The Mandalorian may have found its star. Pedro Pascal is reportedly set to head up the original Star Wars TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Mandalorian is preparing to launch on Disney’s upcoming subscription-based streaming service, Disney+, next year.
Pascal is best known for his run on Game of Thrones as Oberyn Martell. He also starred in Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Netflix’s Narcos.
Disney confirmed The Mandalorian with its first official image and some very high-profile names set to direct individual episodes. Those include Taika Waititi (Thor Ragnarok), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), and Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones). It will join another planned series that will bring back Diego Luna to reprise his role as Cassian Andor from Rogue One.
The Mandalorian takes place after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi but before the new episodic films. It’s said to follow a lone gunfighter outrunning the law of the New Republic, after the legendary Mandalorians Jango and Boba Fett’s time has passed.
A film spin-off featuring the fan favorite character Boba Fett was said to be in the planning stages at Lucasfilm, but Solo: A Star Wars Story was a commercial disappointment and appears to have led the studio to reevaluate its plans. Disney head Bob Iger suggested that the sequels may have come “too much, too fast” and a shortly after reports circulated that the Boba Fett movie was officially put on hold. The Mandalorian still lets the studio tap one of its more iconic character designs, though.
