnson isn’t)

Why Favreau is Perfect

Jon Favreau is a proven producer and knows how to navigate the Disney waters through his work on the Marvel side of the house. He’s done a great job with that so far. And know what else is awesome? Bryce Dallas Howard is directing episodes of the series. Even though the box office returns weren’t Star Wars-big, Ron Howard delivered a great product with Solo. Having Bryce enter the ring gives hope for yet another great directorial opportunity. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“The people are just all in, give everything, own it, own the process themselves, and then are like, ‘Your turn.’ It is so exhilarating and grounding and it doesn’t ever get about the ego, because it’s all about Star Wars, which it needs to be.”

Bryce Dallas Howard

Favreau’s production credits are a who’s-who of big-budget Marvel titles and other critically-acclaimed shows. He understands source material. He consults with other proven Star Wars story-tellers (George Lucas and Dave Filoni, for starters). These creds give me hope. Oh, and earlier I mentioned budgets…

The Mandalorian: Closing thoughts

Numbers tell stories that words can’t. Production costs for The Rise of Skywalker are already over $220 million, and the end result will be a roughly 2-hour film chock full of top-end special effects and cool stuff. In comparison, The Mandalorian comes in with a $100 million budget for roughly 10 hours of Star Wars that will also be chock full of top-end special effects and cool stuff. Fans worldwide will support both projects, with either a $12.99 one-shot movie ticket, or $6.99 monthly for their subscription. Disney may be a lot of things, but they aren’t dummies. From a bean-counting perspective, it’s easy to see where the future of Star Wars will be most profitable.

Finally, there’s the release date. Pure speculation on this author’s part, but I think Disney is hedging their bet by releasing The Mandalorian in advance of The Rise of Skywalker. The movie release will be more than just another Star Wars film. It is the final part of a 40-year-old saga. It’s an event unto itself. But what if it sucks?

By releasing The Mandalorian first, Disney is creating a fall-back plan. While Solo was a good film, it suffered from the negative reaction to The Last Jedi and left a gaping void in content. It will be easier to soothe an irate fandom if they don’t like Episode IX but they know that next week, episode 7 or 8 of The Mandalorian will be on. And on that note, expect the episode that airs just before December 20th to be a massive cliff hangar. Let’s just pray Episode IX doesn’t suck. Here’s to hope…

The Mandalorian debuts November 12 on Disney+. What do you want to see out of the new series? What’s on your top-5 list? Let That Hashtag Show know in the comments section!