Coming off the heels of big-name movies such as “Avengers Endgame”, “Iron Man” 1-3, and “The Lion King”, Jon Favreau has, once again, knocked the producer job out of the park with the new Star Wars TV show, “The Mandalorian”. 

“The Mandalorian” follows a Mandalorian bounty hunter–nicknamed Mando by other characters–as he travels the galaxy protecting his target-turned-adoptive-child from other bounty hunters. Though the eight episodes are generally unrelated, there is a common theme throughout them all; Mando protecting the Child, a 50–year old toddler similar to Yoda, from the Empire and other hunters.

“The Mandalorian” is an impressive show, with a well-written script, talented actors, and new takes on previously unseen sides of the Star Wars universe.

The script throughout the Mandalorian is kept mostly short, with characters only having long dialogues when they talk about exposition or backstories, and leaving the focus on the action and the actors’ portrayals. This uncommon approach to a script is enjoyable for the viewer, because it doesn’t try and take up too much time on pointless monologues or conversations.

Additionally, there are many big- name actors in “The Mandalorian” that lend to its success. The list includes Pedro Pascal, from “Game of Thrones” and “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”, Ming-Na Wen, from “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Mulan”, and Taika Waititi, from “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Avengers Endgame.” 

Waititi’s performance as a mercenary droid stands out in particular, because he starts as another hunter going for the Child, but ends in the finale as a caregiver for the Child and a friend of Mando. He also has excellent comedic timing in the delivery of his lines, shown first in “Thor: Ragnarok” and again in “The Mandalorian”.

Pascal excels as Mando even with minimal dialogue, because he perfectly expresses emotions through the tilts and angles of his helmet. He doesn’t reveal his face until the finale, because as part of the Mandalorian religion in the Star Wars universe, the Mandalorian either never takes off their helmet or they never put it back on.

“The Mandalorian” focuses on topics that have previously been in the background of Star Wars films exceptionally well. One episode is entirely focused on a farming village that’s being attacked by a group of nearby raiders  and how the villagers’ simple way of life is under attack.

Another focus at the beginning of the season finale was on two stormtroopers, simply talking about their boss and shooting a rock for target practice. The short interaction we get to hear between them adds a human element to the troops that were just cannon fodder in the previous films. 

According to many, Disney ruined Star Wars when they bought it, but in the case of “The Mandalorian”, it might have been just what audiences needed.