The Mandalorian starter kit: 5 essential bits of info before you binge
Star Wars: The Mandalorian, a streaming show on the Disney-based streaming media service Disney+, is a confusing show. It's not confusing if you're the sort of person that knows everything about Star Wars, but for the casual viewer, it's important to go in with a basic understanding of the environment and the timing of the show. If you've never seen any Star Wars before, you could, potentially, still watch this show, if you had the following info at your disposal.
5. That's not who you think it is
Before The Mandalorian was released, I spoke with Star Wars fans who were SURE that The Mandalorian was going to be about Boba Fett. But it's not. As far as the Star Wars canon this show operates with is concerned, Boba Fett is really, truly dead. He was consumed in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and he is most certainly NOT in the first three episodes of The Mandalorian.
4. The other "not who you think it is"
The main subject of this television series is green – in the first three episodes it's only referred to as "the child". It's not a character we've seen before – no matter how familiar it might be. This character does not yet have a name, but the placement of the show in the Star Wars universe timeline means this absolutely is NOT a character that's appeared in official Star Wars canon before now.
3. The Star Wars timeline with Mandalorian
The Mandalorian timeline begins 5 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. It fits in (for now) between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The Mandalorian doesn't HAVE to stay between those two movies, but given the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens (30 years), it would be unlikely that The Mandalorian will catch up with Rey, Finn, and Poe's big-screen adventures.
2. The Mandalorian isn't perfect
What we saw of Boba Fett and Jango Fett would lead us to believe that any Mandalorian worth their salt would be a near-unbeatable foe. This new Mandalorian character isn't that sort of character. He fails, again, and again, and that allows his victories to be all the more sweet.
1. Don't go in expecting a movie
The Mandalorian is a high-action show, but the mysteries that appear in the first several episodes are part of a slow burn. They're highly re-watchable, and include a wide variety of easter eggs for Star Wars fans. But they're not meant to be PACKED as tight as the big-screen features. This is a show that's going to (hopefully) last a long time!
Per the last update from Disney, new episodes of The Mandalorian are scheduled to appear every Friday at 2AM Central Time (midnight Pacific Time) for a while – probably at least through the end of the first season. Keep it tuned to SlashGear for analysis and Mandalorian deep dives after each viewing!