The Mandalorian

There’s only one reason I signed up for Disney+. Well, more like at least 15 reasons, but there’s one reason I signed up right away: I wanted to watch The Mandalorian.

Boba Fett and Jango Fett are pretty much the most well-known Mandalorians in the saga of Star Wars. This show is about neither one of them. That’s not a spoiler. I just want to help set expectations if you haven’t seen it yet.

The Mandalorian is about a lone gunman-for-hire and the trials and troubles he encounters in the outer reaches of a galaxy far far away. It has been said that this is possibly the most “Star-Wars-iest” thing since the original episodes IV, V, and VI. I agree. It feels dirty, gritty, and hopeful. Gone is the oversaturated CGI of episodes I, II, and III and returned is the more-convincing practical effects.

The show is set approximately five years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, after the fall of the empire and before the assembling of the First Order. The idea of a Star Wars TV series had been bounced around since 2009, but for years it was thought to be too expensive to produce. In 2017 it was announced that several Star Wars TV shows would be created for a direct-to-consumer audience. This is one of those shows.

Created by Jon Favreau, the cast includes quite a variety of well-known actors like Nick Nolte, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Horatio Sanz, Brian Posehn, and Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian.

The show is good. Very good. I’ve enjoyed every episode so far and I hope this is a trend for other upcoming Star Wars series on Disney+.

Opinion: If you like Star Wars you will like this show. If you love Star Wars you’re already watching it.