(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ: I'm from the independent world, that's how my connection
with George Lucas was,
and just seeing that all of this had been created.
What inspires me is that came from one guy sitting in a room with a pen,
writing down The Star Wars.
The ripple effects of that action, somebody just independently taking,
betting on themselves causes... Is just awe-inspiring
to see that one character that showed up briefly in Empire Strikes Back
is yielding all this for this season
and everything that Jon and Dave have done.
It's super inspiring to know that it started from one person with an idea.
(SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
Our responsibility is to be respectful to all of Star Wars.
And that means the films I grew up with,
to some extent, the Expanded Universe,
as well as everything that's been established as canon.
So, every time we discuss a storyline or character, we look at it
from the perspective, it's almost like you hold it up, look at it through each facet
and see what the implications might be.
FILONI: Here, the lightsaber boxes is a thing,
and then Ahsoka has one in Clone Wars.
FAVREAU: So, maybe he just opens it
-and takes it out. -FILONI: Like this?
FAVREAU: (LAUGHING) It's so cool.
It's all part of, you know,
Jon and mine's philosophy of making this feel like one big connected galaxy.
That's what Star Wars is. Where all the stories come together.
FAVREAU: In the beginning, the idea of somebody wearing Mandalorian armor
is clearly influenced by Boba Fett.
And coming into The Mandalorian with a new character
with a different background, with a different armor,
gave us,
I think, a lot more creative latitude.
It's almost like it were a sword, you'd lay your hand across.
That's what we're sort of...
-That's what we're emulating. -MAN 1: Yeah.
FAVREAU: At the end of the day, it was the image of Boba Fett that inspired
the whole thing.
Boba Fett was a Man with No Name kind of character.
Lone gunslinger, when I was a kid.
You didn't know his face, you didn't know who he was.
That was always hinted at in the EU and stories were kind of shadowy
in explaining maybe who he was. So it was kind of a bombshell
when the prequels came out and it was explained that he was
the clone of this bounty hunter, Jango Fett.
That was completely new information.
Hang on, son. We'll move into the asteroid field,
and we'll have a couple of surprises for him.
FAVREAU: That's the interweaving
that Star Wars had over the course of many, many years through the movies.
And we're able to do that in a much more condensed time frame.
So, bringing in Boba Fett and seeing the fans' reaction to it
and the fun that we had collaborating, that was the inspiration for us to go
and talk to everyone at Disney Plus and Kathy
and everyone at Lucasfilm about if there was a potential to explore this
as a series.
(UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MORRISON: (NARRATING) In the firelight, he is helped by the warrior,
and putting the final bits of the hardware on the weapon,
he lifts his custom slender gaffi stick.
He gives it a proficient twirl,
then holds it in both hands across his thighs.
He stares up into the stars as his new, transformed silhouette
is etched into the horizon glow of the desert planet.
He is a new man.
He is no longer alone.
He is a member of a tribe.
(EXHALES)
Okay. I'm going to makeup. I'll see you in makeup.
When George first spoke to me about Boba Fett,
he immediately said, "I cast this amazing actor from New Zealand
"called Temuera Morrison to play Jango Fett."
He said, if you ever do Boba Fett, you should cast Temuera to play Boba
because he's such a remarkable actor.
MORRISON: Boba was the guy who was the only one that caught Han Solo.
And that's what gave him the kudos.
And the fact that he was mysterious. And the fact that you didn't
see him too much, I think that worked in my favor.
That we were able to sort of... Okay, well, let's give 'em a taste.
Let's give the fans a taste of what he can actually do.
(STORMTROOPER GRUNTS AND YELPS)
For me, it was just a matter of getting those episodes
in Season 2 of The Mandalorian right for me.
And working hard and trying to make it as powerful and exciting as I could.
And maybe something would come of it, so here we are.
MORRISON (AS BOBA FETT): First day, let's go. Let's rock it.
RODRIGUEZ: Tem Morrison is Boba Fett.
'Cause he's so similar to the character himself in a lot of ways. He has
such immense presence, yet a quiet softness to him.
Kindness and generosity that can be really disarming.
So, he brings all sides of himself when he plays the character.
I'll have to ask the god of emotion to send me some emotions
very shortly. (CHUCKLES)
I'm running out of time. (SIGHS)
But I'm blessed 'cause I draw on my Māori roots.
We have the haka to draw on, that energy.
We have the waiata tangi, the po, the pokeka.
(IN ENGLISH) All these forms of song
that come from our ancestors.
that kind of put me in the right mode or mood.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUSIC STOPS)
(STRUMMING GUITAR)
(SINGING) I'm cruising on my bantha On the sands of Tatooine
Yes, I'm cruising on my bantha On the sands of Tatooine
I'm heading for Mos Eisley The Pyke Syndicate's waiting for me
(NORMAL) Robert Rodriguez, take it away, brother.
(FAST-PACED GUITAR STRUMMING)
Robert and I get on quite well. We just clicked.
We do a little training. He's got a little bit ahead of me
in the press-up department, I might add, and his biceps
have gone a little bit bigger than mine as well.
Then after we did the weights, we'd pull out the guitars.
-And away we go. -RODRIGUEZ: I like playing music
with my actors and collaborators. It builds a creative trust.
You have to be in sync with everyone, in a creative flow.
Just like you need to be when you're filming.
Keeps that fluid momentum.
(BOTH STRUMMING GUITAR)
(GUITAR MUSIC STOPS)
(SINGING) The Sarlacc Pit blues, yeah.
(CREW MEMBERS APPLAUDING)
(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(STORMTROOPER SCREAMING)
(STORMTROOPER GRUNTING)
RODRIGUEZ: Last year, when I was finishing my Season 2 episode, "The Tragedy,"
Jon and Dave both called me one day and said
that they really liked what they were seeing and my approach to Boba Fett.
