Episode 26: Mandalore: The Storied History of an Ancient Homeworld

Mandalore

 

"War is intolerable. We have been deceived into thinking that we must be a part of it. I say the moment we committed to fighting, we already lost."

- Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore

 

Joe Johnston's original designs for a "Super Trooper" that George Lucas initially intended to be a specialized force (reminiscent of Rogue One's Death Troopers)

 

 

Ben Burtt detailing the features of the new "Super Trooper"s armor. Worn by Duwayne Dunham.The character of Boba Fett had not yet been created.

 

 

The original footage of the suit being modeled.

 

 

Check out that beach towel.

 

 

Because the reference footage provided to Nelvana was in black and white, the animators of "The Faithful Wookie" had to guess at what color Boba Fett's armor would be.

 

 

Joe Johnston turning the white "Super Soldier" into the battle worn Boba Fett we all know and love using paints from a local model train store.

 

 

Mandalore had always been a warring people until  Satine Kryze took on the mantle of Duchess. Sister of Bo-katan, Satine changed the face Mandalorian culture forever.

 

 

The domed cities of Mandalore were completely destroyed by the Empire during the Purge of Mandalore. The planet's surface had been reduced to a barren desert hundreds of years prior from civil war among the Mandalorian people, and wars against the Jedi.

 

 

The Night of a Thousand Tears occurred at the end of the Purge of Mandalore; a planet-wide bombing by the empire that turned the entire surface of the planet into glass, destroying all the underground cities in the process. The green hue of the surface was taken from the real-world Manhattan project, where the atomic bomb was first used. The sands of the New Mexico desert were fused into glass with a green tint near the site of the explosion's extreme heat. The set designers were actually able to inspect real pieces of the glassed surface wearing special radiation-proof gloves, as the material still puts off extreme amounts of radiation.

 

 

Life thrived inside the domed cities of Mandalore, especially under the peaceful rule of Duchess Satine. Much of the real-world visual inspiration for the cities came from cubism, brutalism, and art-deco. All of which were artistic responses to war and violence in history. In particular, you can see an homage to Picasso's "Guernica", a painting depicting the horrors and suffering caused by war.

 

 

Picasso's "Guernica"

 

 

Mandalorian mural

 

 

Bonus Greeblies

 

Coincidence? Al thinks not.

 

 

Canada has given us two perfect things - Poutine, and our first introduction to Boba Fett in the Nelvana short "The Faithful Wookie", first seen in the Star Wars Holiday Special.

 

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Production Credits:
Written By: Mikel Howarth & Alex Stewart
Produced By: Mikel Howarth
Directed By: Mikel Howarth, Alex Stewart, and C-B7

 

Thank you for listening! May the force be with you, and may the stars light your way!