The Mandalorian: Favreau talks series expectations and possible film entry

For my money, Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian has been one of the most engaging corners of Star Wars fandom in years. Starring Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian and debuting on Disney+ in November 2019, the series manages to embrace a "wandering samurai" aesthetic while sharing another exciting Star Wars story in a galaxy far, far away. With a second season set to premiere later this month (October 30) and a third expected to roll into production before the end of the year, it would appear as if everything is coming up Milhouse for the first live-action Star Wars series.

Recently while speaking with Variety about the future of the series, Pascal spoke about the effects the coronavirus outbreak has had on the show, saying, “I didn’t really stop to consider [the pandemic], because, unfortunately, the news has for me been causing alarm in so many different ways that it was almost just another version of that,” he told the outlet. “I can’t say that I totally didn’t see it coming, because unconsciously I sort of snapped to it in a way that must have been somewhat prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for is” — his eyes went wide — “six months.”

Pandemic or no, Favreau says that Season 3 of The Mandalorian is hoping to begin production "before the end of the year." He then added, “We’re operating under the assumption that we’ll be able to go forward.” Favreau then went on to say that the methods used to film the series allows for a certain amount of flexibility during such unprecedented times. “We’re in very small situations and oftentimes we have a lot of characters in masks,” he said. “And we also have a lot of digital work that augments things. So we’re a show that’s probably well-equipped to be flexible based on the protocols that are emerging surrounding work restarting.”

For those wondering what the future holds for The Mandalorian, you might want to be reminded of a February earnings call, in which Disney's then-CEO Bob Iger said that future seasons will include “the possibility of infusing [the show] with more characters and the possibility of taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series.” Could it be that The Mandalorian will serve as an origin point for its own Star Wars universe? It certainly sounds like it.

When asked to give his take on Iger's statement, Favreau said, “I love the world of ‘Star Wars’ because, on the one hand, there’s a familiarity with this sub-genre, but there’s also a tremendous amount of flexibility of which way you can go and genres you could explore within that sub-genre,” He then continued, “As we’re meeting new characters, and as we’re starting to hit our stride, from a production standpoint with how this technology can be used, we are beginning to explore where we could go.”

Does this mean that we could see a proper film for The Mandalorian sometime down the line? Well, according to Favreau, "The line is blurring now," he says. “Things that you would have only seen in the movie theater, you’re seeing on streaming, and I think it could go the other way as well.”

While I think The Mandalorian works perfectly well as a series I'm sure that there are plenty of fans out there who would love for Pascal's character (as well as The Child) to be given their own feature-length adventure. Again, I'm not certain how much that format will lend to what we already have, but that's why Disney has their own people and I'm just here writing about it all. At the end of the day, I'm down for whatever gets us more of these characters, be it film or television. It's all good.

For more from Favreau on The Mandalorian, including how his time with Marvel helped shape the series, be sure to check out Variety's new feature story.