Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 4 “Technology” – Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN
As part of its Star Wars Day celebration, Disney has launched an eight-part docuseries all about the making of the first-ever live-action Star Wars show: The Mandalorian. In Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, creator Jon Favreau gives fans a look at what it took to bring the show to life. It’s a lot like his Dinner for Five show he did for IFC in the early aughts, but focused just on this one project.
“Each chapter explores a different facet of the first live-action Star Wars television show through interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and roundtable conversations hosted by Jon Favreau,” reads the official synopsis. “Topics this season include the filmmaking process, the legacy of George Lucas’ Star Wars, how the cast brought the characters to life, the series’ groundbreaking technology, the artistry behind the show’s practical models, effects, and creatures, plus the creative influences, the iconic score, and connections to Star Wars characters and props from across the galaxy.”
The first of eight episodes is up now on Disney+. The rest will air every Friday, and we’ll be talking through each of them right here. Let’s get into it:
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
Chapter 1: “Directing”
If you’re like me and enjoy poring over the extras and bonus features of the latest movie you get on Blu-ray, then you’re going to really like Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian. The premiere episode sees creator Jon Favreau host a roundtable discussion with season 1’s directing team: Dave Filoni (Chapters 1 and 5), Taika Waititi (Chapter 8), Bryce Dallas Howard (Chapter 4), Deborah Chow (Chapters 3 and 7), and Rick Famuyiwa (Chapters 2 and 6).
While it was neat to hear from each director, the MVP is without a doubt Dave Filoni. Filoni is a loremaster when it comes to that galaxy far, far away. Before becoming showrunner on The Mandalorian alongside Favreau, Filoni was George Lucas’ apprentice; together they created the much-beloved animated series The Clone Wars. After that, Filoni went on to create Star Wars Rebels.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Clockwise from Center: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Taika Waititi, Rick Famuyiwa, Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard participate in a directors roundtable on DISNEY GALLERY: THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
It’s obvious why Favreau trusted Filoni enough to move from the animated Clone Wars and Rebels series to directing the live-action Mandalorian. His knowledge of Star Wars is unparalleled, with cast members and fellow directors alike turning to him when they had questions about the mythology. For example, Gina Carano (Cara Dune) was wondering whether it made sense for her ex-rebel shock trooper character to wear a shoulder guard. When she asked Filoni about it, she got an extensive history lesson about the Rebel ground forces in their war with the Empire.
That makes it sound like Filoni is an arrogant know-it-all, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He comes across as an affable guy who enjoys sharing his love and passion of Star Wars with anyone who asks. He tells a funny story about serving as an animator on Avatar: The Last Airbender and getting a phone call from Lucasfilm about George Lucas wanting to meet with him about working on a re-tooled version of The Clone Wars animated short Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) created in 2003:
So Filoni gets this call and is convinced it’s the guys over at SpongeBob SquarePants playing a prank on him. Once he realized it was a legit phone call from Lucasfilm, he accepted the interview and showed up to Skywalker Ranch. Lucas began teaching him what he needed to know right there in the meeting, and the rest is history.
Anyway, back to the other directors: Bryce Dallas Howard, who had less directing experience than the other folks in the mix, talked about bringing her insights as an actor to her episode, “Sanctuary.” Rick Famuyiwa talked about being a huge Star Wars fan as a kid and how in awe he was when he stood next to the Jawa’s Sandcrawler.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Pedro Pascal and Rick Famuyiwa on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
The biggest get for the show was probably Taika Waititi, who before this had directed a proper blockbuster with Thor: Ragnarok. He’s entertaining, as well…too bad he’s not returning for The Mandalorian season 2, but I suppose that directing Thor: Love and Thunder AND a whole new Star Wars movie will keep him busy.
All in all, this was an incredibly enjoyable first episode of Disney Gallary: The Mandalorian, and I can’t wait to hear stories from the show’s stars — please God, let Werner Herzog be in that episode — as well as the team that brought Baby Yoda to life.
