That those who do not wish that one “divulges” the multiple surprises contained in this first episode of the
Mandalorian
season 2… go their way.
While silencing the main issues of the general plot of
The Marshall
, the ninth episode of an exceptional duration of 54 minutes, the detailed analysis of the five major cinematographic references of this saga derived from the Star Wars universe, will reveal some parts of the plot.
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The Mandalorian
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to launch Disney +
Jon Favreau, the great master builder
First of all, it should be noted that this first long-lasting episode (the first 8 parts of season 1 last between 30 and 38 minutes) is directed by Jon Favreau himself.
This is a first for this “
showrunner
” who developed the concept of the
Mandalorian
series
, in collaboration with producer Kathlyn Kennedy and Dave Filoni.
The director of
Iron Man
and the live version
of The Jungle Book
takes obvious pleasure in putting this spin-off series back on track, which he brought to the baptismal font not without difficulties against Lucasfilms and Disney.
It was he who created the characters, developed them, and above all who defended the creation of “
baby Yoda
”, the Mysterious Child who immediately won the hearts of a large number of fans.
Favreau anchors the main plot at the very heart of the universe imagined 43 years ago by George Lucas and rekindles the little flame of the
original
Star Wars
spirit
.
This nostalgic scent that smells of western, Japanese chanbara (mainly the
Baby cart
saga
featuring a masterless samurai accompanied by a baby in his pram), and the space opera discovered in
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
, in 1977.
Its production is full of references to the oldest
Star Wars
trilogy
.
And yet, he reinvents this dusty past by giving it the finery of the new thanks to an innovative and unprecedented technology, the “
large digital image wall
” which makes it possible to project the sets filmed on a scenic space in the studio without the aid of 'a "
green background
".
A technology he perfected in
The Lion King
and then
The Jungle Book
...
A winning return to Tatooine
From the first images we find Mando and the Child advancing towards a boxing fight arena in search of another Mandalorian who can help them bring "
Baby Yoda
" home.
It should be noted that the graffiti against the Empire is signed by the American street artist David Shoe.
Once entered the room, we recognize of course the Gamorrean bodyguards seen in episode III
Return of the Jedi
with their wild pig's muzzle, their wild boar fangs and their green skin.
It is on this occasion that Din Djarin learns that a mysterious Mandalorian lives on the planet Tatooine.
Tatooine is "THE" great reference in terms of decor and atmosphere linked to
Star Wars
.
It is on this desert planet in
Lawrence of Arabia
illuminated by two suns that the Odyssey of Luke Skywalker begins in
Star Wars IV
.
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marks all the spirits
Returning to Tatooine is going back to the very source
of Star Wars
mythology
.
It is to find the Jawas (small hooded beings kings of the recovery and the barter, of which one sees only the small shining eyes) and the Tuskens, these looters of the desert, these “
Men of the sands
” worthy and savage who are inspired by a bit of the nomadic tribes and Bedouins of the Sahara.
It also means seeing the famous Banthas, these large woolly animals with large twisted tusks, a mixture of mammoths and camels that advance in a column on the crest of the sand dunes ...
A wise nod to
Dune
by Frank Herbert
The fact of situating the plot of this first episode on Tatooine allows Jon Favreau to address a judicious nod to the Dune saga of Frank Herbert.
Published in 1963, this cycle of novels (
Dune
is the best-selling science fiction book in the world) was the subject of an attempt at film adaptation by Alejandro Jodorowsky in the 70s, will be transposed for the first time on the big screen in 1984 by David Lynch, before Denis Villeneuve worked forty years later on a new adaptation with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac or Jason Momoa…
Read also:
Dune,
the game of seven errors: what Denis Villeneuve owes to David Lynch
George Lucas has never made a secret of the fact that he fed
Star Wars
mythology
from the influences of the science fiction of the time.
Released and popularized in the 60s and 70s,
Dune
is of course part of the lot.
In
Return of the Jedi
, the Sarlacc, a sort of desert monster hidden in a bottomless pit, is a sort of giant sand worm about 100 meters long which "
digests its victims for years
".
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The only known person who survived Sarlacc's digestion is Boba Fett, a Mandalorian inadvertently pushed into the monster's mouth at the start of
Return of the Jedi
by Han Solo.
Warning Spoilers:
It seems that the person who stands out against the backdrop of the Tatooine desert at the end of this episode is Boba Fett, played by New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison (who plays Jango Fett, Boba's father in the episode II and III).
Lucky Luke's or Sheriff Woody's red scarf
The Marshall of the small mining town of Mos Pelgo is called Cobb Vanth (played by Timothy Olyphant).
As in the good old westerns, he embodies the authority while sporting not a star of Sheriff, but the armor of Boba Fett which he bought from the Jawas, as a symbol of power.
Funny wink: When the two team up to fight a huge Krayt sand dragon, he kicks Cobb Vanth on the shoulder, of course reminiscent of Han Solo's gesture of unwittingly triggering the Jetpack by Boba Fett in
Return of the Jedi
.
This Sheriff character wears a cute red scarf like Morris and Goscinny's Lucky Luke, or Sheriff Woody in
Toy Story
.
And we can tell that Jon Favreau really had fun summoning his childhood memories…
Allusions to westerns à la John Ford or Sergio Leone
This very luminous episode (the two suns of the planet have something to do with it) located on Tatooine sets up a mythology that directly refers to cinematic westerns, from
The Prisoner of the Desert
by John Ford to spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone.
This ninth installment is no exception to the rule, with a duel in a saloon worthy of the legend.
Without forgetting the way in which Favreau stages two communities (the colony of miners and the Tuskens) which unite their forces against a common enemy.
All of this is obviously reminiscent of
The Convoy of the Braves
(1950), a humanist western by John Ford where ordinary heroism and loyalty demonstrate that the strength of a group tending towards the same goal can overturn prejudices and fight successfully against the worst threats. .