They said they didn't want me just to come back and direct an episode or two,
but to bring me on in a bigger capacity as an executive producer.
It was one of the best phone calls you could ever get.
FILONI: I can't say enough of how important Robert was
to the whole process of bringing Boba to life.
He loves the character.
He makes his own animatics with action figures sometimes.
He's an expert.
He's a Jedi. He knows his stuff.
RODRIGUEZ: It's kind of cool that we hadn't seen you do this move before.
You've been training with it, but we didn't see this part.
I just thought Jon's story structure was really brilliant.
And that it was telling a Boba story that went forward,
continuing from where we left off last year.
Yet, it flashed back to answer all our burning questions
and fill in what happened to Boba after the Sarlacc Pit.
(BOBA FETT GRUNTING AND SCREAMING)
(SARLACC SNARLING)
(SARLACC BURPS)
One of the challenges for explaining how Boba Fett survived
the Sarlacc Pit is really going back
and doing the science ourselves,
thinking logically, "How could he survive?"
Maybe there's an air pocket in there or maybe he actually found
a dead stormtrooper
and was able to use his oxygen so he could kind of breathe.
And then from there, how does he escape?
'Cause the Sarlacc is a huge creature and he's, you know,
dozens of feet underground.
And so we started to think about, okay, logically, what would that be?
How would that make sense?
And I think Jon came up with the idea that literally he's just in his gut
and it needs to be a very claustrophobic space.
We had to make a bunch of stomach walls
that looked very believable and veins and texture and intestine-type tubes
and cover it with slime and bring that all together.
(BOBA FETT GRUNTING)
-(FLAMES HISSING) -(BOBA FETT SCREAMING)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
FILONI: I think the thing with Boba is once he goes down into the Sarlacc Pit,
once he's in in the subterranean world, the underworld,
that transitional moment changes someone. I mean, how could it not?
And you have an opportunity for him to come out on the other side
and make a choice about what kind of person he wants to be.
These are mine.
I will teach you how to ride.
These help us stop the train.
FAVREAU: As much fun as it is to think about a character who has
questionable morality blasting his way through the galaxy,
that only goes so far.
You can't really explore storylines. It sounds good, but when you actually
zoom in and explore what's going on with that character,
if that character is just a lawless character
who is doing really cool action sequences,
that's not Star Wars. Star Wars has to be about
each character facing certain obstacles.
Usually emotional ones as well as physical ones, you know?
There may be a villain you're facing off
but if there's no internal conflict going on with the character,
you're losing half of what makes it impactful.
And so, we found a way to hopefully preserve
the edginess of the character.
How good they are at what they do. That they were a top bounty hunter
in the galaxy that was being hired by Darth Vader.
How do you live up to that,
but still show that that character has learned the lessons
of time and of experience?
I am proposing that all the families of Mos Espa
join in a defensive alliance
until the Pyke Syndicate is vanquished.
Jon was really teeing off of a bunch of ideas
of gangster films.
We'd talk about the icon of Conan
and what his journey is to become king and all those kind of very strong images
that we've grown up with in different films like The Godfather.
And since Boba was involved in the underworld,
that was going to be his realm where his journey played out.
FAVREAU: By looking into the genre of gangster movies, you see that there are
challenges of conscience that they go through, and political challenges
and facing off with people who are more morally ambiguous,
and what do you stand for in this world?
Is it just the rise to power? Or is there also an examination
of what the purpose of wielding such power is?
You all accrued wealth and riches under Jabba the Hutt.
You can again, if you listen to Boba Fett.
FILONI: A character like Boba is great,
but you need another strong character to support him.
And not just support, but sometimes lead on their own.
That's when Jon and I decided Fennec could play a really big role in this.
Especially because of Ming-Na.
RODRIGUEZ: Ming-Na brings such an incredible swagger to her character.
We played with that a lot.
There was something I called "the Fennec look."
Where sometimes I would design scenes to just end on her giving Boba
a look that spoke volumes.
(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Plus, she's a huge, huge Star Wars fan.
You know, it's gonna take me a little bit to not geek out about 8D8
when they start moving him. I'm just letting you know
I might slip out of character a bit.
I got to ride a bantha.
You know, a bantha that moves its head, that actually travels
and the back undulates.
It's the best toys in the world.
-(LAUGHS) -MAN: That's a beautiful toy.
We're back!
I have to remind myself, or Tem reminds me to...
(LAUGHING)
To focus and stop being such a geek.
I'm trying not to freak out here.
MORRISON: We get on so well now and I've gotten to know her so well that
even when I'm reading the script,
I can always... I can hear her now. I can hear her voice.
Because of the nice dynamic that we have.
It's always good when the camera can capture a little bit of
that vibe that happens between two actors when they're going at it.
(SINGING SOFTLY)
(MING-NA WEN LAUGHING)
(NORMAL) It's like a dance.
Are we tangoing?
The way the two of them work together,
and the equal power and trust they both have
for one another is really pretty remarkable.
You just feel this sense that they've known each other forever.
And that he really depends on her.
If I may...
Speak freely.
In difficult times, fear is a surer bet.
RODRIGUEZ: You're starting to get surrounded, you're already moving it.
And raising it up in time to shoot.
So, by the time you shoot, there's four.
When you direct a pilot episode, you are establishing a lot.
You're setting the style and tone for the whole series.
And I wanted, for one thing, the level of action to live up to
the promise of Boba from last season.
But I also needed to establish how he'd conduct business in the palace.
Would you be loyal to me if I were to spare you?
RODRIGUEZ: I had to establish the flashbacks and how
he works his way up to the ranks of the Tuskens.
We wanted those Tuskens to look unlike any tribe we'd seen before.
