Despite being such a huge phenomenon, is The Mandalorian getting the care it deserves? Recently, rumors have suggested that Lucasfilm and Disney are in discussion over the future of The Mandalorian, specifically, regarding the future of Season 4.
Apparently, executives are panicking due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike and the uncertainty that has gripped the entire industry. There are production delays galore. The Mandalorian Season 4 was initially supposed to go into production sometime this fall, but that’s undoubtedly been put on hold. There’s no saying when the show will begin filming a fourth season.
Despite Jon Favreau having completed the scripts for Season 4, rumors suggest that the show’s next season could be made into a movie. There are many pros and cons of turning a hit television series’ entire season into a film. Of course, it will bring in a lot of money for Disney. The Mandalorian is a worldwide phenomenon that has attracted fans of all ages. It’s helped bring in new fans to the Star Wars fandom, and rekindled the interest of old fans. It’s also the show that launched Disney+.
Above all, while Season 3 has received mixed reviews, overall the show has won multiple awards and been nominated for Best Drama Series at the Emmy’s and the Golden Globes. It’s quite the list of achievements for the first ever Star Wars live action series. However, if Disney plans to take an entire season of the show and turn it into a movie, it could prove to be a rushed job, depriving the main character of a lot of character development and robbing fans of precious moments between Din and Grogu.
It should be kept for Disney+ instead of changing mediums mid-way. Apart from that, the makers should try to rectify whatever went wrong with Season 3. Better writing and more character development for Din Djarin wouldn’t hurt. Although Din ended up adopting Grogu and officially becoming his teacher when he was declared a Mandalorian apprentice, Season 3 didn’t feature too many of their signature sweet moments that the first two seasons were full of. Hopefully Season 4 will develop their bond even more, and show how Din trains the little guy on how to become a Mandalorian warrior.
Apart from that, Disney should keep The Mandalorian as a Christmas release, and episodes should drop on Fridays. Season 2 followed this formula and it shattered viewership numbers. Hashtags related to every chapter trended online for days. In comparison, there was a lot less hype for Season 3 despite the long wait for it. Streaming their biggest hit on a Wednesday in March seemed very random. Hopefully, Season 4 will get back to being a Christmas gift for fans. It’s nice to have new Star Wars dropping on a Friday morning so you can discuss it over the weekend and speculate on what’s to come.
Finally, writers and producers should also decide who *The* Mandalorian really is? Making the show about one man for two seasons and suddenly giving mixed signals about who the show is really about isn’t the best idea. Marketing it as being about Din Djarin and suddenly expecting it to be about any and all Mandalorians is very faulty strategy. Returning the focus to the lead character and taking the show back to what made it such a huge sensation should be Disney’s priority instead of making it into a movie.
