Star Wars fans have waited patiently for footage of the upcoming Disney+ show, The Mandalorian. But was it worth the wait and the hype?
Short answer: yes. Long answer: yeeeeeeeeeees.
From the moment the trailer opens, it is immediately apparent that The Mandalorian will be following a similar tone and aesthetic to Rogue One, which was chock-full of gorgeous shots and grounded in the same color palette and styling as the Original Trilogy — just updated for modern theater. It is fitting then that The Mandalorian, set after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, will follow in Rogue One’s footsteps when it comes to its visual style and grittier tone.
Which isn’t to say that The Mandalorian won’t still feature some of the levity that we’ve come to expect from a Star Wars title, but rather, that it is another slice of the Galaxy far, far away — one that puts the focus on the minutia of the war, and what the fallout looks like for everyday citizens. Particularly in the wake of toppling the ruling class in the Empire and the power vacuum that immediately follows.
Here are a few theories that we have for visually stunning The Mandalorian trailer.
Returning to Mos Eisley
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
Those are some of the first words that Star Wars fans ever heard uttered about Mos Eisley spaceport, a location that The Mandalorian appears to be returning to, after some extended time away since the Original Trilogy.
Based on Tatooine, the planet where Luke Skywalker was raised, Mos Eisley has always represented some of the lawlessness of the Star Wars universe, even under the rule of the Empire. That lawlessness appears to have escalated to a whole other level, with several bloodied and battered Stormtrooper helmets discarded on the sand and impaled on spikes. (We’re certainly not going to ask whether or not those helmets are empty.)
But The Mandalorian’s return to Mos Eisley might hint at more than just the lawlessness rampant across the Outer Rim territories. It is possible that the opening location of the trailer could be suggesting the identity of the titular character: Cobb Vanth. Vanth was introduced in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy of books, and was introduced as a lone gunfighter who donned the Mandalorian armor he found in the wastes. A former slave freed following the death of Jabba the Hutt, Vanth would have the perfect motivation for becoming a bounty hunter in the show, and is a character primed to be expanded upon.
Focus beyond human characters
A large focus of the Star Wars universe has always been on the human characters, but The Mandalorian provides an opportunity to dive deeper into the lives and lore of the other species living in the Outer Rim, in a way it hasn’t been able to before.
In the trailer, a Twi’lek and Ugnaught feature in two visually memorable moments. The presence of the Ugnaught alone provide a clue as to where the titular Mandalorian might travel, with the race being introduced during The Empire Strikes Back in Cloud City. However, the Ugnaught were originally native to the planet Gentes in the Outer Rim, with many of them being sold into slavery due to their hardworking nature. It could be that — with the fall of the Empire — the Mandalorian will team up with the Ugnaught to free the remaining slaves on Gentes.
As for the Twi’lek, the race has also largely been associated with slavery and prostitution in the live-action Star Wars titles, most notably in Return of the Jedi, with several Twi’lek appearing in the service of Jabba the Hutt. However, characters like Hera Syndulla in Star Wars Rebels offer a glimpse at the race outside of their assumed role. The Twi’lek in the trailer might be another bounty hunter competing with the titular character or, in a nod to the Expanded Universe, could even be a crime lord themselves.
There are endless possibilities for the direction that The Mandalorian could go in, and it would be a refreshing change to get an extended look at other races in the Star Wars universe outside of the animated series.
The droid we’re looking for
While it was largely rumored that IG-88, the droid hired by Darth Vader to hunt down Han Solo in Empire Strikes Back and a rival to Boba Fett, would be appearing in The Mandalorian, it is a different droid that will be teaming up with the titular character: IG-11.
Voiced by Taika Waititi, IG-11 will likely have been made on the same production line or factory as IG-88, but whether the earlier model of droid will prove to be just as lethal as IG-88 remains to be seen. Sentient and rogue droids are no stranger to Star Wars, with R2-D2, C-3PO, BB-8, L3-37, and K-2SO all featuring distinct personalities, loyalties and motivations. However, it will be interesting to dive deeper into just what makes a droid like IG-11 tick and how they — along with IG-88 — might have broken their programming.
IG-11’s fighting style also appears to be adapted from the Expanded Universe novels, bringing even more of the now Legends-content back into the main continuity, and adapting it for the new landscape of Star Wars content.
The Mandalorian will premiere November 12 on Disney+.
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