The Mandalorian: Jon Favreau Reveals the Advice Star Wars Creator George Lucas Gave Him

The Star Wars franchise is set to expand in a major way this year when the first live-action series debuts alongside the Disney+ streaming service. The new series will dive deep into the seedy underworld of the galaxy, with Jon Favreau serving as showrunner with Dave Filoni on Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

We still don’t know much about the upcoming Star Wars show, with only those lucky enough to attend Star Wars Celebration earlier this year getting a sneak peek at the show, but Star Wars: The Mandalorian is harkening back to the first film in the saga made by writer and director George Lucas.

Favreau spoke with GQ Middle East about the upcoming series, revealing what he learned from Lucas and how he applied that knowledge to Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

“We had a long talk with each other,” Favreau explained. “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.”

Campbell, if you’re unaware, was a prominent scholar who studied literature and mythology, and first coined the phrase and the corresponding motifs of “The Hero’s Journey,” which had a huge influence on Star Wars: A New Hope.

“We enjoy the stories as adults, but really, storytelling is about imparting the wisdom of the previous generations on to the children who are becoming adults, and giving them a context for how to behave and how to learn the lessons of the past without making the mistakes on their own. That’s the hope, that you can teach them how to avoid all the hardship but garner all the wisdom,” Favreau explained.

The showrunner is also getting help from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who is both directing an episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian as well as voicing one of the new droids in the series. Waititi spoke at the Television Critics Association winter press tour earlier this year, teasing what fans can expect from the series.

“For most kids growing up with those films, [Boba Fett] was one of the most favorite characters, even though he’s barely in the films,” Waititi said. “Just the idea of bounty hunters, the helmets are so cool. Just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them is pretty cool.”

Waititi added, “Favreau’s a genius and so smart and so good at what he does and creating these worlds. The scripts are really great. It was really fun doing something in the Star Wars universe. It was every kid’s dream just to see a stormtrooper. When you’re doing these scenes with like 50 or 60 of them, it’s pretty amazing. I loved it.”

Star Wars: The Mandalorian launches alongside the Disney+ streaming service on November 12th.

[h/t Uproxx]