For those of us who grew up in the era of the original Star Wars trilogy, and not necessarily immersed in the expanded universe, there was cause to be at least a little bit skeptical about The Mandalorian. The focus, after all, would be the race of masked mercenaries that spawned Boba Fett, who was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back with such an aura of mystery that he inspired all kinds of wild speculation at the time (like maybe he was Luke Skywalker’s actual father). And then, instead, he promptly died an ignominious death in Return of the Jedi by falling into a Sarlacc pit. (Okay, fine, expanded universe people: his apparent death).
The premiere episode of The Mandalorian leans right back into that history of mystery from its very first image, as director Dave Filoni—a veteran of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels—captures our protagonist (Pedro Pascal) in a from-behind hero shot against a snow-and-wind-swept landscape. Like an Old West gunslinger, the Mandalorian strolls into a rough-and-tumble saloon, dispatches a few of the surly regulars—including, in fine Star Wars tradition, at least one severed limb—and picks up the latest of his many bounty captures. It’s only after he receives payment from his regular handler (Carl Weathers) that the primary plot kicks in A client (Werner Herzog) is willing to pay big money to bring someone back from a remote planet, without the usual niceties of identifying the fugitive.
There’s a tricky component to the show from the outset, considering that we’re expected to connect with a character who is both faceless and taciturn, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Pascal provides a Clint Eatwood-esque tough-guy rasp when it’s called for, and there are snippets of flashbacks hinting at the back-story for the character that will be filled in later. Filoni and series co-creator/Iron Man auteur Jon Favreau are counting on the appeal of the franchise to pull viewers along while its hero remains deliberately enigmatic.
The appeal of the franchise is on full display, as The Mandalorian provides plenty of road markers to ground viewers in the Star Wars universe. The series’ time frame is after the fall of the Empire, and Episode 1 provides a few interesting indicators of what that time might be like, including Stormtroopers in dirty, scuffed armor now left to serve as private security to underworld figures like Herzog’s character. For every new introduction like the creature voiced by Nick Nolte, there are also plenty of familiar alien races’ faces—some filling more significant roles, some perhaps destined to fill someone’s belly for lunch. Filioni and Favreau know who they have to please with this show, and they’re not about to forget to give them what they want.
The Mandalorian boasts a huge budget for an episodic series, and you can see the dollars clearly on display in the various creature effects and one major climactic shootout. From a storytelling standpoint, however, it remains mostly potential—a few intriguing questions raised, an opportunity to fill in bits of legend that will make Star Wars die-hards giddy. Will the central character eventually be a case of potential realized or another guy who falls quickly into a pit? It’s worth going along for the ride for the moment, but eventually, someone is going to need to let us know what’s there under the helmet besides a big question mark.
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