WiC Watches—Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian
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.