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Credit: LucasfilmWere these Mandalorian cameos worth it?
From the outset, fans were aware that The Mandalorian was a playground for Jon Favreau. The showrunner/creator has been a Star Wars fan for decades, and having this opportunity, later alongside Dave Filoni, both have been like kids in a candy store. Having people who love the franchise and mythology at the helm has helped make the series what it is, but has it also hurt the franchise?
From Season 1 through Season 2 and the tangent episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, the forward trajectory of The Mandalorian has been consistent overall. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Baby Yoda/Grogu (himself), and others have all had a goal and have been working toward it. They, along with others like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and even Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), have all had significant character growth leading to one of the most well-liked Lucasfilm projects of the Disney era…until recently.
Star Wars fans aren’t shy about showing their discontent, which makes the positive reviews for The Mandalorian all the more impressive. Season 3, however, has proved that nothing good lasts forever. Though the season had a strong start, one which rang with notes of Seasons 1 and 2, it wasn’t long before something felt…off. Chapter 22, “Guns For Hire,” was so jarring it almost seemed like an episode from a different Star Wars series.
This was due, in large part, to the immensely distracting cameos from Jack Black and Lizzo as featured characters of the episode, causing many to respond passionately. Now, showrunner and creator Jon Favreau has stepped forward to explain why they made the decision two include the two in such prominent cameos. ComicBookMovie covered the recent interview and reported on his explanation:
“I know Jack from way back but he was doing Mandalorian things on Instagram or TikTok and Lizzo was dressing up like Grogu and my kids were showing me all these videos of how into it Lizzo was. We had an episode that was going to have this really eccentric royal couple in a court like something that felt out of Alice in Wonderland so we reached out and they were like, ‘We’d love to.'”
“There’s something really fun about being on the set with people who are excited to meet Grogu…people, when they hold that little puppet, it’s like they’re dealing with a real character,” Favreau continued. “It was really fun and exciting on the set. A lot of pretty heavy, serious stuff happens this season, so this planet gave us permission to have a lot of fun with it.”
Though it may not justify the cameos, it does provide an explanation, and one that falls right in line with the philosophy that Favreau has had in place since day one: having fun. While it may not have made sense to the narrative, at the end of the day, Favreau, Filoni, Lizzo, and Jack Black were all just Star Wars fans having fun. Still, many fans hope, for the sake of the show, that fun can be a little more focused for the finale.
Related: ‘The Mandalorian’ Star May Have Said Too Much, Recent Post Teases Plot Twist
Fans can catch the finale of The Mandalorian Season 3 on Disney+ this week. The series stars Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, The Mandalorian, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, and Emily Swallow as The Armorer. According to recent updates, this finale may show the loss of even more characters, leading to the future of the franchise in the Star Wars Galaxy.
What do you think about Favreau’s reasoning? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!