So, we went through a whole design process on that.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(SAND CREATURE GROWLS)
RODRIGUEZ: My favorite original creature this year is the sand creature by far.
But it's 'cause I've always wanted to make something with a four-arm creature.
(SAND CREATURE SNARLS)
We were first designing all of this, it was early preproduction.
And it's COVID, and everyone's remote. So, you're limited to a Zoom call.
So, how can you even communicate the idea on how this thing would look and move?
So, once again, I had to go back to my homemade filmmaking
roots of action figures and crude animatics
and I made this quick little sculpture armature in order to demonstrate
how this creature would look, how he'd move,
how he'd go from being a bipedal creature
and drop down into a centaur-type mode
where his front arms were like legs, but they're still like hands.
I had meant to quickly add clay and sculpt the rest of it,
but then I thought filming it would be even faster.
(GROWLING)
(SNARLING)
KAVANAGH: It was an amazing piece of reference for us to follow
the feel of the sequence. He really wanted to feel like old-school,
you know, the stop-motion days,
Ray Harryhausen days, Clash of the Titans,
all of that kind of thing.
And the creature design lended itself perfectly to that.
RODRIGUEZ: I wanted him to use every arm strategically in the fight.
And if you manage to tie down even two of his arms with a chain,
well, he still has two more. So that if he punches Boba,
he actually punches him twice, one with each arm.
You can see why none of the Tuskens have been able to bring this guy down.
So, when Boba figures out a way to do it, he proves to the tribe that he's an asset.
(CHAINS RATTLING)
MORRISON: I think for Boba Fett, he's actually
seen a new kind of light, a new kind of life,
in terms of being nurtured by the Tuskens.
In terms of having that family kind of feel,
that community feel which he's never had.
BOBA FETT: Warriors, prepare to fight!
Warriors, prepare to fight! Riders, follow me!
STEPH: I made sure to watch Lawrence of Arabia,
and A Man Called Horse for this particular episode.
Because Lawrence of Arabia had those incredible train sequences.
And there was some cinematography that Dean Cundey and I
really studied from Lawrence Of Arabia.
CUNDEY: The task is always to take everything that's gone before,
everything the audience has, you know, reacted to positively,
and saying, "Now, how can I add my story
"to that emotional element that they loved?"
So, I think it's fascinating that Jon is able to,
you know, instantly point to a vivid moment
that is all about something the audience loved in another movie
that applies to the world of Star Wars and in particular, Boba Fett.
FAVREAU: The imagery is very strong of trying to keep control
and not let chaos escalate,
even when you're doing things for the right reasons.
So, I think that's what the whole show is about, is him trying to figure out
how to control all of these overwhelming, intersecting forces.
Jon's showing us this footage of Lawrence of Arabia.
And for me, I'm watching it 'cause... Back in New Zealand,
I watched these movies as a young boy.
I loved Omar Sharif,
and I'm seeing all my childhood actors. I loved Anthony Quinn.
And there they all are. And I'm watching this and then
we go out, we watch the previs, Jon tells us the background,
and then away we go and start shooting. And there's sand, there's a train.
And I feel like I'm in Lawrence of Arabia. But now, I'm Lawrence.
(LAUGHS)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
He's a changed man. And as we all grow up, we mature.
And as we get a little bit of maturity, sometimes we soften, we change,
and I think that's what happened to Boba in a way.
Off with the mask. A new man with a new tribe.
(MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
He's not alone anymore.
In the original script, Boba was accepted by the tribe.
He sort of had a moment with the chief and then he stood holding his gaffi.
And I remember early on, Jon, Dave, Robert, we were all talking
about how we needed to do more.
We needed something more powerful at the end.
MALE CREW MEMBER: All right, here we go. Lock it up. Let's roll sound.
Ready, and action.
STEPH: We worked with the fight choreographers. We worked with the stunt
performers that were playing the tribe members
and came up with this
group movement that I think is really powerful at the end.
FEMALE CREW MEMBER: And one, two, three, four,
and tilt, and go, and go, go.
MORRISON: I bring my Māori cultural stuff into it, that's more of an energy thing.
And plus, I've been trained in some of what we call the taiaha, our staff,
which has come in handy when I'm using the gaffi stick.
A lot of the conversations that take place around Star Wars
are how do you account for what's been shown already?
You know, designs, characters, storylines,
and this was opportunity for us not just to evolve Boba Fett,
but to evolve the culture of Mos Espa.
The only tribute I bear is a heartfelt welcome from the Mayor
which I express in his stead.
Every day on set was like Christmas. Because even while I was directing,
new characters and props,
or Legacy practical effects builds would show up.
So, you'd be called away from the set to go see
the Hammerhead Mayor showing up one day.
That was amazing. Jon and Dave and I got to see him when he was
all put together for the first time.
You felt like you're at a space zoo. It looked so real.
FILONI: It has so much emotion in its strange, otherworldly shape.
And it's one of the most iconic characters from the cantina.
If you didn't remember anything else, you go, "That Hammerhead guy
"was outstanding." It just left a mark and...
I've seen it done several times in the different films and it's shocking how
alive it feels when you're staring at it.
Who is this who enters unannounced?
I actually play inside of that character.
We made a backpack to help support the weight of that character.
We took a fiberglass shell and mounted that so I could wear it
so that the weight would be distributed better.
But it's figuring out what's it need to do?
It needs to blink, it needs to have a brow.
In the case of the Ithorian,
you had these strange mouths on either side that are moving
and he's speaking in whale speak, and then it's being translated.
So he has a translator box on him.
MOK: The Order of the Night Wind are not allowed to operate outside of Hutt Space.
-(SPEAKS ITHORESE) -Thank you for turning him in.