Episode Grade: A
Scene from Disney+ series THE MANDALORIAN.
Chapter 2: “Legacy”
In this episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau hosts a panel consisting of his fellow Mandalorian showrunner Dave Filoni, John Knoll (ILM VFX supervisor), Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Richard Bluff (VFX Supervisor) and Hal Hickel (Animation Director) to discuss the legacy by George Lucas once the creator of Star Wars passed the reigns to Disney.
There’s not much discussion about The Mandalorian itself, but rather a broader talk about how we got from the first-ever Star Wars movie, A New Hope, to the very first live-action Star Wars television series, The Mandalorian. At the start of that timeline, Pedro Pascal (Mando) gushes about the escape Star Wars afforded him as a kid. In fact, recalling when he got tickets to Return of the Jedi and thought he was the luckiest kid in the world.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 2 “Legacy” – Gina Carano on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
In a flashback to last week’s episode, Taika Waititi talks about being freaked out by The Empire Strikes Back because it wasn’t like A New Hope. But when he went back and viewed it again, he grasped the deeper meaning the film was trying to convey: If you give up on something hard, then that is why you fail.
There’s also a discussion about The Phantom Menace being done in mostly motion-control miniatures, which blows my mind, as I always thought it was completely CGI. But the real draw is Dave Filoni following the throughline from The Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi. He describes how Qui-Gon Jinn was a father figure to young Anakin Skywalker. Against the Jedi Council’s wishes, he took on Anakin as his own padawan, pushing Obi-Wan to take the trials of the Jedi Knight. Because of this, Qui-Gon was seen as a renegade Jedi, which is why he wasn’t on the council in the first place. Obi-Wan, at first, served as a reluctant brother to Anakin, which is why he failed to save Anakin, in the long run.
The catalyst became the fight between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon, where the former struck down the latter. Without a father, Anakin was left to fall to the Dark Side, despite the good intentions of his brother, Obi-Wan.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 2 “Legacy” – Carl Weathers and Werner Herzog on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
As Filoni puts it, Luke Skywalker faced the same problem in Return of the Jedi. Filoni thinks Luke would have turned to the Dark Side of the Force had Anakin not intervened. In the end, the father saved the son, and had Qui-Gon been alive for Anakin’s training, he might never have become Darth Vader.
As with last week’s episode, Dave Filoni provides invaluable insight into the thought process of George Lucas, as well as the lore of Star Wars in general. However, there wasn’t a ton of feedback that stood out from everyone on the panel. Still an enjoyable episode, though.
Episode Grade: B
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 2 “Legacy” – Carl Weathers and Gina Carano on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
Chapter 3: “Cast”
As the title says, “Chapter 3” focused on the cast of The Mandalorian. Showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni host Carl Weathers (Greef Karga), Gina Carano (Cara Dune) and Mando himself, Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin).
Talking about the look of the Mandalorian, Favreau mentions that George Lucas used Clint Eastwood’s gunfighter from movies like For a Few Dollars More for inspiration in creating the look for Boba Fett. Of course, that’s how Favreau and Filoni framed the Mandalorian.
As anyone who’s watched the show knows, Mando never removes his helmet. That created a challenge for directors and actors alike. Directors Deborah Chow and Rick Famuyiwa relished the challenge and tried to find ways to still let him express his personality, whether it was a slight tilt of his head or the fact that he remained perfectly still when the situation called for action. Fans everywhere connected with him, so it worked.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Deborah Chow and Pedro Pascal on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
Pascal had two stuntmen fill in for him in certain situations: One guy was for firing weapons while the other was for hand-to-hand combat. When these guys were filling in for him, Pascal hit the studio to record the voiceover.
That didn’t stop Pascal from hurting himself, though. He tells a hilarious story about the scene where he takes his helmet off for the first time. After spending the morning in the makeup trailer having fake blood applied to his face, he stepped outside and was admiring his costume when he ran headfirst into a piece of plywood.
