If you go back to 2007, before Jon Favreau became the director we know today, back when he was best known as the guy who made “Swingers” and directed “Elf” and “Zathura,” you would be shocked to know that in 2019, the filmmaker is the heir apparent to James Cameron. Say what you will about what category to put “The Lion King” remake in (it’s animation, by the way), there’s no denying that Favreau has created a visual wonder, using skills and tech never used before, much in the same way Cameron did for “Avatar” and, even further back, Steven Spielberg did in “Jurassic Park.”
So, while 2007 Favreau doesn’t seem like the most obvious pick to spearhead a “Star Wars” live-action TV series, 2019 Favreau is a perfect fit. And in a new interview with THR, he sheds more light on “The Mandalorian” (the aforementioned series) and why his preferred version of “Star Wars” is the exact TV series he’s creating now.
But those that are worried that the filmmaker might have a dash of George Lucas in him, and may rely too heavily on technological tricks, such as what was in the ‘Star Wars’ prequels, for ‘Mandalorian,’ then Favreau is here to put your mind at ease.
“If you notice, there’s a certain look that the ‘Mandalorian’ lead character has, there’s a size that the spaceship is, there’s a scale that lines up with the original trilogy,” said Favreau. “I’m trying to evoke the aesthetics of not just the original trilogy but the first film. Not just the first film but the first act of the first film. What was it like on Tatooine? What was going on in that cantina? That has fascinated me since I was a child, and I love the idea of the darker, freakier side of ‘Star Wars,’ the ‘Mad Max’ aspect of ‘Star Wars.’”
“The Mandalorian” is very much Favreau’s baby, also. Though he does answer to the Disney overlords (don’t we all, at this point?), the writer-producer said that his TV series is exactly what he wanted it to be. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have signed on the dotted line.
“I wrote four of the episodes before I even had a deal, because I wanted to do this but only if they wanted to do the version that I wanted to do,” he admitted.
He went on to explain that he’s really excited about the prospect of working on Disney+, the Mouse House’s foray into the realm of streaming, not only because that alone is exciting, to be on a new platform, but also because TV series doesn’t carry the same pressure that blockbuster films have. Especially those blockbusters with “Star Wars” in the title.
He explained, “Disney+ is emerging and there’s an opportunity to tell a story that’s bigger than television, but you don’t have the same expectations that a big holiday release has, which to me isn’t that type of ‘Star Wars’ that comes out of me. The type of ‘Star Wars’ that I’m inspired to tell is a smaller thing with new characters.”
“The Mandalorian” is expected to launch as one of the first series on Disney+ when the streaming service kicks off on November 12. Favreau has previously said that Season 2 is already in development.