The Mandalorian – A Star Wars Spin-off

With the launch of Disney+, Disney’s brand-new streaming service, a handful of new exclusives like High School Musical: The Musical: Ther Series and The World According to Jeff Goldblum have been grabbing a lot of viewers’ attention. But one original stands out above the rest and is a significant reason why a lot of people are hopping onto the Disney+ bandwagon. The Mandalorian is a spin-off set in the Star Wars universe and is the first live-action television series in the franchise. It takes place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi after the fall of the Galactic Empire. The series focuses on “the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic,” according to creator Jon Favreau. Favreau also adds that the style the Mandalorian is going for is based off Western films and Japanese samurai flicks. The post-Sith universe after Episode VI explores the rocky transition from the Galactic Empire to a brand new government.

But with all this said, who and what is the Mandalorian? Mandalorians are a clan of armor-clad humans who are renowned in the galaxy for being legendary warriors. Other famous Mandalorians include Jango and Boba Fett. Our main character is simply known as the Mandalorian (or Mando by those who know him). He is a no nonsense man of little talk, advanced combat skills, and a “questionable moral character” as he is seen being driven by the bounties he collects, but also helping others when they’re in trouble. 

From the first scene, The Mandalorian is a very mesmerizing piece of cinema. Don’t let it being a series on the small screen distract you. While it is only a TV show, it really is thrilling and each episode is so cinematic in the way it presents itself which is comparable to the movies in the franchise. The first and second episodes were kind of boring with little action, but I think they played a big role in introducing the environment, developing Mando’s character, and providing missing information from the shift between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens like what happens to the fallen Empire.

When we get to the main plot of the show, our hero is given an infamous job of a mysterious target that many other bounty hunters with the Guild have gone for, but no one has returned. I was expecting the large bounty to be on a well-known character from a previous film or someone high up within the fallen Empire. It was jaw-dropping when the end of episode 3 revealed our peculiar target to be a child that is the same species as Yoda, “Baby Yoda” as the internet has dubbed it. Yoda, which was believed to be the last of his species for the entirety of Star Wars’s existence, was not the only one. I was freaking out along with everyone else. Baby Yoda literally blew up the internet as people were posting about him on social media, making memes about him, and even the New York Times has an article on the miniature version of the beloved green Jedi.

But at the end of the day, was The Mandalorian overhyped by diehard Star Wars fans and social media? Absolutely not, in my opinion, Favreau has created one of the best additions to the Star Wars franchise since Return of the Jedi from the storytelling to the depth of detail. I can guarantee if the second season, releasing in the fall of 2020, carries on in this direction it will be regarded by fans as up there with the original trilogy.

This reporter graduated in 2020.
Irfan Khasru is a senior at Washington High School. Born and raised in Fremont, this is his first year writing as a reporter for the Hatchet. He is particularly interested on writing about the entertainment industry and the local food scene. You will usually find him online playing video games, at home trying to sneak a nap in, or expertly crafting smoothies at Jamba Juice.

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