I always find it funny, now that we're doing these live-action series,
we run into a lot of the problems we did back on Clone Wars.
'Cause now you're telling so many stories,
"I'd like to have an Ithorian but I'd like it to talk.
"We don't want to subtitle it."
So how do we do that? There's a voice box.
If you look at this episode of Clone Wars, we had it.
Then they make it and I'm staring at it, I'm like,
"Oh, my gosh, there's our voice box." It's so neat to see that still there.
You know, and that it's... Again, that's what fans want.
They want one connected universe.
Running a family is more complicated than bounty hunting.
Is that it?
Go to Garsa's Sanctuary.
You'll see what I speak of.
TRPCIC: For Garsa's, we had about 300 new costumes that had never been seen before.
I have stacks of books written on anything to do with Star Wars.
I even have Battlefront books. I just make sure that
I stay within that aesthetic and stay within that world.
So, that was a really fun challenge,
to make sure there was a separation between all the peoples
that we're meeting in this series.
I think you've made your point.
Garsa Fwip is the proprietor of the Sanctuary.
And the Sanctuary is this extraordinary
casino, cantina bar on Tatooine.
So, if you can imagine, it's kind of like Rick's in Casablanca.
And she's Rick.
Or some mash-up between Rick and Beyoncé
and Lauren Bacall, I guess. I don't know.
I remember your years in the Pit.
I've never seen a more impressive display of martial prowess.
You were a legend.
BEALS: She can read whoever she's speaking with and be able to navigate
and be able to stay alive, to be able to survive and thrive.
But to be part of that legacy of strong female characters in this world
is an unbelievable honor.
So, what say you release this customer
and let these fine folks get back to their fun and in return,
I will wipe your debt off the books.
(GRUNTING)
(CHOKING)
(BLACK KRRSANTAN GRUNTS)
(TRANDOSHAN ADVENTURER SCREAMS)
(SANCTUARY PATRONS SCREAMING AND GASPING)
It was worth a shot.
(SIGHS)
BOBA FETT: Hey, mate.
Looks like you could use a job.
FILONI: There have been a number of Wookiees like Krrsantan
over the years in the Expanded Universe where people have said,
"What if it's not Chewbacca, or like a dark version of Chewbacca."
A Wookiee bounty hunter, a Wookiee Jedi.
When you get to it, the first thing is
how does a kid look at him and know it's not Chewbacca?
It has to be visually striking in a way that's different immediately.
Carey, what he brings to the performance, his posture, the way he stands,
it's different than Peter.
He's got, you know, these piercing eyes
where Peter had very kind, gentle eyes.
Take care of yourself, okay?
(CHEWBACCA TRILLS)
(GASPS)
(CHUCKLING) Okay, okay.
CAREY: I had to create this attitude for this guy because
he's always pissed. (LAUGHS) That's who he is.
I wanted to make sure, even if I was standing there
and I didn't have my face to show that, it came through the character in the suit.
(ROARS)
ROSENGRANT: Robert Rodriguez had worked with Carey Jones before.
Carey Jones actually used to work with me over at Stan Winston's years ago.
But Carey really embraced the part, the role.
And also being another practical effects guy,
he knew what he was getting into.
Legacy came up with this amazing system which...
It blew my mind, right? So, whenever I would open up and articulate my mouth,
it would actually open and close the jaw in Krrsantan.
And even brow, if I wanted to scowl or raise them up,
it would move and articulate the face.
Which I love.
(GROWLING AND SNARLING)
(BOBA FETT GRUNTING)
MORRISON: They're trying to create a fight style for Boba.
Whereas The Mandalorian is a gunslinger, slick gunslinger,
I'm more like a Conan, and that was the reference.
But in saying that, too, I also wanted to make it not look so bash-bash,
one-dimensional. I wanted him to be quite precise,
and we see a little bit of that when he's using the gaffi stick.
So I did a bit of a research and I found out that the gaffi stick
was actually based on a Fijian warrior weapon
and is known as a totokia, and the thing is actually a bird beak.
So, I took all that into account, that when I do strike,
I actually use the proper parts of the weapon.
Even when I haven't got the weapon, I still kind of use that knot.
So, if I am punching or hitting, I use more of a twist motion
to represent the knot in that gaffi stick,
just to give it a little bit of a style of his own.
(WEAPON LOADING)
TANCHAROEN: I was really excited because my episode is picking up
from Season 1, Episode 5, the one that Filoni did called "The Gunslinger."
Where everyone was like, "My God, is that Boba Fett walking?"
'Cause the second you heard the spurs, everyone was like,
"We know who that is."
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
We continue the story, so he rescues her, he takes her to a mod parlor.
I get to establish how she got her cybernetic robot stomach.
Which has been super fun for me.
-TANCHAROEN: We wanna see him put this... -MAN: Thought this T-brace was in this.
We're definitely making that a loose piece.
First of all, there was a lot of practicals.
Because what they needed to do is sort of like a really cool magician's trick
where I am in a box,
and then they laid over it this prosthetic piece of me
on top. So, it looks like I'm lying flat on the bed.
And I joked, it's like the woman that gets sawed in half kind of trick.
And then that way they can show
the modifier operating on my belly, you could see the mechanics.
(DEVICE WHIRRING)
(DEVICE BEEPING)
Aren't you gonna close her up?
And cover all that beautiful machinery?
We introduced The Mandalorian, as somebody who was a very...
Had very mixed feeling about droids.
And now the next generation's actually installing droid parts into their body.
It's the evolution of each generation, how their attitudes change
compared to the previous ones.
What did you do to me?
I brought you to a mod parlor on the outskirts of Mos Eisley.
(FENNEC BREATHES HEAVILY)
BOBA FETT: I'm tired of our kind dying because of the idiocy of others.
