Summary
- The Mandalorian’s success is unique – it’s the only Star Wars project with an entirely new cast, breaking away from familiar characters.
- The show’s originality proves that Star Wars can thrive with fresh storytelling and new characters, expanding the franchise’s appeal.
- By taking risks and introducing new characters, The Mandalorian paved the way for a new era of Star Wars storytelling, setting it apart.
The Mandalorian is the only Star Wars live-action TV show to have found incredible success without relying on one important aspect of the franchise. The Mandalorian jump-started a new era for Star Wars. Not only did it dive into a portion of the canon Star Wars timeline that was woefully underexplored, but it also served as a jumping-off point for a new type of storytelling. Previously, all of Star Wars’ TV shows had been animated, but The Mandalorian allowed Lucasfilm to try a more interconnected approach to live-action narratives, with The Mandalorian being followed up by spinoffs like The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka.
Now The Mandalorian is Disney+’s flagship show, becoming popular enough to restart Star Wars’ cinematic efforts with The Mandalorian & Grogu, too. Its massive appeal and popularity, though, are quite rare within Star Wars – the show took a major risk when it first launched. That risk completely paid off, but it has made The Mandalorian season 1 the only Star Wars project of its kind. Star Wars is, after all, a legacy franchise, and it has relied on its legacy and its beloved, well-known characters to launch and sustain many other projects. The Mandalorian, however, was a different story entirely.
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The Mandalorian Is The Only TV Show With An Entirely Brand-New Cast
The Mandalorian season 1 had much to live up to when it first launched in 2019. Not only would it be the first original show for Disney+, but it was also the start of Star Wars’ live-action TV efforts. It needed to work. It needed to prove that Star Wars could move beyond the Skywalker family and the ancient conflict between the Jedi and the Sith and become something more. A franchise as large, influential, and popular as Star Wars cannot afford to only stick to what is already known. It needed to be able to gamble.
The Mandalorian’s debut season is the only project since the original Star Wars movie premiered in 1977 that didn’t include a single already established character.
The Mandalorian was that gamble. The Mandalorian’s debut season is the only project since the original Star Wars movie premiered in 1977 that didn’t include a single already established character. Sure, “Baby Yoda” became a popular phrase, but that was only because audiences didn’t know The Child’s true name yet. The Mandalorians were an established group in Star Wars lore thanks to Legends, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels, but Din Djarin was a wholly new character, too, and his faction of Mandalorians provided a fresh spin on the Mandalorians’ traditional mythos.
Moff Gideon, Greef Karga, Cara Dune, the Client, the Armorer, Peli Motto, IG-11, Dr. Pershing, Fennec Shand, Miggs Mayfield, Kuiil, and more were all entirely new Star Wars characters. It was unheard of. The Mandalorian season 1 played around with and used aspects of Star Wars’ established canon and created new characters from it, making The Mandalorian season 1 feel incredibly unique and exciting, as though it truly was the start of a new era for the franchise.
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Every Other Star Wars Show Focuses On (Or Contains) A Familiar Character
Since The Mandalorian season 1, every other live-action Star Wars show focuses on, mentions, or re-introduces already familiar canon characters. Even The Mandalorian season 2 couldn’t ignore characters introduced in other Star Wars properties, as it brought animated and film characters like Bo-Katan Kryze, Ahsoka Tano, and Boba Fett into the live-action TV fold. Ahsoka then got to headline a show that essentially acted as a sequel to the animated series Star Wars Rebels, Andor premiered as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s connection to the prequel movies is undeniable, and Boba Fett got to “lead” his own spinoff, too.
After The Mandalorian season 1, the only exception to this rule might have been Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which, while also set in the New Republic era, will focus on an entirely new group of (young) characters as they try to find their way back home. But even then, The Mandalorian season 3 introduced the pirate Vane, and it’s been confirmed that he will have a role in Skeleton Crew, opening up the door for other Mandalorian-related characters to make an appearance. Captain Carson Teva, perhaps, a live-action Garazeb Orrelios, or maybe audiences will catch a glimpse of Elia Kane, Bo-Katan, or another well-known Mandalorian.
Confirmed upcoming Star Wars TV projects include Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, Star Wars: The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Ahsoka and Andor season 2. The Mandalorian season 4 has yet to be confirmed.
Even The Acolyte, which is far removed from The Mandalorian timeline-wise, has not been able to completely distance itself from previously established characters. As it takes place during the tail-end of the High Republic era, about 100 years after the events of The High Republic publishing initiative (and 100 years before the Star Wars prequels begin), it could have, and almost does, introduce an entirely new group of Jedi and dark side characters. One book character has joined the fray, however – Vernestra Rwoh, a gifted Mirialan Jedi, will have a substantial role in this show, too.
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The Mandalorian’s Massive Success Proves That Originality Still Works
Custom Image by Molly Brizzell
None of this is necessarily surprising. With a franchise as extensive and dense as Star Wars, characters are bound to cross over between projects, lending the franchise a sense of cohesion and continuity between the movies, TV shows, games, novels, and comic books. On the other hand, Star Wars could and arguably should be doing more, pushing the boundaries further and giving audiences fresh and exciting characters to learn about and focus on, just as The Mandalorian season 1 proved it could.
If Star Wars wants to survive, if it wants to keep expanding and thriving and pulling in new audience members, it cannot solely rely on what has come before.
Originality has a place within Star Wars, but Lucasfilm needs to be willing to try something entirely new. Hopefully, if shows like Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte are a success, Star Wars will once again see that introducing new characters within familiar settings and periods can work. Yes, both of these shows will include already established characters, but they will likely have minimal roles, at best. They definitely aren’t leading characters, not in the same way Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Star Wars Rebels’ Sabine Wren, and Bo-Katan have been. The Mandalorian season 1’s success and originality don’t need to be a random fluke – Star Wars should view it as a turning point instead.
If the franchise wants to survive, if it wants to keep expanding and thriving and pulling in new audience members, it cannot solely rely on what has come before. For many newcomers, the history is too daunting. For example, though it can technically be watched on its own, it’s clear that Ahsoka is much more enjoyable for those who have already seen both The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. For many long-time fans, using the same characters over and over again can become tedious, too – how far can you push a character before everything about them has been revealed? In that regard, The Mandalorian season 1 was truly special.
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian is set after the Empire’s fall and before the First Order’s emergence in the ever-growing Star Wars universe. The series follows the travails of a lone gunfighter named Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. Acting as the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian has become incredibly popular on Disney+, partly due to Mando’s relationship with Grogu, which the internet dubbed “Baby Yoda” upon his introduction in season 1.
Cast
Werner Herzog
, Emily Swallow
, Pedro Pascal
, Nick Nolte
, Omid Abtahi
, Gina Carano
, Carl Weathers
, Giancarlo Esposito
Release Date
November 12, 2019
Seasons
3
Streaming Service(s)
Disney+