Executive producer/writer ofThe Mandalorian, the upcoming live-actionStar WarsTV series, got some crucial advice from George Lucas. Disney purchased all of Lucasfilm from Lucas back in 2012 for more than $4 billion. So the man who created the franchise hasn’t had much of a say, in terms of creative direction, with the projects in the new era. However, Favreau was more than happy to listen to what Lucas had to say.
Jon Favreau has been making the rounds to promote his latest movie, the remake ofThe Lion King. During a recent interview, he was discussingThe Mandalorianand a conversation he had with George Lucas while season 1 of the show was in production. Here’s what Favreau had to say.
“We had a long talk with each other. One thing he said to me was, ‘Remember, Jon, the real audience for all stories and all myths is the kids that are coming of age,’ because he’s really a Joseph Campbell adherent.”
Star Warswas originally released in 1977 and was certainly aimed at younger audiences. But it became a true, worldwide phenomenon and even kids who discovered a galaxy far, far away decades later are now adults. So it’s difficult to remember sometimes that it really should be just as accessible to kids. George Lucas never abandoned his way of thinking, which is what led to the creation of a character like Jar Jar Binks inThe Phantom Menace, something he thought kids would like.
That’s not to say Jon Favreau, the man behind movies such asIron ManandThe Jungle Book, is going to pull a prequel trilogy on us. He’s just going intoThe Mandalorianwith the understanding that younger viewers should be able to enjoy it as well. Favreau, speaking further, elaborated on that point.
“We enjoy the stories as adults, but really, storytelling is about imparting the wisdom of the previous generations on to the children who are becoming adults, and giving them a context for how to behave and how to learn the lessons of the past without making the mistakes on their own. That’s the hope, that you may teach them how to avoid all the hardship but garner all the wisdom.”
This will serve as the first live-actionStar Wars TV seriesin the history of the franchise. While much of its secrets are being kept under lock and key for the time being, it will center on a lone gunslinger on the Outer Rim. The timeline is setReturn of the Jediand beforeThe Force Awakens. It’s a time period that hasn’t been explored all that much up to this point, at least not in live-action.
Disney and Lucasfilm seem to have a lot of confidence in what they have, as the series has already been given a season 2 order, which is being worked on as we speak. The cast includes Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito and Werner Herzog. The series will debut on theDisney+streaming service this November. This news comes to us viaGQ Middle East.
