There are still several more months until season two of The Mandalorian hits Disney+ in October (assuming everything stays on schedule), but to tide us over, the Mouse House has released a trailer for Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian. The eight-episode documentary series will explore multiple facets of the production of this first live-action Star Wars television show.

Disney+ announced the documentary series earlier this month. “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 1,” executive producer Jon Favreau said in a statement at the time. “We had a great experience making the show, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with you.”

Per the official synopsis: “The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.” The premise is that after the defeat of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, there was a period of chaos and lawlessness as a new government struggled to emerge from the wreckage.

Pedro Pascal took top billing as Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian, joined by Werner Herzog as “The Client”; Gina Carano as Cara Dune, a former Rebel Shock Trooper; Carl Weathers as Greef Carga, leader of a bounty-hunter guild; Giancarlo Esposito as former Empire governor Moff Gideon; Taika Waititi, who voices the droid IG-11; and Ming-Na Wen as assassin Fennec Shand, among others. The Internet (and Herzog, apparently) soon fell in love with its breakout star: “Baby Yoda,” formally known as The Child (since he isn’t the Yoda, just an infant of the same species), played by a variety of puppeteers.

Ars’ Sam Machkovech raved about the season’s premiere episode last November, praising “the balance of practical effects, carefully molded alien costumes, and intentionally cheeseball CGI.” He added: “Those brief CGI moments are forgivable in light of gorgeous set design, a John Williams-caliber score of brand-new compositions, and a cast of actors who savor their pauses, beats, and moments to simmer in tension (both for action and comedy’s sake).”

Even though it hadn’t yet concluded by year’s end, the series easily landed a spot on our top TV shows of 2019. “Creator Jon Favreau’s brainchild has proven to be a killer vehicle for the most Star Trek-like storytelling yet in a live-action Star Wars product,” Machkovech wrote. “Even better, its freak-of-the-week and brand-new-planet progression has been paired with a proper samurai story, as anchored by the religious, fervent, and conflicted Mando himself.

We get several tantalizing glimpses of how the series was brought to such vivid life in the trailer for Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian. That includes a roundtable discussion with Favreau, Waititi, and several other team members reflecting on their experiences during the shoot. There are shots of the manual operation of the droid IG-11 during that infamous shootout scene; the Mandalorian (either Pascal or a stuntman, who can tell with the helmet on) executing a few fighting moves for the green screen; and a glimpse of Baby Yoda revealing the people behind the puppet, among other highlights. All in all, it looks like a satisfying series, although we wish it was being released all at once rather than in weekly installments.

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian debuts on Disney+ on May 4, 2020. New episodes will stream every Friday. May the Fourth be with you!

Listing image by YouTube/Star Wars/Disney+

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1670402