As Jon Favreau moves from one mega-sized Disney asset in “The Lion King” following its release this weekend to focusing full-time on another mega-sized Disney asset in the “Star Wars” universe, he recently sought out the godfather of the series set in a galaxy far, far away for some advice, telling GQ in a recent interview about his ambitions to get back to the core of what makes “Star Wars” so special in the first place.
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Currently working full-steam-ahead as showrunner and writer on the very first live-action “Star Wars” series, “The Mandalorian,” Favreau said he had “a long talk” with George Lucas about arguably the world’s most iconic property. As he tells it, Lucas told him the purpose of the “Star Wars” mythos isn’t dissimilar from the purpose of all stories—and it harkens back to when most of us first fantasized about brandishing lightsabers and defeating Sith lords.
“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,’” Favreau told GQ. “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.”
In a way, Lucas’s words of wisdom – imparted seven years after he famously sold the “Star Wars” franchise to the Mickey Mouse House – confirm Favreau as the perfect helmer for “The Mandalorian.” The Hollywood Jack-of-all-trades (he’s acted, directed and helped produced multiples projects in 2019 alone) has in recent years focused on stories that are inherently stories for kids, including “The Jungle Book,” various Marvel Cinematic Universe films and the aforementioned “The Lion King” remake. Given his recent track record with those properties, which have yielded immense commercial success, expectations for the Disney+ exclusive are as high as anticipation levels.
As for when we’ll be able to see if those expectations are met: “The Mandalorian,” is set to premiere on the upcoming streaming service Nov. 12, and, according to Favreau, will take place after the events of “Return of the Jedi,” when “the Empire is gone and all hell is breaking loose.” The series stars “Game of Thrones” alum Pedro Pascal as “a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy,” with Favreau and Lucas serving as the show’s writers, according to IMDB.
Clearly, Disney anticipates big things from the show; Favreau is reportedly already hard at work on a second season. Nowhere is Jar Jar Binks mentioned in any of this conversation, but C’mon, shouldn’t he be?