Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian and Grogu’s big-screen comeback
I was actually only given seven minutes to talk to Jon Favreau. It ended up turning into eleven. Here’s what The Mandalorian creator had to say during those minutes about pressure, new beginnings and having the worst seat in the house.
When the first teaser for The Mandalorian and Grogu came out last September, I can’t say that I loved it. In an article I wrote at the time, I said the film felt like «a dressed-up version of a drawn-out TV episode». And I didn’t mean it as a compliment. The visuals in particular seemed pretty modest, especially given Lucasfilm’s attempt to sell The Mandalorian and Grogu as Star Wars’ return to the silver screen.
I mean, come on. Six years since The Rise of Skywalker and this is what’s finally supposed to get us back into cinemas?
Two weeks ago, I got the chance to preview the first 30 minutes of the film. A half hour that, at the very least, got me thinking. The film opens with a big action sequence that clearly wasn’t made for a 65-inch TV. Both the budget and the commitment are evident. While my scepticism hasn’t melted away entirely, it has thawed a little.
Shortly after the preview, I find myself sitting across from Jon Favreau, the creator and director of The Mandalorian. Alright, not in person. Virtually. But I do get the chance to talk to him. I was initially given seven minutes. It ended up turning into eleven.
The interview was recorded on May the fourth.
«We have the worst seat in the house»
I start off by directly addressing the mixed reactions garnered by the teaser and the criticism of the show’s visual style. I was keen to know whether the commentary around it had been weighing on him. Whether he’d wondered how to strike the right balance between shooting a real feature film and staying true to the look that made The Mandalorian a hit in the first place.
Favreau smiles. The way someone smiles when they’re familiar with a dilemma and have come to terms with it. «I’ve learned to keep focused on what’s important,» he says. «On making the best movie you can. When people like the movie, everything falls into place. And when fans don’t like the movie, I don’t think that’s something you have control over.» Then he adds something that genuinely surprises me: «As a director, you have the worst seat in the house.»
Source: Screenshot from the interview
I realise that’s not an excuse, but an honest description of what filmmaking entails. You spend months in a tunnel, a dark room, pouring all your energy into a project – and then you open the doors to the world. What happens after that is out of your hands.
He uses a simple analogy to describe how it feels when a film doesn’t go over as well with audiences as he’d hoped: «If you cook a meal, and people leave over on their plate what you made, it makes you sad. We love it when we make people happy. That’s what we get into this business for.»
Pruning, not building
Making people happy. That’s exactly what The Mandalorian managed to do in the beginning. Mainly because, by Star Wars standards, the series was almost radical. Radically small-scale. Not in terms of its budget, but in terms of its story. A story with a never-seen-before protagonist, no Jedi, no Skywalkers and no sense of galactic destiny. A corner of the Star Wars universe that, at first, had nothing to do with the rest of it – and was all the more refreshing for it.
With every season, the series grew bigger, more interconnected and more cumbersome. Season three opened up a lot of loose ends that the film now has to tie up: Bo-Katan, the destroyed Darksaber, and the rebirth of Mandalore. At times, Din Djarin was relegated to a supporting role in his own series.
I ask whether that was a conscious decision. Isn’t the «Mandoverse» a trap that’s all too easy to fall into? Shout out to Admiral Ackbar.
Source: Lucasfilm/Disney
Favreau nods. «Any story you tell becomes more complex over time. Which is why you see reboots or spin-offs – people want to get back to the very core foundation of what this show was about.» Using a flowery metaphor, he explains: «Telling stories is like gardening. Sometimes you just have to prune it back.»
The switch to cinema format, he says, gave him exactly that opportunity. The opportunity for a new beginning. Maybe even for the entire universe. Season one did this before. After The Rise of Skywalker, when no one knew who this bounty hunter was, everyone was still glued to the screen.
Favreau emphasises, however, that The Mandalorian has retained its core throughout all three seasons: a battle-hardened warrior and a small, seemingly defenceless creature who depends on him. «Whether it’s Leon the Professional, Logan or Hard Boiled – people know and love that archetype.»
He adds that The Mandalorian and Grogu also serves as an introduction to Star Wars, not merely as a continuation of the series. This brings us back to the topic of new beginnings: «Even if you haven’t watched the series, you’ll still be able to enjoy the movie.»
Sitting together in the dark
Star Wars is returning to cinemas after a six-year hiatus. This isn’t just down to logistical reasons. The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story and especially The Rise of Skywalker were so heavily criticised by audiences that for a while, no one dared to invest a lot of money in another film. Especially not while The Mandalorian was proving that Star Wars was well-suited to TV.
I wondered whether anyone at Lucasfilm had ever given Favreau explicit instructions not to mess up the film comeback. He laughs. A brief, genuine laugh. «No. But you still feel the pressure – not because of the scale of the project, but because you don’t want to let your audience down.»
Then he says something that goes beyond the film. He says that Star Wars has always brought together generations, not divided them. Each generation has grown up with their own version of the galaxy: the first with the original trilogy, the next with the prequels, the next with the sequels and TV series.
At Star Wars Celebration, he points out, you see all these generations side by side, hanging out together. «That doesn’t happen very often these days. People hanging out together. Everyone now has their own algorithm, their own feed and watches shows on their own. Even my wife watches completely different things than I do. One look at her Netflix profile shows me right away just how different our tastes are.»
Cinema, on the other hand, when it works, is the exact opposite: a shared space, a shared experience. Hence his continued, unshakeable belief in the medium. This isn’t just marketing speak. He’s speaking as someone who truly thinks that way.
So? Am I convinced?
To be honest, I’m about halfway there. Favreau didn’t manage to dispel my scepticism entirely. The big questions – including whether the film’s truly suited for the big screen on a visual basis, or if whether it’s merely suited to being streamed very, very expensively – aren’t answered by an interview that’s (obviously) tried to paint the film in a favourable light. Only the film itself can answer that question. It hits the silver screen here in Switzerland on 20 May.
However, one thing has changed as a result of our conversation. I no longer doubt Favreau’s continued awareness of where this story comes from. His judgement on what needs to be pruned back or cut away completely. Or the fact that he has the worst seat in the house – one way or another.
Maybe that’s enough to give Star Wars the comeback it deserves.
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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