We're smarter than them.
It's time we took our shot.
We?
Right from the beginning, Boba Fett felt like
kind of The Addams Family version of The Mandalorian,
where his droid was 8D8,
that Matt Berry plays with this really sardonic voice.
Their tortured squeals will send a piercing message
to all potential challengers to your throne.
FAVREAU: The castle feels like a haunted castle,
and the rancor, it's not there anymore,
so we knew we had to figure out a way to get...
To start populating his menagerie.
(SPEAKING HUTTESE)
(CREATURE SNARLING SOFTLY)
FENNEC: (IN ENGLISH) It's quite the gift.
There was a beautiful miniature build
for the interior that the rancor... Like the rancor pit.
ANDREW: It was actually quite a big model of the gates and the opening,
and the rocks and the grating at the top.
We like to be almost archeological in our precisions.
There's researchers at ILM who are able to get us behind-the-scenes images
from the original films and we're able to get very accurate.
DAMM: We did a scan and took the scan to be used actually on our LED volume,
so that we could shoot the actors within this environment.
FAVREAU: In my mind,
the part that makes the rancor most memorable
was that the rancor trainer gets so sad when the rancor...
When Luke ends up closing the gate on his head.
And, you know, Luke's fighting for his life.
So you're cheering for him, and then,
you see this poor rancor keeper just really sad being reassured,
I just found that really curious. Is it like dogs?
(KEEPER CRYING)
The idea of bringing that dimension to it was really fun,
and then, of course, I think the part that pulls it all together is
you got the trainer.
I don't trust anybody that don't like dogs.
I think you have to be a dog lover to really appreciate the rancor.
And he is just like, just a giant dog.
And you can train him to be vicious, you can train him as a protector
or you can train him to be a puppy.
(BOBA FETT SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(RANCOR COOS)
This is the spot, right?
Is this the spot? (CHUCKLING) Yeah.
If he bonds with you, you know, if you're his guy,
then it's like what you say goes,
and Boba Fett really understands that.
When I take off that hood and he's looking at Boba Fett,
and he's sayin' okay, you know,
my guy trusts you, so I'm gonna trust you.
-(RANCOR GROWLS) -Easy, boy. Easy.
He's one of the most beloved creatures in Return of the Jedi.
And when we had an opportunity to bring him back for Book of Boba,
I had the biggest smile on my face when Jon said, "Okay,
"let's try to find a sequence to, you know, honor that creature."
And to honor that creature, we actually went back and looked at all the footage,
we looked at all the original maquettes,
because we wanted to capture the essence.
It's not the same rancor, so it could be slightly different.
But we wanted to preserve the charm of what we saw.
And the charm came from this hand puppet built by Phil Tippett.
It was a rubber monster.
But the way it was photographed, the way it was lit,
the way it was painted, was absolutely great.
It didn't look absolutely photo-real. But that wasn't necessary.
It was more the emotional impact. And that's what we wanted to capture.
(GROWLING)
CHIANG: In Return of the Jedi, we had a huge practical hand that grabbed Luke.
And so we thought, well, in this version, Boba Fett's gonna ride it.
Do we want him to ride a giant blue-screen monster,
or do we actually want him to ride a real rancor head?
And I think the decision was, "Let's go all out."
FAVREAU: It's bringing back memories, isn't it?
Back in the old days.
It also went far beyond just having the head.
Because what we ended up doing is using the practical head and the shoulders,
and then building this CG arms off of the practical.
So, depending on what shot you're looking at, it's either all CG,
it's all practical, or it's a combination.
And as soon as you get a full-size creature that might have
a slight mechanical motion, you start to believe it a lot more.
You had to almost tell yourself this isn't real.
(CHUCKLING) You know what I mean?
I mean, because your... This thing is massive, it's moving,
and it's, you know, like when...
When you got an animatronic or whatever and it moves,
this part moves,
but when the neck muscles, when everything moves with it,
it's like, wow.
I want to learn to ride this one.
You what?
FILONI: At the very beginning, Jon and I look through all the season
and Jon has a bunch of things he wants to accomplish,
and, you know, we both like Mando,
and we felt that it would be difficult
for us to go a whole season without seeing him.
And so, he's a friend of Boba's,
so it makes sense to bring him back into the story.
DIN DJARIN: What's the bounty?
No bounty. We need muscle.
DIN DJARIN: Boba Fett.
He sure would appreciate it.
FAVREAU: Having The Book of Boba Fett come in the timeline and let everything settle,
it allowed us to let some time pass
to take a breather and meet The Mandalorian
after he'd taken his helmet off
and that The Child was no longer in his life.
That father-child relationship that had developed was no longer there.
And so his life, I think, would lose some of its meaning.
That felt like fertile territory.
I can bring you in warm,
or I can bring you in cold.
DALLAS HOWARD: He's back to being a bounty hunter. He has the Darksaber.
You know, you can feel that he's someone who is searching for his home...
He's searching for his place in the galaxy.
(DEVICE BEEPING AND WHIRRING)
Early on in the episode,
you see Mando make his way to the Armorer and Heavy and reconnect with them.
And in that process, he is able to seek out training.
-(BOTH GRUNTING) -(SWORDS CLASHING)
-(DIN DJARIN GRUNTS) -ARMORER: There, feel it.
-(METAL CLANGING) -You are too weak to fight the Darksaber.
It will win if you fight against it.
You cannot control it with your strength.
FAVREAU: Exposition can always be a huge speed bump in the middle of the road.
But in Star Wars, you're at the edge of your seat
'cause you wanna know more about the lore.
I always point back to the scene where the lightsaber comes out
and Obi-Wan Kenobi starts talking about the Clone Wars and Luke's father.
You fought in the Clone Wars?
Yes. I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father.
