When Lucasfilm announced that the studio was working with Jon Favreau on a new “Star Wars” series titled “The Mandalorian,” it was assumed that the series spawned from the previous development on the long-rumored “Boba Fett” spin-off feature. However, according to ‘Mandalorian’ filmmaker Dave Filoni, that’s actually not the case at all.
Speaking to Deadline, Filoni explained that “The Mandalorian” is actually a result of a brand-new idea from Favreau that hoped to expand on the bounty hunter culture of the “Star Wars” universe that was introduced by George Lucas. And it has nothing to do with any version of the “Boba Fett” feature that was being developed, first by Josh Trank and then eventually, rumored to be helmed by James Mangold.
“There wasn’t really any crossover with any previous development,” Filoni said. “‘The Mandalorian’ idea really starts with Jon Favreau coming forward saying he’d like to develop a concept and talking with Kathleen Kennedy about it.”
He continued, “She knew I had done a lot of work with Mandalorian people and culture on ‘Clone Wars’ with George (Lucas) over the years. She always knew that I knew Jon. She called me in when Jon pitched this idea, and he really loved the imagery of a lone gunman and Western. When we were kids, Boba Fett was a ‘Man With No Name.’ Even his publicity stills were evocative of the [Sergio Leone] ‘Dollar’ trilogy.”
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Of course, the series couldn’t focus on Boba Fett, even though it’s obvious that would have been a huge selling point for the series. With the Prequel Trilogy, Lucas had already explained the backstory of the character, taking away a bit of excitement about expanding on the character’s history in the new series.
“Some of his mystique had been taken away [due to the Prequels],” Filoni explained. “Jon’s idea was to reimagine that character as a straight-on bounty hunter and take that imagery of the lone gunfighter. The revelation was this idea of this child in a lone wolf cub sensibility.”
And thus, “The Mandalorian” was born. Even though the series doesn’t have any Boba Fett connections (as of now…), the fact that Favreau and Filoni were able to craft a story that stood on its own and showed a part of the “Star Wars” universe that hadn’t really been explored before was enough to attract a big fan following for the new series. And that helped launch Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, to huge numbers in November.
The second season of “The Mandalorian” is still on schedule to be released in October. The “Boba Fett” film, on the other hand, is likely going to stay on the shelf forever.