Review - Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Season 3 Plays it Extremely Safe

One of the best results stemming from the rise of Disney Plus and its constant pursuit of new logos for the main slider was the return of behind-the-scenes documentaries on the latest Star Wars (and Marvel) releases. These documentaries ultimately evolved into Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian (a prefix they never really kept for other shows, for some reason.) With the advent of streaming and a decline in physical media sales, these behind-the-scenes features nearly become a relic of the past. Revolutionary documentaries, such as the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy are almost as iconic as the movies themselves, not to mention Heart of Darkness, the explosive film that documented the insane story behind shooting Apocalypse Now.



In a way, we were spoiled last year with the excellent Light and Magic, an honest look at the origins and history of ILM that didn't seem to hold a lot back. Along the way, it also became a sincere character study of the several people that worked at the company at the very beginning, and we got to listen to their gloves-off style telling of the events. I guess it all comes down to expectations, but if you are going into Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian season 3 waiting to hear all about how Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni coped with Gina Carano's exit from the show, you are watching the wrong documentary.



(L-R): Joe Johnston, John Dykstra and Dave Jones in a scene from Lucasfilm's LIGHT & MAGIC, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.



Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian season 3 feels like an hour-long interview with the cast and crew behind the show, filmed while they were on the set and inter-cut with footage of people working on the show in between takes. We spend more time looking at and talking about the blaster that Mando is holding this season than we do on Pedro Pascal. Even the two people inside the title character's suit, stunt doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, are barely an afterthought, which emphasizes once again that this season was about everything except for the Mandalorian. We spent more time in this season's Disney Gallery with Lizzo and Jack Black than either of them, which is really telling.



L-R): Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season 3, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



And yes, there may be an argument to be made about that title now being extended to the entire culture of the Mandalorians and the many helmet-wearing characters; after all, they do acknowledge that this was essentially Bo-Katan's season. But let's be honest, that would be a bit of a leap, as we didn't even learn about Din Djarin's name until the season 1 finale. Up until then, he was referred to as 'the Mandalorian', which was also the title of the first episode. Trying to sell us that the title extends to more characters beyond Din would essentially be revisiting history.



The Disney Gallery series started off as a very cool idea, but has essentially turned into an advertisement for the show, one where the people behind it seem to have deep control over the narrative as opposed to having an honest look at how the season came together. (See also Marvel indefinitely delaying the behind-the-scenes doc on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in light of the controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors.) I would have loved to see some historical context added to the season as well. The existence of The Book of Boba Fett is barely acknowledged and that is a huge historical moment for the series, as the last three episodes of that show are the bridge between seasons 2 and 3 of The Mandalorian.



Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



That said, the highlight of the documentary was seeing the three new directors of the season work and talk about their approach to their respective episodes. Rachel Morrison, Lee Isaac Chung, and Peter Ramsey all brought different levels of enthusiasm and distinct perspectives, but were able to blend everything together as a result of their collaboration with the rest of the team. We also got to see the Legacy Effects team and all the puppeteers work on IG-12, Grogu, and so much else this season.  Although sadly, not a lot on Shirley Henderson and the Anzellans.



Overall, Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian season 3 played it quite safe and felt more like a press video interview than an actual breakdown of all the moving pieces that went into conceptualizing this season. Unlike many of the other documentaries on Star Wars movies or outside of the franchise, we didn't learn a lot about the show, and many of the unanswered questions about how it came together continue to remain part of the rumor mill and open to speculation.



For more of our thoughts on The Mandalorian season 3, check out our review of the finale. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian season 3 is currently streaming on Disney Plus.



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