He was taken to an emergency room, his face covered with a mix of real and fake blood. The staff freaked out. After all was said and done, it took seven stitches to close him up and he returned to work to film that bloody scene.
While it may have been next to impossible for viewers to tell when Pascal was under the helmet or not, one person who was never fooled was Gina Carano. She always knew which stuntperson was playing Mando, or if it was Pascal.
Chapter 4. Gina Carano is Cara Dune in THE MANDALORIAN exclusively on Disney+
Carano’s coworkers couldn’t say enough about how great she was to work with. She did many of her own stunts, even physically lifting Pedro Pascal in the finale when he was knocked out by Moff Gideon’s forces.
Talking up Carano’s talent as an actor, Favreau and Filoni said they never considered anyone else for the role of Cara Dune. She didn’t have to audition for the part, and Pascal recalls that when he was brought in for Favreau to pitch him the idea of him playing the Mandalorian, there were sketches of Cara all over the storyboards.
Everyone praised Carl Weathers, too, with Carano talking about how she turned to Weathers when she wasn’t sure about a scene. He was always ready to give advice.
Apparently, Weathers’ character was supposed to be killed off in the third episode, but he was so well-liked and did such a great job as the leader of a bounty hunter’s guild with a heart of gold that he was written in through the end of the season. Here’s hoping we see more of Greef Karga in The Mandalorian season 2.
Chapter 3 of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian had a feel-good kumbaya storytime feel to it. It didn’t provide the sort of insight into the show that I’ve come to look forward to.
Episode Grade: B-
Chapter 6. Mark Boone, Jr. is Ran Malk in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Chapter 4: “Technology”
In chapter 4, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni discuss the groundbreaking technology that made The Mandalorian possible, sitting at the table with the cast, the directors, and the pros from Lucasfilm and ILM (Industrial Light & Magic).
This episode explores “Volume,” which is the name given to the state-of-the-art virtual set built almost entirely out of light-emitting diodes (LED) that can change as needed to reflect what is being filmed. For instance, in “Chapter 6: The Prisoner,” Mando agrees to help some old bounty hunting pals free someone aboard a New Republic prison transport ship. The scene in the cargo bay where he meets his old buddies is filmed entirely on a “Volume” set; most of what we see is just shown on a screen behind the actors, reacting dynamically with their movements so our immersion is never broken.
Favreau, Filoni and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy talk about losing themselves on some of these new cutting edge sets, and Gina Carano (Cara Dune) mentions not being able to tell where the seams are.
This is huge stuff. It basically means that location shooting could become a thing of the past, which has all kinds of implications for the film and television industry.
And the new system is very versatile. Director Rick Famuyiwa talks about helming his first episode, “Chapter 2: The Child,” where Mando has to slay the Mudhorn in order to retrieve its egg, considered a highly coveted prize by the jawas. The giant Sandcrawler was actually only a large set of tank-like tracks, with the rolling city built on a Volume set.
Chapter 2 Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
This was an interesting episode, especially if you’re into discovering how the magic happens and great television or film is made. It was neat to listen to both Filoni and Kennedy talk about George Lucas’ part in pioneering the green-screen visual effects in the prequel trilogy, an innovation that paved the way for systems like Volume. Knowing that Lucas mentored both of them made their sidebar discussion much more interesting.
Episode Grade: B+
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 5 “Practical” – VFX crew with IG-11 on the set of THE MANDALORIAN
Chapter 5: “Practical”
This episode is dedicated to the practical special effects that put The Mandalorian over the top, and you know what that means: this episode has a lot of Baby Yoda.