I wish I'd known him.
He was the best starpilot in the galaxy
and a cunning warrior.
I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself.
So, to have the backstory of Mandalore show up now,
three seasons into our storytelling,
because people are so curious about what was The Purge,
what was the Night of a Thousand Tears, the Songs of the Eons Past.
And so we started to begin to show imagery.
Now, that imagery had to be evocative of what George and Dave created
in Mandalore and the animated shows.
But this was our way to start to get into that.
ARMORER: Those born of Mandalore strayed away from the path.
Eventually, the Imperial interlopers destroyed
all that we knew and loved in the Night of a Thousand Tears.
(EXPLODING)
The Purge of Mandalore was an interesting sequence.
We looked at a lot of movie references for things, you know, like Jarhead,
where, you know, they're out in the desert, the oil fields,
and it's just silhouettes of soldiers with just destruction.
It looks like hell on earth behind them.
You know, they're in amongst this debris,
and as you see the robots coming towards you,
we used K-2SO droids, which is really interesting.
We used probe droids, again very interesting,
you know, to see those back,
coming through the fire and silhouetted against all of this rubble,
and it's really strong imagery.
Only those that walked the way escaped the curse prophesized in the Creed.
FAVREAU: And now, we're learning more about the covert and what the rules are.
And how much it hurts him to be a pariah
because he broke the one rule that he understood he can never break.
Din Djarin, have you ever removed your helmet?
I have.
Then, you are a Mandalorian no more.
I beg you for your forgiveness. (BREATHING HEAVILY) How can I atone?
PAZ VIZSLA: Leave, apostate.
I got your message.
Message? What message?
You said you found me a replacement for the Razor Crest.
Yeah, that's right, that's what I said, that's what I do.
I've been working my butt off, yeah. Did you bring the cash?
The N-1 is very dear to me
because I originally designed that for Phantom Menace.
You know, it was supposed to be Anakin's speeder.
It was designed specifically to look like an F1 version of an X-wing.
George and I kind of really figured out the nuances of that,
and it's a very distinct style.
It's a very handcrafted piece of machinery.
Jon basically said, you know, let's treat it like a classic vintage car.
Let's bring it back out of mothball as if, you know, Peli found it in a garage
and presented it, and now they're fixing it up,
they're hot-rodding it together, they're retrofitting things,
updating it, keeping the aesthetic of what was there,
but now turning it into something new.
Great news. I found you a turbonic venturi power assimilator.
You're gonna be the fastest ship in the Outer Rim.
FAVREAU: In the '50s or the '60s,
when George Lucas had set American Graffiti,
they were driving around Deuce Coupes or three-window '32 Fords
and they would take those and chop parts off of it
and throw on speed modifications.
And so, we wanted to keep that spirit alive,
so the idea of creating an N-1 starfighter
in a garage with a mechanic,
building your own customized version of that.
That's part of what Star Wars is about.
You're both fully in it and stoked.
So it's not like, "Where is the vapor manifold?"
So, it's really... It's like, "What, she's got something up her sleeve."
And indeed she does.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
This design was first drawn over 23 years ago.
And I remember I sat in it 23 years ago in Leavesden, London,
when we were shooting that film.
I had an opportunity to actually sit in this new version 23 years later,
and it just made me smile because it was like, you know, I never grew up.
This was always there.
CHIANG: That is so sweet. (LAUGHS)
(CREW MEMBERS APPLAUDING)
Jon started talking about, you know, having this training sequence with Luke
because we knew the audience is gonna wonder what's happening to Grogu,
and how do we want Luke to be as a teacher?
The symmetry
of being trained by that species, and then taking one
of the same kind to train was very satisfying.
Luke has to suppress his sentimental side
and be as professional as he can
to try and imbue his student with the values that he's going to need
if he's going to be a Jedi Master.
FILONI: I've always felt with Luke
that he is a step more on the Qui-Gon Jinn path,
even though he didn't really know Qui-Gon.
But if you go, Qui-Gon taught Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan taught Luke,
you can get that kind of methodology there.
It's also interesting because Qui-Gon taught Obi-Wan,
Obi-Wan taught Anakin.
So Obi-Wan teaches father and son, which I find compelling.
And then father teaches Ahsoka, very compelling.
I admit Ahsoka is a little rough around the edges,
but with a great deal of training and patience,
she might amount to something.
FILONI: The biggest thing was putting her on-screen with Luke.
It's a strange relationship they have because she was taught by his father,
he never really knew his father.
So, they can provide some context for each other in a beautiful way.
So much like your father.
Star Wars has always been unique in the sense that,
strong female characters.
The Princess was no shrinking violet.
Into the garbage chute, flyboy.
HAMILL: You know, she stood face to face with Vader and, you know,
sassed right in his face.
And with Ahsoka, you know, here you have a Jedi woman
with this complicated backstory.
It's just thrilling.
I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight.
To the best of us.
I will not start this child down that path.
And of course Rosario is just delightful.
Well, it was really funny... This is a funny moment with Rosario.
She didn't realize 'cause her script said Plo Koon.
She didn't know until the day we were shooting
that she wasn't gonna meet Plo Koon.
So I'm doing all of my scenes, like,
okay, like that's gonna be really interesting, like, Master Plo Koon.
I'm a little confused by that, but, like, okay,
that could be interesting, like, how is it jumping around?
I don't know. I was like, it's gonna make sense.
When I get to the set, I'll ask all the questions
and, like, figure it out.
And then comes Mark Hamill.
I just... I couldn't believe I was standing there in front of him
and we're working together, like...
Again, I've got lightsabers,
and there is, like, a baby Yoda
and actual Luke Skywalker in front of me.
Like, I can't believe I didn't faint that day.
I can't believe that they kept that secret from me even on the day...
