Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian is definitely the centerpiece of the Disney Plus launch. The new series promises to shed some light on the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, boasts an impressive cast, has had absolutely kickass trailers and has already been wowing critics. Its November 12th premiere date is now just over a week away, and Disney and Lucasfilm are pulling out all the stops to raise the show’s profile, including the release of the new TV spot up above.
My highlight here is the first live action look at Nick Nolte’s character, the Ugnaught Kuiil. He’s a short, squat rough n’ ready looking fella who seems like he’d fit perfectly into a cantina-style scene. Also of note is the introduction of Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand, who seems to be a fairly cocky rival bounty hunter. She promises the titular Mandalorian that his name will be legendary but given that we’ve not heard any mention of him in the Sequel Trilogy, perhaps she’s mistaken.
Whatever the case, expectations are high. The only real downside right now is that Disney Plus is only launching in the States, so most international audiences will be unable to watch The Mandalorian without having to resort to less-than-legal methods. Disney promises that the service will be available in all countries within two years, but I expect this to end up as the most pirated show of 2019.
That hopefully won’t apply to the rest of the Disney Plus Star Wars projects. Already confirmed are an untitled series based around Rogue One’s Cassian Andor and (most excitingly) a show starring Ewan McGregor about Obi-Wan Kenobi. On top of that, we’ll also eventually get the entire Skywalker saga, a revival season of The Clone Wars and Rebels. If Disney are trying to build their subscription base for the streaming service on the backs of Star Wars fans, they’re certainly doing a good job.