This One Piece Of Concept Art Is The Reason Bob Iger Greenlit 'The Mandalorian'
Think back to the first time you heard of this new show on this brand new streaming platform. What is this Disney+? Do we want another Star Wars “TV” series? We already have Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels. We are still deciding whether we like the new Star Wars movies under Disney’s direction. With Star Wars fans and non-fans having these thoughts and mixed feelings about the current state of Star Wars, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni must now pitch the show to then Disney CEO Bob Iger. That fateful day, Iger believes in the success of this new show that will essentially be the anchor for the fledgling Disney+ platform, and approves the budget for it. We know that the production of The Mandalorian is not cheap with all the innovative techniques used to create the worlds in the show.
This artwork shows that the story of Mando and Grogu has been there from the beginning. The premise of the show is the father-son relationship between a Mandalorian bounty hunter and a much younger look-alike of a powerful Jedi figure, and the support he receives from his clan. It was not going to be a “monster of the week” show where each episode focuses on a different target that the Mandalorian goes after. Bounty hunters and Mandalorians have always been associated with violence and war. This unique point of view of a hardened warrior showing a caring and sensitive side toward a helpless figure has not been seen before. Ultimately, this premise persuaded Iger to approve The Mandalorian, and the rest is history.
The Mandalorian concept designer Brian Matyas recently sat down with The National Arts Club to discuss his works and his methods. He shared one of his artworks that was among the pitch pieces presented to Bob Iger.
“I did an image of Boba Fett holding Baby Yoda to a bunch of Mandalorians. That was the pitch piece for Bob Iger. So we had to get approval from Disney [for them] to give the thumbs up, to move forward with it.”
In this picture, Boba Fett, the most well known Mandalorian thus far, stood in for our future protagonist Din Djarin. Note familiar figures in the background that appear later in the show. The Mandalorian in blue colored armor on the right looks like Koska Reeves (who is part of Bo-Katan Kryze’s Nite Owls). The orange-bronze colored armor is similar to what is worn by “The Armorer.”
The reveal of Baby Yoda at the very end of the first episode of The Mandalorian was a surprise to viewers everywhere. We all thought that The Mandalorian was going to be about the eponymous character hunting down a new target each episode as he traverses through the post-Imperial era. In the Outer Rim, far away from the influence of whoever is controlling the government in the Core Worlds, bounty hunters go about their business for the highest bidders. The Empire might not be in power anymore, but bounty hunters have no qualms about doing work for the Imperial remnant as long as the price is right.
While we have not seen this exact concept art replicated in the show as of yet, the spirit of the picture lives on. Din Djarin goes to great lengths to protect this young child. Other Mandalorians join in his mission: The Tribe in the Nevarro sewer, Bo-Katan Kryze’s Nite Owls, and Boba Fett.
This concept art is recreated at the end of the first ever episode of The Mandalorian.
IG-11 removing the Mandalorian's helmet in the final episode of Season 1 of The Mandalorian.
Other concept art from the series can be seen in The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
It appears that a chapter of The Mandalorian is closed with Din Djarin and Grogu going separate ways at the end of Season 2. As their relationship is very central to the series, we know their eventual reunion is inevitable.
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Source(s): The Direct