THE MANDALORIAN
Keep Your Helmet OnW W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^049
WE SPEAK TO THE MANDALORIAN STARS PEDRO PASCAL, GINA CARANO
AND CARL WEATHERS ABOUT BOUNTY HUNTERS, WAR AND JUST WHAT IT’S
LIKE TO BE PART OF THE ICONIC STAR WARS FRANCHISEKEEP YOUR
HELMET ON
T
he impact of Netfl ix is hard to ignore
(it’s even starting to become a verb...) so
when we heard that a slew of companies
were going to start their own streaming services,
we weren’t overly surprised. In fact, so many
companies (Prime Video, Disney +, NOW TV,
Apple TV...) announced new streaming services
that the excitement almost got lost. But then
they started announcing their exclusive shows.
Prime commissioned Good Omens, NOW TV
meant you could stream HBO series like the
excellent Watchmen and Disney + announced
The Mandalorian. Ah yes, as soon as the latter’s
trailer hit our phone screens its intention was
clear – Storm Trooper heads nailed to spikes,
dodgy dealings and that iconic Mandalorian
look made famous by Jango and Boba Fett...
not only did The Mandalorian look great, it
seemed to be dark and original. We were in.
Fast forward a frustratingly long amount
of time (both Disney + and The Mandalorian
were launched in the US last November) and
it’s fi nally here in the UK, and we’re not the
only ones who are excited: “I can’t believe it.
It’s really an exciting time for storytelling,” says
Pedro Pascal who plays the titular character
in The Mandalorian. “I honestly feel like we’re
breaking new territory now with the way that we
have access to stories and the way that access
is developing the telling of these stories. I mean,
this is the fi rst live-action Star Wars series ever!”
The Mandalorian is set in a war-torn galaxy
after the events of Episode Six and before
Episode Seven. The show follows the trials and
tribulations of the mysterious character known
only as ‘The Mandalorian’ (or ‘Mando’), a lone
bounty hunter who is part of the traditional
ancient Mandalorian martial order all bound
by a common culture, creed and code. “We
defi nitely play with the idea of mystery,” Pascal
says of his character. “I feel like we’ve been
building on iconic characters from the past,
starting with Akira Kurosawa’s Lone Samurai
and going into Sergio Leone’s The Man With
No Name. There are different ways in which we
take this very mysterious man, whose identity
is kept from us quite literally with armour, and
basically take that apart.”
Though we never see his character’s face,
Pascal, who also played Oberyn Martellin Game Of Thrones (“from one big hit to
another!”), explains that audiences will still learn
a lot about him: “You can tell so much about
this character through his posture and with
movement and the way that the artful creation
of the costumes contribute to body language.
I fi nd it incredibly liberating, because you put
on a mask and your imagination gets to go
completely wild.”
Pascal is joined by actress Gina Carano,
who plays solitary soldier Cara Dune: “She's
a loner and that's where we fi nd her and
the Mandalorian. Originally, she thinks the
Mandalorian’s there because he's got a bounty
on her. If you think somebody is coming for you
and they're at a place where you're trying to
hide out, you can just imagine how that might
go down!”
After the battles from Episode Six, a sort of
depression has taken hold of the galaxy and
money is hard to come, which is where Carl
Weathers’ character Greef Karga comes in.
Karga is the leader of the Bounty Hunters' Guild
(which regulates bounty hunter activity) and
assigns bounties to specifi c individuals, which
is how he and Mandalorian meet: “There's
a mission that Greef Karga wants to send
somebody on and he feels like the Mandalorian
is the only person who seems to be able to
deliver the goods,” Weathers explains.
Carano’s character is similarly feeling the
aftereffects of the rebellion: “She feeds off of
war; she feeds off of this extreme lifestyle. Then,
when she doesn't have that purpose anymore,
what will she do? She goes off and she's getting
into trouble. And she's making money any way
she possibly can.”
“After war, people normally try to fi nd some
sort of place to be safe again,” Weathers
explains. “They try to fi nd a sense of balance,
but there's also a lot of opportunity that presents
itself. Certainly, there's opportunity for people
who want to play the system and fi nd those
little nooks and crannies where they can make
some money. Sometimes, they may be making
that money off the books; they'll be making that
money as a criminal.”
This post-Episode Six galaxy is indeed a
breeding ground for nefarious dealings and the
classic Star Wars theme of right versus wrongWORDS RACHAEL HARPER
INTERVIEWS ADAM TANSWELL