To date, both seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+ have managed to avoid the pitfalls of both the Prequel Trilogy and now Disney's Sequel Trilogy in balancing story with special effects.
While much of the attention for Season 2 of The Mandalorian focused on its various cameos and connected storytelling, Lucasfilm totally raised the bar in their production quality and level of visual effects, especially considering that the series is just that. A television series. Not a theatrical film.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF WHAT FANS SAW ON SCREEN
Image Engine VFX released a video breaking down a number of incredible, action-packed visual effects scenes from The Mandalorian's sophomore season, as well as how Boba Fett finally fired his signature jetpack!
The video primarily focuses on Season 2's second episode, titled "The Passenger," and the sixth episode, titled "The Tragedy."
In "The Passenger," spiders similar to Star Wars arachnid called the Krykna attack Mando, Grogu, and the Frog Lady, resulting in serious damage to Mando's ship the Razor Crest.
Image Engine's video shows how the scenes were composited to create such fluid, action-filled scenes and how the layering of images contributes to the spider's realism.
For "The Tragedy," the breakdown video focused on several scenes ranging from the ships and explosions to the Stormtroopers in action to that glorious shot of Boba Fett firing his jetpack.
The reveal of how these scenes were composited highlighted what the physical shots and terrain looked like before the ships and explosions were painted in, offering the perspective of what the actors saw and experienced compared to what the audience saw on their screens.
THIS IS THE WAY TO HANDLE VFX
The original Star Wars trilogy changed how movies are made, and in only two seasons, The Mandalorian has been lauded for continuing that legacy through the use of StageCraft/Volume technology.
This is the use of a massive, wraparound LED screen immersing the cast inside computer-generated sets while incorporating practical props and effects whenever possible.
The marriage of innovation with practical and digital with physical is an essential element of The Mandalorian's secret sauce, but the two opposite media would work against one another if not handled properly.
This video not only pulls back the curtain to show fans how those scenes are created, but also how Favreau and Filoni are expertly marrying techniques of the past with the innovation of the future.
