Werner Herzog Calls 'The Mandalorian' A "Phenomenal Achievement"

By: Benjamin Hart


At Star Wars Celebration Chicago last month we saw a lot of amazing footage and photos from The Mandalorian that got fans pumped up about it. The series, which is headed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and stars Pedro Pascal in the title role, will be the first ever live action Star Wars TV series. At The Mandalorian panel during Celebration we were shown a scene from the series which show Pascal's mysterious Mandalorian character interacting with a shady Imperial dignitary played by legendary actor and filmmaker Werner Herzog.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, while promoting his newest documentary Meeting Gorbachev, Herzog spoke briefly about The Mandalorian, praising the series and the filmmaking techniques being used to create it:

"‘Mandalorian’ was filmed not like all the other ‘Star Wars’ or other big event films -- green screen, green screen everywhere — and the camera motion-control moving there. All of a sudden you have a phenomenal step forward. As an actor, you see the entire planet on which you are. You see the landscape. The camera, that could even be hand-held and move in between us, sees the same landscape. It’s not green-screen and artificiality. It brings movie-making back where it should be. It’s a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement."

Herzog also added that his character, who still remains nameless, is someone “whom you cannot trust" and that he will appear in two or three episodes of the series.  And in addition, surprisingly, Herzog admits that, despite becoming a part of the galaxy far, far away in The Mandalorian, he actually hasn't seen any Star Wars films:

"I have to confess, I never saw a single one. I’ve seen some trailers. I’ve seen some excerpts here and there. And I know about the whole franchise and about the toys for the kids and so... It has created new mythologies, and you better take them seriously.”

You can watch AP's full interview with Werner Herzog below:

Werner Herzog is calling "The Mandalorian" "a phenomenal achievement" after joining the cast of the streaming series set in the "Star Wars" universe. Herzog, who just released the documentary "Meeting Gorbachev," does have a confession: He's never seen a "Star Wars" film. pic.twitter.com/9yhzXuI3M4

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) May 4, 2019

Alongside Herzog the series also stars Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian, Gina Carano as Cara Dune, and Carl Weathers as Greef, along with Nick Nolte (Affliction), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Emily Swallow (Supernatural), and Omid Abtahi (American Gods). The first season, which will be available when Disney+ launches on November 12th, and is expected to consist of eight episodes. The episodes are written by executive producer Jon Favreau and directed by Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), Bryce Dallas Howard, Deborah Chow (Better Call Saul), and Rick Famuyiwa (Dope).  The series is executive produced by Favreau and Filoni, as well as Colin Wilson and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

Source: AP

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