Fans wowed by first footage of 'Star Wars' TV series 'The Mandalorian'
The annual Star Wars Celebration event wound up in Chicago this weekend, but not before fans got a first look at The Mandalorian.
And by all accounts, the footage was pretty mind-blowing.
The spin-off series is being led Jon Favreau, actor turned director known for both playing Happy Hogan in the Marvel movies, and most recently helming the remake of The Lion King for Disney.
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It takes up the storyworld of the Mandalorians – (Boba Fett wears Mandalorian armour) – denizens of the Outer Rim planet of Mandalore, known for their skilled bounty hunters.
With the action taking place after the events of Return of the Jedi, but before The Force Awakens, it will see Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal playing a so-far unnamed bounty hunter, with a gritty tone said to be in line with the western and samurai movies which first inspired Star Wars creator George Lucas.
The footage shown featured Pascal being recruited for a job by Rocky star Carl Weathers’ character Greef Karga, who leads a guild of bounty hunters.
The job is for the character played by director, documentary maker – and occasional actor – Werner Herzog, a shadowy crime boss, who is flanked by former Imperial stormtroopers.
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Also introduced in the sneak peek is Cara Dune, Gina Carano’s character, a former ‘shock trooper’ trying to reintegrate into society, and Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, also a bad guy loyal to the Empire, seen flying a tie fighter.
The reactions to the footage was celebratory.
The first footage is incredible. The Mandalorian meets with Carl Weathers’ character before moving through a very Tatooine looking marketplace to meet with Werner Herzog to be recruited for a job.
— Michael Mistroff @SWCC (@mmistroff) April 14, 2019
Wow. Just wow. We saw a full scene of The Mandalorian, basically the set up of the show, into a short sizzle that included Giancarlo Esposito flying a TIE Fighter and just…so much crazy shit. Full report ASAP. #StarWarsCelebration
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) April 14, 2019
Oh wow THE MANDALORIAN footage looks incredible. We saw IG-88 attacking, we saw Salacious Crumb being barbecued for a meal. And Werner Herzog as some sort of galactic gangster who has his own team Stormtroopers
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) April 14, 2019
well holy shit. the panel was almost over and then they kept us to show us a full extended scene featuring WERNER HERZOG + a trailer-esque montage. it looks absolutely incredible. chills.
— lindsey romain @ swcc (@lindseyromain) April 14, 2019
There’s even an official new logo too.
Check out the new logo for #TheMandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars series coming to #DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/m8hifdBLHz
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 14, 2019
Disney will doubtless be pleased with the plaudits.
The show, which also stars Nick Nolte, Emily Swallow, and Omid Abtahi, and will feature episodes directed by Taika Waititi and Bryce Dallas Howard, will be among the launch titles for its new Netflix-rivalling streaming platform Disney+, set to be launched on 12 November in America.
The launch date for Disney+ in the U.K. has yet to be confirmed, but Disney UK tells Yahoo it’s aiming for a release window of some time between October 2019 and March 2020.
