Disney is set to launch its new streaming service, Disney+, this year to compete with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other similar original content video sites. Among the first shows that will premiere on this platform is the "Star Wars" spinoff "The Mandalorian," which stars "Narcos" and "Game of Thrones" actor Pedro Pascal.
Though the studio hasn't officially announced the activation of Disney+, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that "The Mandalorian" will have a late 2019 debut date on the streaming service. Production for the "Star Wars" spinoff has been actively underway since late 2018 with "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau as the showrunner.
"The Mandalorian" will follow the bounty hunters and gunslingers in the "Star Wars" universe. Fans of the franchise may perhaps relate the show to familiar characters in the movie, such as Boba Fett and his son Jango Fett. However, Favreau's treatment will be very different from the world and characters that George Lucas created in the previous "Star Wars" films. "The Mandalorian" will also not feature any of the Skywalkers or their kin.
Plot details to the series have been kept hush-hush so far, but story's timeline is supposed to take place years after "Return of the Jedi" (Episode VI) and before "The Force Awakens" (Episode VII). With the recent fall of the empire, viewers can expect that "The Mandalorian" will be some sort of Wild West in outer space.
Rumors have it that Pascal's character will come across a baby in one of his missions as a bounty hunter. He's supposed to kill this child but instead becomes the baby's protector.
Aside from Pascal, "The Mandalorian" will also star Nick Nolte, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, and Giancarlo Esposito. Dave Filoni will direct some of the episodes, including the pilot, but the show has also enlisted some high profile helmers like "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi, "Jurassic World" actress Bryce Dallas Howard and "Jessica Jones" director Deborah Chow.
Meanwhile, last December, Favreau teased on Instagram that the assassin droid, IG-88, will appear in "The Mandalorian." "Star Wars" fans first saw the character in "The Empire Strikes Back" (Episode V), while Darth Vader was talking to bounty hunters like Boba Fett.
The IG-88 is at least on the top five list of most skilled bounty hunters in the "Star Wars" galaxy, according to Uproxx. Prop department head Bill Hargreaves described the robot as "real dirty, evil and vicious."