First off, it was fascinating to hear from various cast and crew members who all had their own name for the puppet officially known as The Child. Some called it “The Baby,” others refer to it as “Baby Yoda,” while Bryce Dallas Howard simply calls it “Baby!” But while the names changed, one thing was clear: Everyone loved it.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Werner Herzog and Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
That goes for double for Werner Herzog, the uniquely strange but always delightful filmmaker who had a small role as The Client. Apparently, it was Herzog’s infatuation with the Baby Yoda puppet that inspired Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to use in almost every scene, instead of CGI.
Deborah Chow directed Herzog in “Chapter 3: The Sin” and recalled a hilarious story about Herzog about the scene where Mando brings Baby Yoda to the safe house where The Client and his Imperial scientist are waiting to study it. “He got so into the baby that he started directing the baby directly as though he was talking to a person. And so, I’m trying to direct Werner, who’s trying to direct the puppet. He fell in love with it.”
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 5 “Practical” – Cantina staff and patrons in THE MANDALORIAN
As for the puppet itself, Baby Yoda has five people who control different motions and features. There’s a person just for the eyes, someone controls its hands and feet, while another moves its cute little head. There’s a lot of time and effort poured into this puppet. And considering how it took the world by storm, it all well worth it.
Of course, the show has practical effects other than Baby Yoda, even if they’re not as adorable. Dave Filoni razzed Favreau for making a model of Mando’s ship, the Razor Crest, because he wanted to take the model home and proudly display it once filming was done.
The team behind the droid IG-11 talked talked about how they were inspired the sassy droid K-2SO from Rogue One. When we see IG-11 onscreen, it’s actually a prop on wheels. As the crew pulled it along, it would stop and start in these herky-jerky motions that they knew they wanted to include in the final version.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 5 “Practical” – Crew member adjusting the costume for a Nutmeg Guard in THE MANDALORIAN
And then there are the aliens. George Lucas is rightfully praised here for his use of practical effects in the original trilogy. Favreau and Filoni knew they couldn’t simply use CGI for all the cool-looking characters introduced in The Mandalorian, because it wouldn’t feel like it came from the same era as the OT.
All in all, “Practical” was a fun episode filled with interesting stories on how the creative team used props, puppets and models to bring The Mandalorian to life.
Episode Grade: A
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 2 “Legacy” – Pedro Pascal on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
Chapter 6: “Process”
In this episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni dive into pre-visualization, the method by which each episode of The Mandalorian season 1 was brought to life. Pre-vis allows each director to see an entire episode play out before they even film the first shot.
By animating the entire episode beforehand using Unreal Engine technology, which enables directors to actually “film” scenes in a virtual reality setting, production is streamlined. And given how complicated a lot of The Mandalorian is — a showdown between a band of bounty hunters and a group of Mandalorian warriors doesn’t just happen, for instance — being able to plan like this is invaluable.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 1 “Directing” – Baz Idoine and Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN. Image Courtesy Disney+
Because Filoni comes from an animation background — The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels — he’s very comfortable playing in the pre-vis sandbox. But newer converts like Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) are impressed with how animating an episode beforehand makes filming scenes with actors much more efficient; he compares it to how movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are made. Pre-vis is pretty much everywhere now.
Rick Famuyiwa talks about directing “Chapter 6: The Prisoner,” where Mando helps a group of bounty hunters free the Twi’lek mercenary Qin from a New Republic prisoner transport ship. He explains how pre-vis helped him frame the action-packed scene where Mando takes out several New Republic security droids.
Chapter 6. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian, Clancy Brown is Burg and Bill Burr is Mayfield in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Some other topics on the table:
- Favreau ad Filoni discussed the movies that inspired the story in The Mandalorian, which included Westerns like Red River and the Godfather movies, combined with Akira Kurosawa films like Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. All of those were required viewing for each director in season 1. Incidentally, The Hidden Fortress is also one of the movies George Lucas cited as an influence on the original Star Wars, so they’re going back to the source here.
- Directors Rick Famuyiw and Deborah Chow were very impressed with Favreau’s pre-visualization process and couldn’t wait to begin filming season 2, which is due out in October.
