Online Series: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

[Jussi]

And how has everything else under Disney Star Wars gone without Favreau and/or Filoni involved?

Irrelevant. She worked closely with Favreau and Filoni on The Mandalorian which was evident from the round table discussions on the docu series.

And there's this: Op-Ed: There Would Be No 'Clone Wars' Revival Without Kathleen Kennedy | DiscussingFilm

 

[Jussi]

I've watched only half of the episodes of the docu series so far, but I don't think that I've seen her on set even once (though I don't doubt that she did visit from time to time to see how things were going). The only time that I've seen her is as part of the round table and she's come across as an executive rather than a creative. Everyone else talks about making The Mandalorian and she wants to talk about working with George Lucas in the 80s and direct the round table by posing questions for the real creatives to answer.

Oh she was definitely there. As was George Lucas.

 

[Shockmaster]

Oh she was definitely there. As was George Lucas.

So one photo of her on set means the Mandalorian's success is due to her?

 

[Jussi]

So one photo of her on set means the Mandalorian's success is due to her?

YES I'M TOTALLY SAYING THAT! For f***'s sake...

 

[Osprey]

Irrelevant. She worked closely with Favreau and Filoni on The Mandalorian which was evident from the round table discussions on the docu series.

Again, I got the complete opposite impression from my viewing.

Oh she was definitely there. As was George Lucas.

As I said in the sentence that you bolded, I didn't doubt that she came to the set. She's the executive in charge, after all, so it's her job to see how things are going from time to time. A few photos doesn't prove that she was there "all of time," though, and one of her alongside Lucas doesn't help your point, since 1) we all know that Lucas had very little involvement in the show, yet showed up on set, anyways, and 2) it's not the least bit surprising that she would show up on set when her friend and mentor of 40 years was there.

 

[Jussi]

Again, I got the complete opposite impression from my viewing.



As I said in the sentence that you bolded, I didn't doubt that she came to the set. She's the executive in charge, after all, so it's her job to see how things are going from time to time. A few photos doesn't prove that she was there "all of time," though, and one of her alongside Lucas doesn't help your point, since 1) we all know that Lucas had very little involvement in the show, yet showed up on set, anyways, and 2) it's not the least bit surprising that she would show up on set when her friend and mentor of 40 years was there.

I'll clarify, when they were shooting in the The Volume, she was often there. Off the top of my head, I don't remember if she was shown in the outdoor sets.

 

[Osprey]

I'll clarify, when they were shooting in the The Volume, she was often there. Off the top of my head, I don't remember if she was shown in the outdoor sets.

At least she was often there while the docu series crew was filming. Perhaps this is being too cynical, but I wouldn't put it past her to have shown up on set on those days to be included in the behind-the-scenes footage.

Regardless, even if we agree that she was on set a lot, I wouldn't use that as evidence that she was working closely with Favreau and Filoni. As I said, she could've been (and probably was) there just to see how things were going and watch from the side lines, much like Lucas.

 

[Jussi]

At least she was often there while the docu series crew was filming. Perhaps this is being too cynical, but I wouldn't put it past her to have shown up on set on those days to be included in the behind-the-scenes footage.

Regardless, even if we agree that she was on set a lot, I wouldn't use that as evidence that she was working closely with Favreau and Filoni. As I said, she could've been (and probably was) there just to see how things were going and watch from the side lines, much like Lucas.

It most definitely is, if you heard her talking in the docu series. I admit to being surprised how much she knew about Star Wars and how invested was in the series.

 

[MadDevil]

I think she was probably less involved with the TV side than the cinematic side, but The Mandalorian did happen on her watch, so if we're going to dump everything that went wrong on her, we should at least give her some credit for what went right.

 

[bleedblue1223]

KK is a high-quality producer, the biggest knock on her Star Wars is that there wasn't a plan, so results have simply varied by whoever was director/writer. JJ was typical JJ and his movies were dependent on the writing, first was acceptable, but Kasden simply re-wrote what he was familiar with, and his 2nd sucked because Terrio is a terrible writer. Rian did something that was divisive, you either loved it or hated it, and his vision didn't match JJ's or Trevorrow's. The other films were an obvious mess behind the scenes and had varying results on the screen.

When KK had the right people in charge of certain works, it was a huge success. Mainly Filoni and Favreau. KK should get credit for putting them in a spot to do their thing.

The problem with KK is not really knowing what to do with Star Wars and what vision to maintain, and that's why results have been inconsistent.

 

[Osprey]

It most definitely is, if you heard her talking in the docu series. I admit to being surprised how much she knew about and how invested was in the series.

I was talking about her showing up on set. You're talking about something else. I don't think that it should be a surprise how much she knows about and is invested in the series because that's her job. She's the typical executive producer who gets the ball rolling, delegates the actual creation and production to others and then mostly sits back and doesn't get in the way unless it's really needed, like when she fired Lord and Miller from Solo. I just think that saying that she was on the set "all the time" and "worked very closely" with Favreau and Filoni isn't accurate and gives her more credit than she deserves. What she deserves credit for, IMO, is green lighting the show and hiring Favreau and Filoni to create and produce it. It turned out to be very good, so you're right in pointing out that she doesn't ruin everything that she touches. That said, the variability in quality of what she's produced in the last 6 years (especially between The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker) is a good reason to not honor her with too much of the credit, either.

 

[Jussi]

I was talking about her showing up on set. You're talking about something else. I don't think that it should be a surprise how much she knows about and is invested in the series because that's her job.

Edited my post to include the relevant words.

And you said yourself that you hadn't watched all of the docuseries episodes. It may have been on 6th or 8th episodes where her knowledge os Star Wars became more apparent.

 

[Osprey]

And you said yourself that you hadn't watched all of the docuseries episodes. It may have been on 6th or 8th episodes where her knowledge os Star Wars became more apparent.

FWIW, I watched episodes 5 & 6 before I wrote that last reply (so I had and have seen 6 of 8 or most of the series). I specifically looked for her in the behind-the-scenes footage in both episodes and didn't see her on set once. I also paid close attention to her in the round table discussions and she really didn't add much. She was rather silent while everyone else was talking about making The Mandalorian.

I'll watch the last two episodes today or tomorrow, and I suspect that you're right that her knowledge of Star Wars will surface in the final episode. However, if she offers more knowledge and contribution in the first and last episodes than in the 6 episodes in between that focus on specific aspects of making the show, and it's more about Star Wars in general, that would support the idea that she wasn't very closely involved in the making of this show, IMO, at least not nearly to the degree that Favreau and Filoni were.

 

[johnjm22]

Many times in season one we heard characters reference the 'legends' of Mandalorians. "Oh he's a Mandalorian, they're supposed to be great warriors!"

So Mandalorians are known all over the galaxy, but people haven't heard of the Jedi?

One of the things I like about this show is that it's a more believable look into the post-ROTJ galaxy than the new trilogy was. So that line in the trailer about the Jedi really irks me. Also bringing back Boba Fett is really disappointing.

Aside from that, the trailer does look really good, and I'm very much looking forward to it.