Back in January, a distant time for us all, we saw a nearly-divine photo that is still probably the most wholesome image to have come in 2020: A portrait of Star Wars creator George Lucas cradling a sleepy (kind of drugged-out?) Baby Yoda. It was a tender father-son moment, but we never got the full story—only that the director visited the set of The Mandalorian and Jon Favreau snapped the picture.
Now, thanks to a recent interview The Mandalorian executive producers Favreau and Dave Filoni gave to The Hollywood Reporter, we finally know what Lucas thinks of the show, which follows the adventures of a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Talking about the impact of The Mandalorian while on a break from post-production on Season Two of the series, Feloni revealed the big guy's thoughts—starting with whether or not he gets feedback from Lucas:
Not a tremendous amount. We talk about other stuff. When I talk with him, I like to get more knowledge. He'll give me some reminders, especially before I shoot something, about how many setups I should try to get in a day, and I might rack his brain for certain things about how to cover a scene. He's been very complimentary. I think he's enjoyed the show, and he said once [that] now he gets to watch it as a fan and watch it as a viewer. My job is to bring that knowledge forward and pass on what I've learned from him in every discipline to Jon and to the creative departments.
Even though Feloni didn't reveal too much, no news is probably good news when it comes to Lucas's thoughts on his successors. In Bob Iger's memoir, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, he wrote that Lucas felt "betrayed" by the direction of the sequel trilogy Star Wars films, adding that they lacked originality. In a meeting with Lucas, Iger wrote, "George immediately got upset as they began to describe the plot and it dawned on him that we weren’t using one of the stories he submitted during the negotiations." Episodes VII and IX director J.J. Abrams said he "completely gets the criticism," and continued to consult with Lucas through The Rise of Skywalker.
Well, now you know why it's good that Lucas is just there for the cuddles with The Mandalorian. Here's hoping Season Two of The Mandalorian passes muster for him, too.