- Favreau talked about this kind of pre-vis as an ever-evolving technique he really got going with on his Jungle Book and Lion King live-action movies, and it will be even more advanced for The Mandalorian season 2.
Because pre-visualization and the Unreal Engine VR technique has been discussed in previous episodes, “Chapter 6: Process” wasn’t as interesting or exciting as it could have been. Still, it’s very cool to know how Favreau is constantly changing and honing the technique so that it remains on the cutting edge.
Episode Grade: C
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 13: Composer Ludwig Göransson speaks onstage at the premiere of Lucasfilm’s first-ever, live-action series, “The Mandalorian,” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on November 13, 2019. “The Mandalorian” streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Chapter 7: “Score”
On this episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, we’re introduced to The Mandalorian composer, Ludwig Göransson, who won an Oscar for his score for Black Panther. He also composed the music for Venom, as well as Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated spy thriller Tenet.
The Mandalorian showrunners Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau sit down with Göransson, who walks Filoni and Favreau through his process when composing music. He begins by creating five new sounds and working them into five new original songs. That’s pretty unique, but the bulk of this episode is fairly mundane; if you’ve ever watched a behind-the-scenes featurette for any movie, then you know what’s coming. Just follow the bouncing ball, add water, and you’ve got your very own homemade Star Wars soundtrack.
That said, some interesting points do arise. They talk about John Williams, naturally, who scored every Star Wars movie except 2016’s Rogue One; Michael Giacchino had that honor. He also didn’t score The Mandalorian.
Dave Filoni talked about how some Star Wars fans can be too possessive of George Lucas’ creation, talking about fans who consider ever single second of the original trilogy to be sacrosanct, even though Lucas himself never intended for his work to be taken that seriously. Filoni argues that Lucas created Star Wars for children, not adults, which is why we see stuff like Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks.
Episode Grade: B+
Be sure to tune in next week, June 19, for the season 1 finale of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Episode 4 “Technology” – Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN
Chapter 8: “Connections”
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian comes to an end with a look at how various characters, places and things in the show took their inspiration from Star Wars movies, animated series and video games, as well as fun stories from the set of the first-ever live-action Star Wars TV show.
For instance, creator Jon Favreau wanted to make sure alien species that had been previously relegated to the background would get the spotlight. You can see that in how the show highlighted characters like Burg (Clancy Brown), the Devaronian with red skin and horns like the devil from Episode 6, or the lizard-like Trandoshian bounty hunters who ambushed Mando in Episode 2.
Showrunner Dave Filoni also tells a hilarious story about how Favreau insisted that the show feature a wildly obscure prop from The Empire Strikes Back be used by an equally obscure character named Willrow Hood, a citizen of Cloud City. It’s called a camtono, and it’s the container that the Client (Werner Herzog) used to store the Beskar steel he gave to Mando as payment for retrieving Baby Yoda. The prop itself was a repurposed ice cream maker. At some conventions, diehard Star Wars fans cosplay as Willrow Hood:
Some other neat insights:
- Moff Gideon’s Darksaber came from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, his Incinerator Trooper from the video game The Force Unleashed, his E-Web cannon from The Empire Strikes Back, and his Deathtroopers from Rogue One. He is swimming in references.
- The 501st Legion — a community of passionate, dedicated and costumed fans — was brought in to play stormtroopers because the show ran out of extras. They had to keep their involvement in the show a secret.
- Mando’s rifle was inspired by Boba Fett’s weapon in the animated portion of the Star Wars Holiday Special.
- Mark Hamill voiced the droid bartender EV-9D9 in “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger.”
There were many, many more references to just about every Star Wars project that’s ever been created, and this episode will require a couple more viewings to catch all of the Easter eggs.
All in all, this was a fun look behind the curtain of The Mandalorian, and it only makes me more excited for season 2.
Episode Grade: A
Season Grade: B
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