The Mandalorian: 6 reasons why I'm super hyped for the new TV series

Jon Favreau is a man for big projects: He started the Marvel Cinema as the director of Iron Man, he is the director of live-action adaptions of two of the biggest Disney-properties with The Jungle Book and The Lion King, and now he is the producer of the first Star Wars live-action series, and with that basically starts Disney+ (and - most importantly - he voiced Pre Viszla in The Clone Wars! ;P). Favreau has proven before that he is capable of these big projects, that he can manage big expectations, and that he delivers always. I was a bit surprised that he wasn't announced as episode director, but that doesn't change he's the head behind this series, and I'm really excited to see what he has in store for us.

Let's be honest, who does not love Dave Filoni? Many fans see him as the "heir" of George Lucas, and his TV series The Clone Wars and Rebels are some of the most-loved pieces of Star Wars canon. Filoni even managed to explore different aspects of the force (Mortis, Yoda's Journey, A World Between Worlds) without receiving Midi-chlorian-ish hate. Of course, the force won't be that important for The Mandalorian, but it shows how well he can manage unmatchable expectations. I'm really excited to see Filoni do his first big live-action director job, but I'm even more excited for the fact, he is also executive producer (and some people even consider him the showrunner at this point), which means, he will let some easter eggs for TCW/Rebels fans find their way into The Mandalorian. I really hope his directing will be received well, because that could open up the possibility of a full live-action movie for Filoni.

Having already talked about Filoni, the name that sticks out most in the list of directors for The Mandalorian is Taika Waititi. His work on Thor: Ragnarok is awesome, and he is one of these people, that are able to adjust their humor to a level it fits the project their working on - unlike Johnson did with TLJ, which lead to a massive backlash. But there are othe rvery interesting directors, too. Rick Famuyiwa and Deborah Chow may not be the biggest names, but they have done quite some great work (and it's really cool to see some diversity in Star Wars directors!). But even with this great list of directors, the episode I'm most excited for is Bryce Dallas Howard's. The daughter of Solo-director Ron Howard has done mostly short-films as a director before, so I'm looking forward to see how well she can handle a big franchise.

Pedro Pascal in Star Wars - how f***ing great is that? Pascal is one of the most intersting actors in Hollywood (just take a look at Game Of Thrones if you haven't and you'll know what I mean), and I was super excited as soon as I heard the rumor he could be in the cast. During the last years Pascal got more and more roles in big movies and series (GOT, Narcos, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Wonder Woman 1984), so seeing him as lead actor in a big franchise series seems like the natural next step. 

But the Pascal isn't the only great cast member. With Nick Nolte, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi and legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, the cast looks very very promising, and I can't wait to see them in action (maybe in a trailer at Celebration?).

Mandalorians have always been one of the fans most beloved parts of Star Wars - ever since Boba Fett appeared in Episode V with his cool armor, fans wanted to know more about where this came from. The most we know about Mandalorians in the new canon comes from The Clone Wars and Rebels, where both Filoni (showrunner) and Favreau (voice of Pre Viszla) were involved. Even a small look at the Mandalorian culture after the fall of the Empire would be great, and I think although the main character is a lone gunslinger, we will see the Mandalorians sooner or later in the series.  And to be honest, their armors look pretty amazing!

The outer rim, unstable times after the fall of the Empire, and a probably not-too-far-on-the-good-side main character - you can't tell me this isn't a fan dream come true (even Favreau said this story shaped in his mind for years, so it kinda actually is a fan dream xD). I think this series will show a different side of the Star Wars universe than we've seen before (much like Rogue One did), and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this big galaxy than just Jedi fighting evil (even though I love that part of SW too).