If you wanted to hire someone to possibly create a new cinematic universe based on existing IP, you could do a lot worse than filmmaker Jon Favreau. After directing “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2,” Favreau would go on to see his two films spawn dozens more and an entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, working on the “Star Wars” series, “The Mandalorian,” it appears the filmmaker is doing it again. And yes, that might actually mean feature films spinning off of his Disney+ hit.
Speaking to Variety, as he and star Pedro Pascal promote the upcoming Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” the inevitable question was asked. With so many new characters being introduced in the upcoming episodes, with rumors and speculation that spinoffs could be possible, what are Favreau’s thoughts on a ‘Mandalorian’ Cinematic Universe as a subsection of the larger “Star Wars” galaxy?
“I learned a lot from my experience over at Marvel, where it was very organic, how it would evolve,” Favreau said. “You’re paying attention to a larger story arcs and characters that could come together, but also smaller stories of individual characters that could go off [on their own thing]. The key here is keep maintaining the quality and never scaling to the point that we’re losing sight of what’s important to us and what people like about the show.”
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One of the most captivating parts of “The Mandalorian” is how well Favreau and the incredible filmmakers he’s enlisted to direct episodes have been able to create a TV series that feels like a mini-movie each and every week. The episodes all have a cinematic quality that isn’t typically found in TV series outside of perhaps “Game of Thrones.” This leads to the obvious assumption that maybe, just maybe, the future of “The Mandalorian” might be on the big screen. (Granted, we’re assuming the big screen will still exist in some major way after this pandemic.)
“The line is blurring now,” said Favreau. “Things that you would have only seen in the movie theater, you’re seeing on streaming, and I think it could go the other way as well.”
He added, “But we’re definitely open to it and excited to see where the story leads us and have that flexibility — because there’s no rulebook now.”
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Series star, Pedro Pascal, also didn’t scoff at the idea of a ‘Mando’ movie and said, “I think that the work is so beautiful that I would love for that to be held by a big-screen experience. But it seems to work so well that also I’m not sure it’s something that I would want corrupted by any kind of change, you know? I mean, I certainly know that the challenge can be met. It’s not like these people don’t have the experience. If anybody can do it, they can!”
It’s almost a certainty that ‘Mandalorian’ spinoff TV series will be coming to Disney+ sooner rather than later. So, the idea of a movie or some sort of theatrical release isn’t out of the realm of possibility, either. Disney sure does love making money, after all. In the meantime, we’ll have to just be happy with Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” which premieres on Disney+ on October 30.