Up until I was on set with him.
Will I see you again?
Perhaps.
May the Force be with you.
FILONI: The key was having Mark there
because you get how much it means to him.
This character.
You understand that as you see him there and...
And just the look in his eye when he would watch Graham performing,
this sense of, I think, pride that he had
in watching that committed performance and that he was a part of it.
HAMILL: I say, "He once said to me, while not looking at him,
"Size matters not."
And I feel that makes an imprint on Grogu.
Grogu stops, and I feel that. And then I turn around.
KLEIN: We would do takes with Mark, and then we would do takes with Graham,
and it was always one camera because we had what's called a flux rig
on our camera, which is basically two small IR cameras
on either side of our taking lens
and, you know, and Graham has infrared invisible dots on his face.
Some visible, some invisible. And it works really well.
But ownership of that character belongs to Mark.
FILONI: Mark and Graham, they really had to fuse and become Luke,
and Mark had to share all his knowledge of what it means to be Luke.
Just very special for all of us.
"Size matters not."
That's the way he'd talk.
He would speak in riddles.
Have you heard anyone talk like that back home?
HAMILL: It's a process that's new to both of us.
So, we're just trying to give the filmmakers everything they need.
I've done all aspects, theater, radio, television, movies.
Each one of them has its specific requirements.
But this is a completely new aspect.
I'm wondering if there's... I'm changing the timing of,
"Wait before you take it."
Because I think earlier I laid it out.
FILONI: Yeah.
And then he was gone again, I go "Wait."
HAMILL: With this, it's a composite performance.
Not just from the stunt double, but input from the director and what's on the page,
all of these elements coming together
so that it's an ongoing learning experience.
So there and there.
FILONI: Yeah, there.
I think one of the most fun things about working on this show
is Jon and Dave and Robert are so supportive of trial and error.
And this is something that we really have to have a safe space to try, and retry,
and learn and improve with the technology like this.
One of the most satisfying aspects of the work that we did with Luke
was the progression.
Where we started at the end of Season 2
was a place where we gained a lot of experience.
So, for Season 2, we partnered with the visual effects artists at Lola.
And of course, through that process,
they were using deepfake to understand what the likeness needed to be
for our Luke Skywalker face swap.
At the time, we weren't able to use them in the final product
because the technology was still developing.
We couldn't get the resolution required.
For Book of Boba Fett,
we knew that we needed to do 10 times the amount of work.
The character really had to carry the episode.
And because of the stunt work required, we also needed a CG head.
So it was that point that we knew what we wanted to do
was talk to John Knoll and ILM to see
how could we combine all of the new technologies that are out there,
as well as a CG head, to solve the problem on Book of Boba Fett.
Landis continued his developments with the deepfake work and, of course,
we worked with Dave Klein on running many, many, many tests ahead of the shoot.
We shot plates on the backlot outside in different times of day.
We shot it on the LED volume,
different tests of Graham moving his head around
at different angles on cranes
with a variety of different LED volume loads,
and we had to figure out where it breaks.
BLUFF: The level of progression continued to develop.
So, once the work was turned over to ILM
and Pete Demarest got hold of the high-res material
and started cranking everything up to 11,
the improvement continued to grow.
And, I think, for ILM, that continued to advance
when they hired Sam Head.
Someone, of course, that's very familiar to people
that have followed the progression of deepfake work,
in particular of this character.
He came in and was able to offer advice and guidance,
and it was really a collaborative effort between Pete Demarest, and Sam,
John Knoll, Landis, and the many, many, many other artists that allowed this work
to achieve the heights that it did.
Jump, and as you do, feel the Force flow through you.
(GROGU GRUNTS)
You're trying too hard. Don't try.
Do.
When working on visual effects, we're obviously working on the back end
and more often than not, there's this thought process of, like,
"That is gonna be really hard to do practical."
Having this baby swing around, do flips,
and I think we internally kind of
prepped ourselves for a lot of digital recreations.
We didn't have to do a great deal, actually, to make that work.
Look at you.
(MEN LAUGHING)
-The breakout star. -(ALL LAUGHING)
BLUFF: Oftentimes you would find Mike Manzel and his team
in a stage with Grogu on the end of a rod,
trying to figure out how to do backflips.
And to try to see how real that they could make it with landings.
And I think that every now and again they would invite Jon and Dave in,
of course, to see those rehearsals.
And I think at that point,
you could see that Dave was checking off in his mind
how he could potentially edit that sequence.
It's really simple beats, and I think at the end,
you know, we'll just have a moment where the camera sits on him.
FILONI: When Luke is training Grogu,
you have to make the audience believe
that it actually might be better for Grogu to be with Luke
than it is to be with Mando.
That's the whole trick.
Of course, we want him to be with Mando.
But is that the right thing?
And I don't think Luke is presenting an argument either way.
Because I think Luke also, of any Jedi in the galaxy,
understands what it would be like to be with the person you care about most.
To be with your father figure.
So I think Luke is a really, really good mentor for Grogu.
(N-1 FIGHTER SHIP WHOOSHING)
(GROGU COOS AND GRUNTS)
(N-1 FIGHTER SHIP WHIRRING)
RODRIGUEZ: Jon turned in the script for Episode 7, the season finale,
which was just a long, dense script.
More like a double episode that was just massive and had everything in it.
Mando, baby Yoda, Scorpeneks, Krrsantan unleashed,
Cad Bane, Boba riding atop a rancor,
all the Gotras and factions fight in the city streets.
That episode alone was like a Star Wars greatest hits package.
Just overflowing with all things cool.
And I wanted to do it so badly,
but I thought for sure Jon would wanna direct that one himself
'cause he hadn't committed to any other episodes.
So, I went to him and made a whole case for why I should be the one to direct it.
