Jon Favreau Compares The Mandalorian to Making Iron Man

Jon Favreau didn’t know what he was setting up when he made Iron Man more than a decade ago. The filmmaker took a risk with Marvel Studios on a lesser-known hero who has since become the face of comics in many ways. Of course, Favreau is still involved with the MCU today, but he’s expanded his work to another unexplored frontier.

After all, the filmmaker is the brain behind the first Star Wars live-action TV series, and Favreau says working on the series has given him serious Iron Man deja vu.

Recently, the creator sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his work on The Mandalorian. It was there Favreau says there is pressure to get the show right since it will help launch Disney’s highly anticipated streaming service, but he’s taking it a day at a time like he did with Iron Man.

“This feels to me like when we made Iron Man. It didn’t feel like the future of Marvel was resting on it, [even though] the future of Marvel was resting on it because if we failed they would have lost their characters that were collateral,” Favreau said.

As for why The Mandalorian convinced him to join the Star Wars universe, it all came down to character. The creator is a well-known fan of the franchise, but this Disney+ title gave Favreau a chance to explore new characters in a lower-risk medium.

“Disney+ is emerging and there’s an opportunity to tell a story that’s bigger than television, but you don’t have the same expectations that a big holiday release has, which to me isn’t that type of Star Wars that comes out of me.” Favreau said. “The type of Star Wars that I’m inspired to tell is a smaller thing with new characters.”

Of course, there is no way Favreau could avoid stress while acting as showrunner on The Mandalorian. Still, the creator was able to work closely with the TV show’s various directors to create a cohesive vision, and he’s said before he even consulted Star Wars‘ creator George Lucas for advice.

“We had a long talk with each other,” Favreau said in a previous interview. “One thing he said to me was, ‘Remember, Jon, the real audience for all stories and all myths is the kids that are coming of age,’ because he’s really a Joseph Campbell adherent.”

Now, it is just a matter of time before fans can check out this new breed of Star Wars entertainment. The Mandalorian will go live on Disney+ as a launch title this fall.

So, will you be tuning into The Mandalorian when it debuts? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Star Wars: The Mandalorian is scheduled to premiere on November 12th on Disney+.