WiC Watches—Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian
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.