The Mandalorian broke one surprising Star Wars rule, proving that many rules for Star Wars movies and TV shows are made to be broken. The Mandalorian is largely considered one of Star Wars’ best shows, in part because of its innovation. Rather than a focus on the Skywalker family tree, or even really the Jedi/the Force (despite some major cameos), the show, as the title suggests, is focused on Mandalorians. More than even that, though, the show is really about the father-son dynamic between Din Djarin and Grogu.
In that sense, The Mandalorian was already innovative, but in an interview with Empire Magazine, showrunner of Andor Tony Gilroy revealed another surprising way The Mandalorian deviated from the Star Wars norm. Gilroy explained:
“When we started on Rogue, there were things that we couldn’t do at all. You couldn’t have a bathroom! Then they had a bathroom on Mandalorian.”
Although we’d already known the appearance of a bathroom in The Mandalorian was the first of its kind in Star Wars, we had no idea that it was previously forbidden to have a bathroom in the franchise.
Sometimes, Star Wars’ Rules Just Don’t Make Sense
George Lucas Wanted To Preserve The Galaxy, But Some Rules Are A Little Much
While I understand and respect that George Lucas had rules for Star Wars because he wanted to protect the integrity of the galaxy he was creating, some of the rules in the franchise do take things a bit far. Forbidding bathrooms is a great example, especially because no matter how long ago and far, far away Star Wars is meant to be, bathrooms would obviously still be necessary. This is also far from the only odd rule that has been broken in Star Wars of late.
Star Wars’ latest TV show, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, had also broken a shocking rule. That is, Skeleton Crew broke the ‘no paper’ rule in Star Wars when a paper scroll was found in a pirate’s lair. This is yet another strange one for the franchise. Yes, Lucas wanted cool things like data pads to be the way of the retro-futuristic story he was telling, but did he really have to ban paper?
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Our Take On Star Wars’ “Rules”
Some Of These Rules Are Meant To Be Broken
I think what we’re seeing with shows like Skeleton Crew and The Mandalorian is proof that Star Wars has outgrown many of these rules from the early days of the franchise. In the original trilogy, when George Lucas was establishing many of these rules, he had good reason to be so strict. He was building Star Wars from the ground up, and, at that point, the extent of his strictness was due to the need to get the world-building just right.
In the end, I can hardly fault him for that. Clearly, this was well-executed, as, initially, no one really had any idea whether Star Wars would be successful, let alone anticipate the worldwide phenomenon it would become. However, given it is now that phenomenon, Star Wars shows and movies can relax a little bit and break some of these more ridiculous rules. The Mandalorian incorporating a bathroom may seem like no big deal, but, in reality, it is a sign that Star Wars has come so far in its nearly 50 years.
Source: Empire Magazine
The Mandalorian
8/10
- Release Date
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November 12, 2019
- Network
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Disney+
- Directors
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Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dave Filoni, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, Deborah Chow, Jon Favreau, Peter Ramsey, Robert Rodriguez, Taika Waititi, Lee Isaac Chung
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Din Djarin / The Mandalorian
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Katee Sackhoff
Bo-Katan Kryze
