The Mandalorian and Grogu, the latest installment in the Star Wars series, brings the beloved bounty hunter Din Djarin and the Force-sensitive Grogu to the big screen, but it also includes a subtle nod to one of Jon Favreau's earlier directorial efforts: the 2014 film Chef.
This culinary connection manifests in the form of Hugo Durant, a character portrayed by Martin Scorsese, who operates a food truck. The design and menu for this truck were developed in collaboration with Roy Choi, the real-life creator of the Kogi food truck. Favreau, who also starred in Chef as a celebrity chef operating a food truck, again enlisted Choi to help craft the on-screen eatery and its offerings for The Mandalorian and Grogu. The food truck itself was previously showcased at D23 and is slated to appear as a booth in Disney parks.
Additionally, the character of Hugo Durant is connected to Rio Durant, an Ardennian pilot played by Favreau in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The design of Hugo's alien features, including his eyes and face, was adjusted by Lucasfilm's creative team to resemble Scorsese.
Crafting Rotta the Hutt
The visual effects team also faced significant challenges in designing Rotta the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt's gladiator son, for the special. Senior visual effects supervisor John Knoll noted that creating a Hutt who is an athlete, capable of fast movement and speaking English, differed from previous depictions of the species. The team found inspiration in elephant seals, whose territorial charging behavior during breeding season informed the animation of the battle sequences, including the fight between Rotta and The Twins.
"Whenever we are looking at animating creatures, we try to look to real-world analogs to help inform the decision," Knoll stated. "You see what you can learn to help make the experience feel more plausible."
While a physical Rotta head was created by Legacy Effects for use on set, the character's appearance underwent revisions in post-production. Animation supervisor Hal Hickel explained that initial designs were deemed too friendly and not sufficiently resembling Jabba's son. The team then reworked the CG model and textures to achieve a more appropriate look.
Filming for IMAX
To ensure The Mandalorian and Grogu would translate effectively to the large IMAX format, the production team developed a unique approach using virtual reality. Unlike streaming series, which are typically composed for viewing on smaller screens, IMAX filmmaking requires careful consideration of the viewer's peripheral vision. The team created an app for the Apple Vision Pro that allowed them to view live footage through VR goggles, framed as it would appear on an IMAX screen. This tool was also utilized in post-production to guide editing decisions.
Hickel recounted how the opening sequence, featuring AT-ATs on a mountain cliffside, needed adjustment for IMAX. "In the opening sequence with the big AT-ATs on the mountain cliffside, for The Mandalorian series, we would have been much more in the action, really close to the feet of the vehicles and the explosions," he said. "We watched it in IMAX and found we had to back up. It was a learning experience how to present the action so it didn’t just press you back in your seat and crush you with stuff you couldn’t even parse visually."
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now available to stream on Disney Plus.