There's a lot of star power in The Mandalorian already, and, as if it weren't enough, Season 3 keeps bringing more every week. Last week's episode, "Guns For Hire," brought not one, not two, but three huge cameos: Lizzo as the Duchess of Plazir-15, Jack Black as Captain Bombardier, and Christopher Lloyd as Helgait. The episode itself was one of the few actual compelling stories told so far in Season 3 and another great one directed by Bryce Dallas Howard. Still, our attention couldn't help but constantly wander back to the episode's three huge cameos, despite the story. Is this really how it should be in a show this big?
Don't get us wrong; we love Lizzo, Black, and Lloyd, and this is not a criticism towards them. Quite the contrary. It's just that, as of late, Season 3 of The Mandalorian has been struggling with a plot that seems to be going nowhere, and, for a show that used to be mandatory viewing, that's like a yellow traffic light about to turn red. It doesn't feel right that we should be talking about the cameos for their own sake right after one of the few good episodes of the season. Now, before anyone draws their Darksaber against us, let us explain. This is the way.
'The Mandalorian' Has Never Known How to Balance Its Cameos
It's no secret that Season 3 of The Mandalorian has been tough to watch. The show seems to have lost its touch, and much of what made it special in Season 1 is nowhere to be found. As Season 2 started to bring forth Star Wars characters known to fans and have famous actors making cameos, the main narrative slowly began to lose its importance, to the point where, now, it just doesn't matter what's going to happen in an episode, as long as there's a cute memeable moment with Grogu and a cameo big enough to create demand for viewership.
It shouldn't be like that. What made The Mandalorian special in the first place was precisely the fact that we didn't know much about who we were dealing with. There were well-known names involved like Carl Weathers, Nick Nolte, and Taika Waititi, but their roles were small enough not to conflict with the main storyline, so they weren't on-screen as often. Back then, Pedro Pascal was still consolidating himself as Hollywood's go-to daddy-for-hire, and, even though he played the title character, we only saw his face for mere seconds in the season finale. Less is more, and that was the rule.
Now the logic behind the writing of The Mandalorian has been inverted. Before, every major cameo or regular character played by a star was written carefully enough so as not to cast a shadow on Din Djarin and Grogu's journey. It was their show, and these two unknowns formed an unlikely bond that, by itself, was strong and meaningful enough to have us coming for more week after week. But, as the galaxy started to expand for our clan of two, so did the cast sheet for each episode. Star power began growing bigger and bigger, with actors like Rosario Dawson and Katee Sackhoff being brought to play fan-favorite characters, and that culminated in the return of none other than Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. Now, even his cameo, the biggest you could have in Star Wars, seems to have been meaningless, its importance diminished by a couple of episodes in a spin-off series.
The impression that we get, as viewers, is that The Mandalorian has become overwhelmed with its own potential. It's grown so big that perhaps the creative team involved thinks there's no need to work too hard for the fans' attention anymore because you can just give them a big cameo or a cool Easter egg, and they will keep coming back, and that's not really how it works. Recently, series creator Jon Favreau revealed he has no end in mind for the series, and, even if he hadn't said as much, it's starting to show, because the story is now going in circles. Not so long ago, Star Wars fans have been made fools by people who didn't know what they were doing. Being a fan himself, Favreau should know better.
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