A wave of new Star Wars toys is coming this spring. Mashable was in attendance at the Star Wars: Most Wanted preview, where the spring line of plushies, remote-control toys, streetwear, and Lego sets were all on display, including many toys focused on the upcoming Jon Favreau movie The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Launched by the success of Favreau-created live-action series The Mandalorian, this spin-off movie will follow the bounty hunter and his protégé on new sci-fi adventures. But ahead of revealing the whole line of movie-related goodies to the press, Favreau took to the stage to talk about the toys of today and yesteryear, and their relationship to his movie.
The Mandalorian and Grogu will feature designs from old-school Star Wars toys.
After recounting how he saw the original Star Wars trilogy on its initial release, beginning in 1977, Favreau explained, "Star Wars is linked to the toys, because you'd see [the movie] in the theater, and then you and your friends would get the toys, and you['d] play, like that was how the story would continue, to act it out again and again, and even the first promotional toys." It's so much part of it.
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He continued, "That's why, in the show, The Mandalorian, we try to reference the toys. So, Kenner would make this [Imperial] troop transport — and sometimes [the toys] weren't from the movies. There was just this silly-looking thing where a bunch of Stormtroopers standing up. And we're like, 'We got to figure out how to put this in the show and make it look cool.'"
Favreau credited Doug Chiang, who was described as the great Lucasfilm artist, with leading The Mandalorian in the effort to make existing Star Wars toys a part of the official canon. "Our art department would make these great renderings," Favreau added, "and we build it in CG or build in real life. And so you'll see in the film coming up, there's a few nods to the old toys that were never on screen. But for the people who grew up with it, it's sort of a deep cut. So that's part of embracing not just Star Wars from the film side, but also Star Wars culture and the fan culture around Star Wars, and toys are a huge part of that."
He went on to credit playing with Star Wars toys as foundational to his future career as a filmmaker, saying, "That's how I learned how to tell stories. You take these characters. You're talking with your friends, and you're acting things out [with the toys]. My job is not that different from that."
How to watch: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu will open in theaters on May 22.
Kristy Puchko is the Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she's an established film critic and entertainment reporter who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, and interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers.
