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I had forgotten to mention how much I enjoyed the look of the different ships throughout this season, and perhaps the show as a whole. There is a moment where Moff Gideon’s Star Destroyer – or whatever more precise name it certainly has in Star Wars canon – soars over the camera, just as audiences had seen in first film in 1978. What caught my attention was not the obvious homage, but how closely this 3D model was made to look like an old-fashioned plastic and resin model from the 70’s and 80’s.

We spoke of the show’s usage of practical effects when possible, but that “spirit” of the original is so deeply embedded that the CG creations look similarly artificial. Yet it’s not a bad artificial. It instead speaks to creators whose thoughts on what makes something “Star Wars” is found in the little details rather than the broad. It’s similar to the motion capture used in Shin Gojira, where an actor intentionally stomped around as if they were wearing a suit despite being free of the traditionally heavy burden. No matter how fake it looked, that suit was an important aspect of what made those old movies what they were. In order to retain that signature movement and feel, their motion capture actor behaved just as he would have if he were cocooned in a thick, rubbery suit.

The Mandalorian as a whole is an interesting comparison to the prequel films, which seemed to become more and more obsessed with using computers for nearly everything. This TV series largely does the same, with whole sets being created in the Unreal Engine and the actors filmed in a sound stage. Yet it seems like the decision wasn’t just to do as much as possible with computer effects. Instead, there was consideration as to what could be done well enough with real, tangible materials, before then creating everything in computer. Even then, there was a clear creative decision to maintain that artificial, model-like look for the ships that contribute to that “Star Wars” feeling.

Of course, technology has advanced quite a bit in twenty years. That certainly helps make a Kurosawa-inspired marsh world look more believable than it might otherwise have in the prequel films.

What are your thoughts on season two of The Mandalorian? Please leave a comment below or send us an e-mail with your opinions.

Opening theme music by Fallen Prophecy.