The Mandalorian season 1 cost over $100 million to make
The Mandalorian might be available to Disney+ subscribers for the low price of $7 a month, but per IGN, the eight-episode first season of Disney’s live-action Star Wars series ran up a bill close to $120 million. That’s nearly $15 million for each of the show’s first eight episodes.
That is, of course, a lot of money, although it’s still well shy of the half a billion Amazon is sinking into the first couple seasons of its Lord of the Rings show. Amazon has set the tone for this next wave of expensive shows with that one.
Speaking for myself, the footage of The Mandalorian shown at Star Wars Celebration Chicago sold me on the show. It doesn’t necessarily look expensive in the Game of Thrones sense, with a lot of sumptuous costumes and sweeping shots, but just well designed. Remember, this is much more about the seedier sides of the galaxy — our titular protagonist is a bounty hunter, there are Imperial remnants about, and so on. Expensive costuming would look out of place here. Of course, there are also stunts and special effects to consider as well. The Mandalorian (Gamer of Thrones veteran Pedro Pascal) has a ship of his own, so space battles are definitely possible.
But the biggest thing to consider is that this show is Disney’s opening gambit with Disney+, because the service and The Mandalorian debut on the same day. Certainly, original content was what pushed Netflix and Hulu into Emmy-winning territory, as well as into the public discussion. Disney’s catalog is already huge and beloved, so it doesn’t necessarily need that push, but a live-action Star Wars show set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is sure to entice viewers to hand over their money nonetheless.
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Even if The Mandalorian is terrible, Disney+ will probably still be a success based on the depth of that catalog alone, but this kind of money suggests the company knows it’s got something good on its hands. In other words, take this as a good sign and a note that wow, Disney has a lot of money to play with here. How much will those Marvel miniseries cost?
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