The female-centric Acolyte series, set approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace and costing $187m (£140m) to make, earned generally favorable reviews from critics, comparing it to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and calling it “bold,” “fun”, and a “breath of fresh air”. However, it was cancelled due to low viewership, according to Lucasfilm, while actress Amandla Stenberg publicly called out the “intolerable racism” she said she’d been subject to in the wake of starring in the show. “Had it been given more time and resource, maybe it would have been more successful,” says Harrison. “If it wasn’t part of this huge glut of other shows that you’re somehow meant to keep up with.”
Then there was Obi-Wan Kenobi’s solo series which was an enjoyable enough return for Ewan McGregor’s Jedi Knight. But also one that was indicative of post-George Lucas Star Wars, wrote The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage, which “exists almost exclusively to bulk out thin gruel, joining various dots that didn’t need to be joined, for the delight of a quickly ageing fanbase.”
As if pre-empting concerns about its comprehensibility beyond the hardcore following, however, Favreau has promised that The Mandalorian & Grogu does not “diminish the experience of watching it as a standalone” for filmgoers who aren’t as familiar with the backstory. He told SFX magazine that while he had completed the scripts for a fourth season of The Mandalorian in February 2023, they had to “start from scratch” to pen the 132-minute movie: “You can’t just take those scripts and turn them into a movie. There were a lot of characters; it assumed you’d watched the whole show. This is a completely different medium… but there’s still a lot of Star Wars in there.”
The use of ‘bland’ digital technology
In its favour, too, the film cost approximately $165m (£123m) to make – the smallest amount spent on any big-screen Star Wars instalment, which certainly puts its box-office prediction in a healthier light. Lucasfilm managed to keep costs low by shooting entirely in California rather than the far-flung locations used on previous, very expensive Star Wars films. It did this by deploying The Volume, a technology developed and owned by the Disney company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and first used on The Mandalorian season 1 before being used across multiple Star Wars TV shows. It utilizes a 270-degree wall of LED screens projecting photorealistic backdrops for actors to perform in front of.
However, while more cost-effective, Harrison says the digital method might hinder the film’s appeal. “People have tended not to get so on board with that virtual production approach,” she says, pointing to the backlash against the “cartoonish” CGI of the prequel trilogy. “With the legacy sequels, they went back to narratives of authenticity, practically making things and going to locations, so this shift back into the digital space suggests there’s very little at stake for Disney here.”
Fans have increasingly shared their concerns about the technology, arguing that the shows that have used The Volume appear stifled by it – Andor, notably, is the only one that didn’t. “It just feels very bland and empty,” said one fan, while another complained. “It often makes the sets look minuscule, prevents movement.”
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