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Move over ‘Tiger King’!  Disney+’s ‘The Mandalorian’ is coming back… well, sort of.  Disney+ has announced a docuseries that will examine the making of the original series that became a white-hot sensation last fall when the streaming service first launched.  Entitled ‘Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian’, the series will consist of eight episodes and will go behind-the-scenes of the making of Season 1.  The first episode will arrive on May 4– a.k.a. “Star Wars Day.”

Jon Favreau, who created ‘The Mandalorian’ and oversaw its production, will serve as the host of ‘Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian’.  Episodes will include “unseen footage, interviews and roundtable conversations from those involved” and each episode will focus on a different aspect of the making of the show.

In a statement, Favreau expressed:

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is an opportunity for fans of the show to take a look inside and get to see a different perspective, and perhaps a greater understanding, of how The Mandalorian came together and some of the incredibly talented contributors throughout season one,” Favreau said Wednesday in a statement about the series. “We had a great experience making the show and we’re looking forward to sharing it with you.”

Pedro Pascal provides the voice of the titular bounty hunter, whom fans refer to as “Mando.”  (Usually, the figure on screen in the armor is one of two body doubles— Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder.)  The series also introduced the galaxy to a certain puppet that launched a million memes (before ‘The Tiger King’ showed up)– “Baby Yoda.”  Of course, as everyone knows, this isn’t actually classic ‘Star Wars’ character Yoda as a baby, but rather a baby from Yoda’s unnamed species.  But that’s a mouthful, so “Baby Yoda” it is, even though he is officially called “The Child.”

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In a bold move, at Favreau’s request, Disney did not release any toys based on Baby Yoda last year, because they didn’t want to spoil the reveal of his existence in the first episode of ‘The Mandalorian’.  The character did show up on tee shirts and few other licensed items before Christmas of last year, but it’s the toys that everyone is coveting.  Funko Pop figurines of The Child became the most pre-ordered item in Funko’s history.

Mando and The Child are the only characters that appeared in every episode of S1, but the show did include recurring characters Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), The Client (Werner Herzog), Kuiil (voiced by Nick Nolte, motion capture by Misty Rosas), the Armorer (Emily Swallow), IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waititi, mocap by Rio Hackford), and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).  Other familiar faces that popped up include Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Bill Burr as Mayfeld, Julia Jones as Omera, Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, and Clancy Brown as Burg.  ‘Star Wars’ animated mastermind Dave Filoni made a cameo as Rebel pilot Trapper Wolf.  Comedians Adam Pally and Jason Sudeikis also cameoed as Imperial biker scouts who literally beat on The Child, incurring the collective wrath of ‘Star Wars’ fandom.

Some of these characters are expected to return in Season 2.  S2 is also expected to introduce Michael Biehn as an unnamed bounty hunter from Mando’s past, and Rosario Dawson as popular animated Jedi, Ahsoka Tano.

There has been no word on S2 being delayed due to the coronavirus shut-downs, so it is still expected to arrive on Disney+ in October.  But in the meantime, ‘Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian’ will debut on May the 4th (be with you).

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter