The Mandalorian

"'Star Wars' is a big world, and Disney's new streaming service affords a wonderful opportunity to tell stories that stretch out over multiple chapters."

- Jon Favreau in an email to The New York Times

The Mandalorian is an upcoming live-action Star Wars television series currently being developed by Lucasfilm. The series, which will take place three years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, is set to air exclusively on Disney+ which is planned for launch by November 12, 2019. Jon Favreau is writing and will executive produce the series. Directors include Dave Filoni (who directed the first episode), Deborah Chow, Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard and Taika Waititi.

Plot summary
After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars'' universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic....''

Development
"Since I wrote most of [The Mandalorian], I wrote it to fit within our volume, and in trying to keep the scale of it like the first Star Wars film, which was a relatively low-budget affair, even though the effects were spectacular."

- Jon Favreau

The series was announced by Disney CEO Robert Iger during a Disney quarterly earnings call on November 9, 2017. On May 10, 2018, in an interview with Anthony Carboni on the premier for Solo: A Star Wars Story, Jon Favreau revealed that he was halfway done with writing a season of the upcoming live-action Star Wars television series. During an interview with Dan Casey of Nerdist at the premiere, Favreau confirmed the show would take place seven years after the Battle of Yavin and feature all new characters. Favreau also revealed that even before he had the job, he had written four scripts to show Lucasfilm what the show would be.

On August 6, 2018, The New York Times reported on Disney+, Disney's new streaming service, and stated that the Star Wars television series by Favreau was expected to cost around $100 million for ten episodes. In an email to The New York Times, Favreau stated that Disney's new streaming service would allow for the opportunity to tell stories that go for several chapters. On October 26, 2018, it was reported that a rumored film centered around Boba Fett had been scrapped, with Lucasfilm instead focusing on The Mandalorian. On November 13, 2018, Pedro Pascal was reported to be in negotiations to play the lead role in the series. The next day, Gina Carano was announced to have joined the cast according to Variety. On November 30, Variety again reported that Nick Nolte had been added to the show's cast. On December 12, Lucasfilm officially announced the cast, confirming Pascal's, Carano's, and Nolte's casting, along with Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Omid Abtahi, and Werner Herzog.

During production, Favreau shared production photos on his Instagram account. Star Wars creator George Lucas visited the set during production as part of a birthday surprise for Favreau. According to director Taika Waititi, the series will match the tone of the Star Wars original trilogy. Waititi revealed that he shot a scene with 50-60 stormtroopers. Acknowledging that some Star Wars fans liked other things, Favreau choose to include elements from Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and the Star Wars Legends continuity. While filming at a studio in Manhattan Beach, California, equipment was stolen from the set, prompting a police investigation. ILM opened a new London-based division, ILM TV, to work on The Mandalorian and other projects. As first hinted at in a Disney Accelorator conference, the series' special effects utilized a video game engine developed by Epic Games. On December 19, Black Panther composer Ludwig Göransson was announced to be composing the music for the show. The first season wrapped filming in February 2019.

On April 2, 2019, even before the airing of the first season, a second season for The Mandalorian was reportedly ordered by Lucasfilm.

Release
The series will debut in November 12, 2019. The series' merchandise line will appear in the Triple Force Friday, which will be held on October 4, 2019. Favreau, Filoni and most of the cast are currently hosting a Mandalorian panel at Celebration Chicago on April 14, 2019.

Credits
"We're having a great time working with this incredibly talented group and excited for everyone to see what we’re up to."

- Jon Favreau, to StarWars.com in the official cast announcement