The Mandalorian Viewers: Give Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni the “Keys to Star Wars”

Some Star Wars fans are calling for Disney and Lucasfilm to give The Mandalorian creator Jon [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Some Star Wars fans are calling for Disney and Lucasfilm to give The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau and galactic guru Dave Filoni the "keys to the franchise" in response to the acclaimed series now airing on Disney+. The Emmy-winning space western, which counts Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Avatar's Colin Wilson as executive producers, draws inspiration from creator George Lucas and his 1977 film that first transported audiences to a galaxy far, far away. At 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, both the first and second seasons of The Mandalorian tie with the Filoni-produced Clone Wars as the best-rated Star Wars content since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 — making Favreau and Filoni the clear frontrunners, some say, for the creative leads of Star Wars.

"Each episode of The Mandalorian continues to do Star Wars better than the films could. Just give Jon Favreau the keys to the franchise and we'll be better off," writes one Twitter user in response to "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," scripted by Favreau and directed by Robert Rodriguez, which sees the long-missing Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) back in (live) action for the first time since 1983's Return of the Jedi.

The two creators have "firmly cemented themselves not just as gifted storytellers, but more importantly; two creatives who understand and appreciate the essence of what makes Star Wars special," writes another Twitter user. "Put them in charge of the entire franchise. They've earned it."

A cast of new characters blasted their way into the pop-culture consciousness from the start of The Mandalorian, among them the eponymous armored bounty hunter, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and his Force-strong foundling — Grogu, the instant Internet sensation formerly known as Baby Yoda.

In Season 2, Prequel-era fan-favorites Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) have joined a cast of characters that includes such recent favorites as Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who find their stories intertwining with legends like Fett.

Mandalorian's well-regarded reception from audiences and critics alike comes after a mixed response to the big-screen Star Wars sequel trilogy, which has an average of 77% — or a C+ — when counting the critics' scores of The Force Awakens (92%), The Last Jedi (90%), and Skywalker Saga finale The Rise of Skywalker (51%).

For many, there's an appreciation towards Favreau and Filoni for consulting with Lucas and striving to make The Mandalorian feel "akin to what George had done" with his Flash Gordon and Akira Kurosawa-influenced space opera. In a recent interview, Favreau said of Lucas, "We're DJs, playing Beatles songs. He's The Beatles."

When compared to the divisive Last Jedi — the penultimate installment of the nine-episode saga that took a meta and auteur approach under writer-director Rian Johnson, who believes catering to fans is a "mistake" — The Mandalorian is drawing praise over the fan-first mentality expressed by Favreau and Filoni. In June, Favreau said you "have to listen" to fans, calling the relationship between creator and audience "a two-way street."

"You always want to keep the core fans in mind, because they have been the ones that have been keeping the torch lit for many, many years," Favreau said over the summer about his approach to Marvel and then Star Wars. "But these are also stories for young people and for new audiences. These are myths, and so you always want to have an outstretched hand to people who might not have that background."

In February, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger said the future of Star Wars is television. Paving that future: Favreau and Filoni, who trended on Twitter over the weekend amid viral calls for the pair to "write and direct everything Star Wars forever."

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New episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 release on Disney+ on Fridays. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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