“The Mandalorian” expands its reach across the galaxy.
On Saturday, ‘Mandalorian’ executive producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau took the stage at Star Wars Celebration for ‘Mando+,’ a panel on the future of the hit Disney+ ‘Star Wars’ series, as well as its spinoffs. “The Book of Boba Fett” and the next “Ahsoka”.
Joining them on stage at the Anaheim Convention Center was a veritable abundance of guest stars, including the “Mandalorian” himself, Pedro Pascal, his doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, longtime director Rick Famuyiwa and recurring cast members. Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow and Katee Sackhoff. Also in attendance were ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ frontman Temuera Morrison and upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ stars Rosario Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. The star-studded lineup discussed joining the world of “Star Wars” and, while keeping tight-lipped about plot details, teased upcoming events in the ever-expanding world of “The Mandalorian.”
Here are all the highlights from the “Mando+” panel:
New images tease a fight between Mando and the Mandalorians
During the panel, fans were given a treat with a first look at the upcoming third season. Although Filoni and Favreau said the footage would be the same as that shown during Lucasfilm’s presentation on Thursday, the new footage was actually much longer. Although it started out similarly, confirming Weathers’ reappearance as Greef Karga in the series, the extended sequence shows a character ominously saying to Grogu, “You don’t think your father is the only Mandalorian, is not it ?”
Following this, the trailer shows Din Djarin, or “Mando”, (Pascal) battling other armored Mandalorian warriors. The teaser ends with Mando and Grogu flying to the planet Mandalore, where Mando intends to regain his honor by visiting the “living waters” beneath the planet’s mines.
Bo-Katan Kryze will play a major role in Season 3
Season 3 teaser footage showed a major role for Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kyrze. Originally created for Filoni’s “The Clone Wars” series, Katan is a Mandalorian warrior in search of the Darksaber, a weapon currently held by Mando, which would make her the rightful heir to the reign of Mandalore. After his first appearance in Season 2 of the show, Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” sees Sackhoff as the main antagonistic force, chasing Mando and Grogu for the Darksaber. While she didn’t divulge any new plot details, Sackhoff did talk about how much Bo-Katan’s character means to her and how important she will be to “The Mandalorian” moving forward.
“My dad raised me on sci-fi, he raised me on strong characters, and when I was little we didn’t have a lot of strong female characters to discuss,” Sackhoff said. “Being able to play the women that I have been able to play throughout my career has been a gift, and strong women continue to come to me…and the fact that they trusted me to bring [Bo-Katan] at live-action, I pinch myself.
Rick Famuyiwa promoted to executive producer
Although Mando’s team has been tight-lipped about what’s to come when the series premieres in its third season, Favreau did drop some behind-the-scenes news: Famuyiwa, who has directed three episodes of the series in the past, was promoted to executive producer in the future. When asked how that felt, Famuyiwa joked that he just heard the news now, but seriously expressed his excitement to help guide the creative world of ‘The Mandalorian’. .
“It’s always been a dream of mine, telling stories in this world, this universe, this galaxy,” Famuyiwa told the crowd.
When asked if he could say anything about Season 3, Famuyiwa fell silent, responding with a blunt “No”.
“That’s why you’re a producer Rick,” Favreau joked.
The pipeline from Star Wars animation to live action
Originally an animated character played by Ashley Eckstein, Ahsoka Tano has become one of the stars of the “Star Wars” universe, with Rosario Dawson portraying the character in her live-action debut on “The Mandalorian” Season 2. And she’s not the only “Star Wars” animated character to get live action.
During the panel, fans got a very early look at “Ahsoka,” which is currently filming and is set to debut on Disney+ next year. Although short, the teaser confirmed that Bordizzo would appear on the show as Sabine, who originally starred alongside Ahsoka in the “Star Wars Rebels” animated series. The trailer also featured the droid “Rebels” Chopper and ended with an image of Ahsoka peeking at the art of the anime series’ main cast – teasing that fan-favorite characters like Ezra, Hera and Kanan could make appearances on the live broadcast. .
The panel also featured a surprise appearance from Chopper, with Dawson bringing out the friendly droid to meet the audience. Following the preview footage, Bordizzo joined the panel to discuss the life of popular Mandalorian warrior Sabine.
“I know how much Sabine means to a lot of people, and watching ‘Rebels,’ she means a lot to me too,” Bordizzo said. “So I think you’re going to be really excited about the journey she’s about to have.”
“The Book of Boba Fett” seems closed
Morrison was one of the most exciting members of the panel, taking the stage with a traditional Maori haka and receiving a standing ovation from the audience. But, while fans were treated to footage of “Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka,” there was no teasing or mention for a possible “The Book of Boba Fett” season 2.
While Morrison — who also played Fett’s father, Jango, in ‘Episode II: Attack of the Clones,’ a film that celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special panel on Friday — has the potential to appear in many different time periods. and different corners of the Star Wars galaxy, there was no confirmation that the character would appear in “The Mandalorian” or “Ahsoka” season 3, nor any teases for future projects. Instead, Morrison spent his time on stage thanking fans for the support they’ve shown ‘Boba Fett’ and letting them know that Ming-Na Wen – who co-helmed the show as a master assassin and mercenary Fennec Shand – send her love. The actor announced via Twitter earlier Saturday that she had tested positive for COVID and would not be able to attend Celebration.
After the panel, however, Morrison spoke to Variety Culture and Events Editor Marc Malkin hit the red carpet and admitted he wasn’t sure what was next for the bounty hunter.
“There is no official word yet. They filmed it like it could be a beautiful book and we read the book,” Morrison explained. “Otherwise we could write another book. And I keep missing the guy with the pen…I got close there, but he keeps disappearing on me, so I’m going to ask them what’s on their mind because it’s out of my control.
There is no ‘Mandalorian’ without Grogu
Of course, no conversation about “The Mandalorian” would be complete without a special appearance from the little green guy himself. Grogu was the last surprise guest on the hour-and-a-half-long panel, joining the group for a Mando family portrait as the conversation, moderated by ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan, came to a close.
Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” will debut in February 2023, with “Ahsoka” following later next year.
One big happy Mando family!
The cast and creators of @themandalorian, #TheBobaFettBookand #Ahsoka took the stage today here at #StarWarsCelebration! pic.twitter.com/5u6WZCBMrh
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 28, 2022