At one point in time, The Mandalorian was going to get a fourth season. But then Lucasfilm decided to pivot to a feature film instead, and this summer’s The Mandalorian and Grogu was born. However, while the new movie is taking the place of a new season of TV, the development process was not as simple as taking the Season 4 scripts and reworking them into a cinematic screenplay. When tasked with the new assignment, director Jon Favreau realized he needed to start completely from scratch so he could craft something that appealed to both long-time fans and newcomers.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In an interview with ComicBook, Favreau elaborated on how The Mandalorian and Grogu came to be. As he’s shared in the past, he had Season 4 scripts written before Lucasfilm approached him about doing a Mandalorian movie. “I looked at the scripts. [Dave Filoni] looked at the scripts. It was not a movie,” Favreau said. “So we had to start from scratch and I pitched the new version of what it was because it also has to be for people who didn’t see… For Season 4, people saw the show, they saw Ahsoka, and now this one, it’s got to be like, no, you should be able to watch it if you’ve never seen Star Wars.”
Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni highlighted the challenges of making a new Star Wars project “standalone” in nature, as the franchise has grown so large and fans are always doing deep dives on how things are connected. “So there’s different levels for everybody, but for a film, we felt it was important that it be like an accessible point for anybody that maybe had even just heard of Mando or Grogu,” he said. “You know, you might own a Grogu and maybe you didn’t watch the show, that’s possible, so this is your big chance to come in. And then it’s still all there for you waiting on Disney Plus anyway, and you can go any kind of avenue you want.”
Jon Favreau’s Approach for The Mandalorian and Grogu Was Smart
Launching in conjunction with Disney+ back in 2019, The Mandalorian quickly established itself as the streamer’s flagship original program. Not only did its status as the first live-action Star Wars TV show make it feel like an event, the show’s popularity reached new heights as the world fell in love with the adorable “Baby Yoda.” Considering how strongly The Mandalorian resonated with fans, it would have been understandable if Favreau decided to make the film more of a direct continuation of the overarching MandoVerse storylines, but the new approach he took for the movie was the right one.
When you’re writing the fourth season of a TV show, it’s reasonable to assume the audience has seen the first three and is familiar with what has happened on the series. Film is a completely different medium and you’re playing to a different audience. It’s true that many people who go see The Mandalorian and Grogu have watched all of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka, but there’s also a segment of more casual/general viewers who don’t follow all of the ins and outs of the Star Wars franchise on a daily basis. Perhaps those moviegoers have only seen the films and don’t know the TV shows as well.
In order for The Mandalorian and Grogu to click with that circle of viewers (giving the box office prospects a boost), it needs to work on its own merits as a movie that anyone can enjoy regardless of their prior Star Wars knowledge. It’s similar to the dilemma Marvel Studios was facing throughout the rocky Multiverse Saga. Kevin Feige realized it had become too much like homework for people to keep up with everything, and it was having a negative impact. The Marvels, the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie, serves as a continuation of not just Carol Danvers’ arc from the Infinity Saga, but also two Disney+ shows. When developing The Mandalorian and Grogu, Favreau wanted to avoid something like that from happening.
It’s a delicate balancing act to pull off. On one hand, making The Mandalorian and Grogu as standalone as possible is logical, but you also don’t want to completely neglect the TV show that Star Wars fans have been invested in for years. Those viewers, the die-hard fans, still need to feel that this is a natural continuation of Din Djarin and Grogu’s dynamic. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but with some early reactions saying The Mandalorian and Grogu is a fun Star Wars adventure, Favreau might have found a way to make the film work for all levels of fans.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Images Courtey of Image and Marvel Comics -
Courtesy of Shueisha -
Image Courtesy of Science SARU
