Star Wars The Mandalorian TV show: when it lands and how to watch it

Star Wars: The Mandalorian is coming, and the TV show is set to be one of the biggest launch titles for the upcoming Disney Plus streaming service when it hits our screens in November.

Charting the story of a galactic bounty hunter, in the vein of Boba Fett – the iconic, if briefly appearing character from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. With a star-studded lineup that include's Narco's Pablo Pascal in the lead role, and the massive support of Disney and the Star Wars franchise backing the live-action space western, this is set to be a big one.

It's not the only Star Wars TV show coming our way either. A Rogue One prequel series, following the life of Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) is set to come to Disney Plus down the line, while we also have word of an Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series with Ewan McGregor reprising his role.

But The Mandalorian will be the first Star Wars TV show for the platform, and all eyes will be on whether Disney manages to keep the magic of Star Wars alive in what looks like a grittier take on the universe, compared to the mainline films. 

Here's everything you need to know about Star Wars: The Mandalorian, including when it launches, where you can find it, and what formats and resolutions you can expect to watch it in.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The live-action Star Wars TV show, created by Jon Favreau 
  • Where can I watch it? Disney Plus
  • When will it be released? November 12
  • How many episodes? Eight episodes in the first season

The Mandalorian was first announced in an Instagram post by Jon Favreau, who is credited with creating and writing the series. We know the show will take place five years after the end of Return of the Jedi – meaning this is long before Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren from the current trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker) enter the picture.

The Mandalorians are a military people in the Star Wars universe, from the planet Mandalore, and have appeared in both the Star Wars Rebels and Clone Wars animated series. 

They've had a checkered history in the Star Wars canon, with the Tales of the Jedi comic series from Dark Horse seeing the Mandalorians even siding with Sith forces against the Jedi, so you can expect some gray moral areas or alliances beyond the light and dark sides of the Force.

The Star Wars universe of obviously a pretty big place – just like our own – and The Mandalorian may well be the start of a much larger canon that looks at smaller figures and stories than the planet-hopping films.

As per Favreau's post, it will follow a “lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy”, meaning we'll get a look at some brand new locales not previously touched upon in the Star Wars films – though still with some Stormtroopers to fight (as in the trailer below).

Star Wars The Mandalorian trailers

We got our first The Mandalorian trailer at August's D23 expo, showing off the eponymous bounty hunter in action – with what looks like a robot companion joining the fight too. Are robots to Star Wars heroes what pets are to Disney princesses? We'll let you decide.

The Mandalorian release date: when can I watch it?

As a launch title for the Disney Plus streaming service, the Mandalorian will be landing on November 12 as the service goes live in the US, Canada, and The Netherlands. The service then launches in Australia and New Zealand on November 19 – though there's still no Disney Plus UK launch date.

It sounds like the show will be releasing episodes weekly, too, rather than dropping the whole season at once.

The Mandalorian cast and crew: who's in it?

Carl Weathers in The Mandalorian

With Jungle Book director Jon Favreau – who you may know as handler Happy from the MCU Spiderman movies – at the helm, and the weight of Disney and Star Wars behind him, it's unsurprising that The Mandalorian will have some big-name talent attached to it.

Pedro Pascal, who played Javier Peña in the Netflix crime series Narcos, will be taking the lead role as the eponymous Mandalorian bounty hunter (via StarWars.com). 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Pascal described the character as a “mysterious, lone gunfighter,” adding that “He’s got a lot of Clint Eastwood in him.”

Other actors include Carl Weathers (from the Rocky and Predator series) and Gina Carano (Deadpool) – the latter of which you can be sure will be taking part in some kick-ass action sequences. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Emily Swallow (Supernatural), Omid Abtahi (American Gods), and Nick Nolte (Affliction) are also attached to the series.

Taika Waititi voices a droid, likely providing some comic relief

Legendary director Werner Herzog will even be taking on an acting role – though whether it's a small cameo or a notable lead is yet to be seen. More Herzog, please!

There'll be numerous directors for the first season's episodes, including Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels), Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates), and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) – the last of whom will also be voicing the IG-11 droid seen busting caps in the trailer.

Where can I watch The Mandalorian TV show?

Disney Plus will be a one-stop home for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic content

The Mandalorian will be exclusively available on the Disney Plus streaming service, which will come to browsers, iOS, Android, Android TV (for Nvidia Shield TVSony TVs, and Hisense TVs), PlayStation 4Nintendo SwitchRoku streaming devices, Apple TV HDApple TV 4KGoogle Chromecast, and Xbox One. More devices and providers are likely to follow too.

The Mandalorian: 4K, HDR, and Dolby Atmos

Of course, if you've gone to the fuss of buying a 4K TV, or one that can support HDR (high dynamic range) for enhanced contrast and colors, you'll be wanting to know if The Mandalorian will make the most of these premium TV technologies – and it will! 

The entire season of The Mandalorian will be available to stream in 4K HDR. From what the trailer has shown us, the sweeping desert landscapes and galactic skies will no doubt benefit.

Unlike Netflix, which requires a premium subscription plan to access high-resolution content, Disney will be throwing in 4K and HDR streaming for its baseline monthly price ($7 in the US). Disney Plus will support HDR10 and the dynamic Dolby Vision HDR format, though not the HDR10+ format found on Amazon Prime Video. 

Dolby Atmos surround sound audio will also be supported – for TVs or Dolby Atmos speakers able to play the format.

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