'The Mandalorian' Explores What It's Like To Live In The Outer Rim

Considering that the the latest installment of the Star Wars expanded universe is about a Mandalorian, it would make sense if The Mandalorian took place on the planet Mandalore, where Mandalorians are from, right? But just because The Mandalorian will follow one intergalactic bounty hunter in particular, that doesn't mean the Disney+ series has to just take place on his home planet.

According to the series' official description, the show is set after the fall of the Empire, which was depicted in Return of the Jedi, and before the emergence of the First Order, which was shown in the Force Awakens and will "follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic."

While the show very much fits into the timeline that fans of the movies are familiar with, showrunner Jon Favreau was interested in looking at how the conflicts in the films affect those who live farther away from the action. The as yet unnamed gunfighter, played by Pedro Pascal, will not only exist on Mandalore, but will explore other planets. Rotten Tomatoes reported that footage shown at Star Wars Celebration in April featured "dusty villages and snow-covered worlds, evoking the look and feel of the original Star Wars trilogy."

Until the show premieres, it's unclear if any of these worlds will be ones that have been featured in any of the Star Wars episodic movies, but Favreau has said that the series is able to stand alone."[I]t's inviting people into a whole new cast of characters that doesn’t require any prerequisite understanding of the world," he told the Los Angeles Times, as it's exploring themes anyone can relate to.

"What would really happen with a strong, tyrannical central government disappearing?" the writer said to the Los Angeles Times. "At first it's wonderful, because it's freedom. But then sometimes freedom gets sloppy. Like after the fall of the Roman Empire, a lot of the world descended into darker times. So it was interesting to explore what the Star Wars version of that would be."

The series will also look into what it means to be from Mandalore, an idea that is not part of the Star Wars film series, but is part of spinoff TV series and written material, such as The Clone Wars. "Our guy is a Mandalorian, and we definitely explore the culture of the Mandalorian," Favreau told Entertainment Weekly.

CNET explains that Mandalore is an Outer Rim world that "went through major political upheaval during the Clone Wars and early days of the Galactic Empire's rule." Boba and Jango Fett from the Star Wars movies are often thought of as Mandalorians, particularly because they wear Mandalorian armor, but, according to CNET, they are not true Mandalorians.

That part is sort of involved and includes the fact that Boba is Jango's clone, but it shouldn't matter too much for the new series. The point is, the series will involve the world of Mandalore and other planets, which will keep it in line with other Star Wars stories. You'll have to watch, though, to see just what these new worlds look like.