All 5 live-action Star Wars shows ranked from worst to best
2. The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian was truly a game-changer for Star Wars when the first season premiered in 2019. Just when you thought the franchise had done it all, Disney decided it was time for live-action shows. Of course, there had been many Star Wars series created before The Mandalorian, starting back in the 1980s, but all animated. There’s nothing wrong with animation, but creating a live-action show definitely attracted a bigger audience, and the viewership numbers prove it.
The first season of The Mandalorian stars Din Djarin, a bounty hunter tasked with finding a creature called “The Child,” later known as Grogu and dubbed “Baby Yoda” by Star Wars fans. While traveling across different planets with his various tasks, we see the titular character form a bond with his bounty, and he decides he’s going to protect him. It was no surprise that the series was renewed for a second season later that year.
The Mandalorian definitely started as a great show, combining elements of action, emotion, and humor. The action sequences are really well done, and Pascal gives a fantastic performance even from underneath a helmet in the earlier seasons. (He’s since confirmed he now only voices the character.) There are welcome celeb cameos throughout the show, though I’d argue there are too many cameos in the third season.
Though many call Luke Skywalker’s appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 fan service, I love it. It becomes too much in The Book of Boba Fett, sure, but the season 2 finale is a huge high point of the series for me.
The Mandalorian season 3, unfortunately, takes a dip in quality. Because we already know going into it that Din Djarin and Grogu were reunited in The Book of Boba Fett, the stakes are very, very low. It would work much better if the two characters are still apart at the start of the season. Their reunion would be much more rewarding in The Mandalorian season 3.
By the third season, the plot is repetitive and a bit stale, sadly. Jon Favreau has confirmed a fourth season in the works, so we’ll see how that one goes. I have to admit that I don’t have high hopes, though. Considering how solid the first two seasons are, however, The Mandalorian is still number two on this list.