'The Mandalorian' Led To Jon Favreau Receiving "Insane Deal" From Disney
There can be no doubt that The Mandalorian has been very successful, receiving not only a great reception from the Star Wars fan base, but it also received very good critic reviews as well. Back in 2017, the production of a new Star Wars show was first announced by Lucasfilm, streaming exclusively on Disney+. Although, at the time, the name of the service had not yet been announced.
In March 2018 it was revealed that Jon Favreau had been engaged to write and produce this new Star Wars series. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said, "I couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform. Jon brings the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base."
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It was later revealed that this new Star Wars show would be called The Mandalorian and would be presented like a western, featuring a Mandalorian gunslinger and set after the fall of the Galactic Empire, some five years after Return Of The Jedi. Launching a brand new Star Wars show on a brand new streaming service could have been seen as a bit of a risk for Lucasfilm and Disney, but Jon Favreau had a good track record prior to him being signed on. Not only had he worked on the beginnings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 films, but he also got involved with Disney working on The Jungle Book and The Lion King live-action adaptations.
When The Mandalorian was released in November 2019 it was an instant hit amongst both fans and critics alike and the show received excellent reviews. Jon Favreau had reportedly been signed up for one season of The Mandalorian by Disney and Lucasfilm, presumably as they had no real idea how well it would be received. According to Puck News, it is now believed that Disney and Lucasfilm went back to Jon Favreau with a new major deal once they had seen how well The Mandalorian was doing after its launch, based on the reaction from the fans and critics. Whilst there are no specific details it is believed that this was an "insane deal" asking him to do more shows for Disney+ and likely included some major incentives and bonuses on top.
Since the inaugural season of The Mandalorian, its popularity has continued to grow amongst the fan base as well as the wider, more casual audience. Bringing in Grogu (or Baby Yoda to the rest of the world) was a stroke of marketing genius that opened up the appeal of the show way beyond Disney and Lucasfilm's expectations. Even those that don't watch the The Mandalorian on a regular basis, or even don't watch at all, know who the cute little baby from Star Wars is!
To some fans, Jon Favreau, along with Dave Filoni, are the saviors of the Star Wars franchise. This is probably very unfair and a bit of a stretch, but there is no doubt at all that the creative vision of Jon Favreau has had a massive impact on the way that Star Wars story telling is done and how Star Wars shows can be produced. It is without a shadow of a doubt that Jon Favreau certainly deserves his "insane deal" if this was indeed what he was given.
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