The Mandalorian is the debut space western Disney+ original show. The new TV show fits into the Star Wars universe and continues the trend of Star Wars related content from Disney. The first episode premiered on Nov. 12 to overwhelming praise from Star Wars fans as well as casual audiences. Set five years after “Return of the Jedi” and the Fall of the Galactic Empire, the show follows a lone Mandalorian escaping from the bounty hunter’s guild after he gets too attached to a bounty with a high price. As of writing this review only five of the eight episodes have been released for season one.
The Mandalorian is based off the Star Wars tribe of the same name. They’re seen as ruthless warriors and bounty hunters to the rest of the galaxy, but they keep a strong tribal code. Besides Boba Fett and Jango Fett, the Mandalorians haven’t really been talked about in the Star Wars canon. The Mandalorians have deep history in Star Wars and it’s about time they get more attention. There are so many stories from the Star Wars universe that are just as cool as the main movies but don’t get much attention outside of books and cartoons. The Mandalorian feels like Disney exploring the extended universe more.
One of the first things that really sold me on this show was the art direction. It keeps the retro 70s style from the original Star Wars trilogy but brings in a tribal style to it. The costume design is fantastic for all the characters. The Mandalorian never takes his helmet off so you get to see his feelings by the actions he does rather than words or expressions. The CGI for the most part looks nice except for a few shots here and there. The show isn’t as full of CGI places and characters as I expected. The very adorable Baby Yoda is actually a puppet for most of its scenes only being CGI when absolutely necessary. Set designs look great with buildings and planets having distinctive architecture. This show’s soundtrack is very well made too. Similar to the art direction, the soundtrack fits great in the show’s western aesthetic while also feeling sci-fi.
Though the story can be a bit predictable, it’s still a very enjoyable show. Not to spoil too much, the show mainly follows The Mandalorian and what fans have named “Baby Yoda”. The duo is pretty fun to watch and all the scenes of these two add to the Mandalorian character. Some episodes’ conflicts feel like filler that have no huge impact on the story.
As someone who’s not a huge fan of Star Wars, I really like this show. The art direction is amazing, and the CGI looks great. Episode conflicts are resolved too quickly at times and some entire episodes just feel like filler, but despite that I couldn’t stop watching. I think Star Wars fans and casual viewers will like this show greatly. I give this show four spartan heads out of five.