While J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX hogs most of the limelight, Jon Favreau’s big budget live-action TV show The Mandalorian might end up being more interesting from a production point of view. Since the show started filming, it’s confirmed a number of interesting directors are working on it, with the most exciting being Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi.
Now, we can see Waititi in action helming a scene from the finale courtesy of this video by Making Star Wars (the weird music grows on you after a bit). Seen below, the clip shows some rather Tatooine-looking architecture and seems to be depicting a scene in which Imperial Stormtroopers are conducting some sort of raid.
From within the dwelling a character springs out, disarms the guard and escapes. Or at least, that’s what I think’s going on in this extremely blurry video. Waititi’s role in the rehearsal seems to be giving the actors a guide on how to behave, stepping in to show them the way he wants them to burst out of the door. It’s a pretty hands-on directorial style that fits with what we know about him, too.
Of course, it’s going to be over a year before we see The Mandalorian, but it’s already shaping up into something special. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni as executive producers are a solid pair of hands, and Lucasfilm’s recruiting of directors ranges from Filoni, who’s already worked on The Clone Wars and Rebels, Bryce Dallas Howard (who’s proved her directing mettle on Solemates), Rick Famuyiwa of Dope and Deborah Chow of Jessica Jones.
Interestingly, Favreau and Waititi both share a slightly comedic and quick-witted tone, which may give us a clue as to the atmosphere of the show. While pre-production photos make it look a bit like a space-western, the pair’s involvement might actually indicate a lighter tone for The Mandalorian than some might assume.