When Disney Plus found its footing in November of 2019, there was one show that truly secured the streaming service’s position as one of the largest streaming platforms. “The Mandalorian” is now a massive cultural phenomenon, sparking massive popularity since its debut in 2019. With a second season released in 2020, “The Mandalorian'' has built an unprecedented following for the modern age of the Star Wars franchise. However, with Disney’s recent Marvel and Star Wars releases seemingly “missing the mark,” it was difficult to predict where the third installment in the Mandalorian’s story would land.
On March 1, “The Mandalorian” would make his inevitable return in a little over a year, after having a major role in 2022’s “The Book of Boba Fett”. Season 3 begins a short while after “The Book of Boba Fett”, with our main character, Din Djarin (The Mandalorian, played by Pedro Pascal), returning to his homeworld of Mandalore, to redeem himself to his creed. Din Djarin was exiled from his Mandalorian creed after removing his helmet in the season 2 finale. To recommit to his people, Din must bathe in the “living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore”. But before he can begin his journey, Mando and his lovable sidekick, Grogu, must go back to the planet Navarro to reconnect with some old friends. After making his rendezvous with the notable Greef Carga (Carl Weathers), Mando sets off on his next adventure to the mines of Mandalore.
While Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” starts off with some of the same lovable charm that previous seasons had, something does not feel like it used to. The action looks over-produced and the sets feel fake. When comparing and contrasting the cinematography of Season 1 to Season 3, there is a poignant downgrade in quality, with set design, action, and writing taking a noticeable shift from what previous seasons have shown before.
In Episode 1 of Season 3 especially, there is a considerable amount of time spent focused on plot points that really hold no importance to the new season, and as an introduction to this season, it feels rushed. We’ve seen this time and time again with Disney’s newest shows and movies. Productions like “The Book of Boba Fett”, or Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder”, were obviously rushed when contrasting them to older productions that were given enough time to finish. Going to watch a Star Wars or Marvel movie used to be exciting and thrilling, but now it often seems like a burden, or sometimes even a waste of time to watch.
With Bob Iger making a return to Disney leadership there is hope that things could go back to the way they used to be. We look forward to seeing if Disney can recapture the magic.
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