The Mandalorian: 4 things we learned from the preview clip

The Mandalorian is doing something never done in Star Wars history by bringing us a live-action TV series. Here’s what we learned from the preview clip shown at Star Wars Celebration.

Lucasfilm has been tightlipped about The Mandalorian while most efforts have been focused on Star Wars: Episode IX as of late. But the Disney+ series is one that Star Wars fans are truly excited about.

While at Star Wars Celebration, there was a panel with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni discussing what fans can expect to see from the show. There was also a teaser and a clip from the series, but only those in attendance had the opportunity to watch it. It was blacked out for the at-home viewing audience.

But the internet happened. And as people on the internet do, there is a video of the clip – and it’s well worth the watch. I’ve watched it several times already because it’s just different than what we are used to in Star Wars.

Here are the four biggest takeaways from The Mandalorian preview.

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It’s different

When I say it’s different, it’s not like this is something that hasn’t been done before. It has with other TV series. But this is something entirely different for Star Wars.

It’s gritty. It’s dirty. There is no light and dark side. There is living in a grey world and doing what is necessary to survive. That type of attitude really makes a difference and makes people act against the norm. .

You see that in the early clip when the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is looking for a job. He talks about bounties with a character played by Carl Weathers and he is looking for something bigger to get credits that he needs.

We don’t know why he needs such a big score, but it’s likely that work is hard to come by these days. The Mandalorian takes place about five years after Return of the Jedi, which means the galaxy is in disarray with the destruction of the Empire.

Resources are limited. Because they are also in the Outer Rim, laws mean even less here.

It’s also different because the storyline has time to marinate. With movies, there are two to three hours you have to tell a story where there needs to be a resolution. While there may be cliffhangers or more that needs to be told, a television series is different because it doesn’t require many things to be wrapped up in just two episodes.

The Mandalorian should be at least eight to 10 episodes, which allows the storyline to work itself out and they can take time building up characters, moments and scenes.