And he said "Hmm..."
And he just scratched his chin,
just long enough to give me a heart attack,
and then he said, "Okay, you can direct it."
I still don't understand how he got it all in the can,
like, how did he capture?
You watch this episode where the rancor attacks Mos Espa.
It's like a major movie, like... And we're just on our little backlot here,
and Robert's (CHUCKLES) running around with the camera and the team,
and, you know, his energy is in every frame.
RODRIGUEZ: Show us the knife, you get ready to leave,
and as you're leaving, just give them, like, one last look.
Staging of the final battle in Episode 7 was massive.
Even though we attacked it early on in preproduction
by crafting very specific animatics and previs
that I was able to edit down into a pretty tight construction.
I do that because I knew we'd be out on real sets, out in the sun,
we weren't gonna be on the volume.
So, I'd be free to invent a lot of action on the fly,
which is when I'm really in my element, and I love that.
Where you just get a wide-open playground with some cool characters,
and we'll just go to town.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
FAVREAU: Cad Bane was a character that came up in The Clone Wars
that Dave was a big part of bringing to the world.
Your hat sure makes you stand out.
I don't like to hide under a helmet.
FILONI: I didn't know how we'd pull it off. But Legacy, you know,
came up with a concept where the...
It gets so tight on the face of the actor here
that what you're seeing is his real mouth moving.
Boba Fett is a cold-blooded killer who worked for the Empire.
We created and sculpted those pieces here.
One of my key sculptors, Jason Matthews, did that
and really crafted the look to match the character
in the animated series of Cad Bane.
Great actor, Dorian Kingi,
who is a perfect body type for Cad, plays it.
Without giving away all the tricks, we made some very intricate teeth
that would make his mouth protrude
to get that bone structure of Cad.
This isn't the first time I beat you out on a job.
(BOBA FETT CRIES IN PAIN)
The face, that actually came together really quickly.
The hardest, I think, was the hat. We had to get the hat just right,
and I sent them many pictures of Lee Van Cleef.
'Cause in the backstory of Cad Bane, when George created this character,
he created the name Cad Bane, and he said
this is kind of the Lee Van Cleef to Boba Fett's Clint Eastwood.
I'm still faster than you.
That may be,
but I have armor.
Let's find out.
MORRISON: Wearing that armor gives you a sense of power,
and soon as you put it on, you kind of feel...
You feel it, too. You feel it from the inside.
So, you feel a little bit more powerful and stronger.
And it's interesting to note that even when I've got the helmet on,
you know, and Robert's watching a lot of the cuts in the edit,
he still feels the character coming through the helmet as well,
you know, just the little things that...
Just the way the helmet might only move a little bit,
but you kind of get a sense of what I'm doing underneath the helmet,
and it's still oozing through.
I can't abandon Mos Espa.
These people are counting on me.
(GROWLING)
-(GUNS FIRING) -(GROWLING)
FAVREAU: The idea that the rancor would be loose in Mos Espa
with all the domes and the towers,
and that you can get into, like, this kaiju-scale battle, like King Kong,
-with this character that already feels -(RANCOR GROWLING)
kind of stop-motion or Harryhausen-ish anyway.
And to have that character on the loose.
(RANCOR SNARLS)
(RANCOR GROWLS)
And then, of course, to have Grogu be able to step in
with his loving spirit and to help end that sequence in a way
that's hopefully unexpected, but heartfelt.
It felt very right.
(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)
I wanted it to feel like his powers have evolved in a subtle way.
So if you notice, I made sure he didn't close his eyes
when he was using his powers at that moment.
I wanted to keep them open,
almost as if he's just sending love and calm and empathy to the beast.
It's the first time you see him use the Force without closing his eyes.
Not till the very end of the shot
does he close them to finish putting the rancor to sleep.
FILONI: What did he learn from Luke?
It's not about this power to destroy, to become an expert swordsman.
But it's a simpler power to calm something down,
to abate something's rage, its anger, its fear.
Grogu takes that away, makes it calm down,
and thus we're right back into being what a Jedi and the Force is all about.
-(RANCOR GRUNTING) -(GROGU COOING)
FAVREAU: The nature of these storylines are baked into the cake
when you're dealing with the hero's journey,
because it's about becoming part of something larger than yourself.
That's what heroism really is.
Heroism is putting your own individual needs aside
and making them subservient to, well, something bigger than yourself.
And that thing bigger than yourself could be,
in the case of The Mandalorian in the first season,
creating a family and being a father to this orphaned child.
Or in Boba Fett, it could mean, after losing his tribe,
creating a tribe or a community of his own with what he's learned.
MORRISON: He's a little bit changed, and I think he can always
revert back to those ways,
but now, along with finding Fennec
and seeing that she was in the same place that he was,
so I think he's really seeking more family kind of comforts
and understanding it a little bit more,
and those are the things that Boba never had.
So, that's been part of his emotional journey.
Why must everyone bow at me?
It's better than shooting.
BOBA FETT: Are those my only two choices?
When you run the town, it is.
For me, The Book of Boba Fett is so many full circles.
You know, getting to work with my favorite Star Wars character, Boba Fett.
Getting to work and play in this world created by George Lucas who, you know,
is really the guy that personally shared secrets of the future of filmmaking
with me early in my career that set me on the path that put me right here.
(UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING)
FILONI: When I walk around this studio,
there are amazing people that are invested in bringing these characters to the screen
and it means something to them.
And Jon and I, we want it to mean something
to people that are working on it.
It is my great, great honor to say
that is a season wrap on Book of Boba Fett, y'all.
-Congrats. We did it! -(CREW MEMBERS CHEERING)
FILONI: I think we've got some really good Jedi working on this series.
We're really lucky to have 'em.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)