A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

On Quora, Mike Austin asks: Where in the Star Wars timeline does The Mandalorian TV show take place? My reply: Jon Favreau’s  The Mandalorian  is set between the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the First Order, during the New Republic era. Or, in franchise terms, it takes place between  Return of the Jedi  and  Resistance/Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Per the show's official description:  After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.. It’s not set at any time where we can see a young Han Solo, Chewbacca, or any of the major characters seen in the feature films.

On Quora, Mike Austin asks: Why has Disney-owned Lucasfilm focused so much attention towards the time before Star Wars: Episode IV with all of their spin-off material? And here's my reply:  That’s not entirely accurate. But we’ll get to that in a bit. I’m not an employee at Lucasfilm Ltd., the folks at the creative end, nor am I privy to the corporate doings at The Walt Disney Company (other than those that we know about from reports in the media). Thus, any answer I give is purely speculative, though it’s based on observation of how the franchise has evolved since 1977. I think that Lucasfilm has chosen to focus on the period that leads up to the Galactic Civil War and the Battle of Yavin because, for many fans, that is  Star Wars.  The Rebel Alliance’s conflict against Emperor Palpatine’s New Order is what the Generation of 1977 grew up/grew old with, and even though the non-canonical Expanded Universe told one possible version of the aftermath of the E...

On Quora, member Saif Ramiz asks: Will Luke Skywalker have a cameo in The Mandalorian ? My reply: Contrary to rumors or speculation to the contrary, it is not likely that Mark Hamill will make a cameo on  The Mandalorian  as the galaxy’s sole post-Battle of Endor Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. The Mandalorian  is set between  Return of the Jedi  and  The Force Awakens,  which would   not necessarily preclude an appearance by Hamill as Luke if the story really called for it. But the setting is closer to the immediate post-Endor era (five years after the destruction of the second Death Star) than it is to the Sequel Trilogy), which makes any cameos by Hamill problematic at best. There’s also the fact that the show has already been shot and is no longer in principal photography; the premiere is less than two months from this writing, and the 10-episode series’ cast list, which includes Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed from  Rocky ) and N...

Is there any chance that a young Han Solo and Chewbacca make an appearance in Star Wars: The Mandalorian? No. Not a chance. The series’ position in the timeline does not permit it. The Mandalorian  is set between  Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi  and  Star Wars: Resistance,  two stories   which are set before  Star Wars - Episode VII; The Force Awakens. Per Deadline Hollywood, which quotes the show’s creator, Jon Favreau: “After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the  Star Wars  universe.  The Mandalorian  is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic,” the  Iron Man  and  Jungle Book  filmmaker posted. So, no. There is no chance that we’ll see the character of Han Solo in this new series set “a long time a...