Jon Favreau on father-son bond in ‘The Mandalorian’: What we experience comes out

New Delhi, March 10 (PTI) A storyteller is often inspired by their life experiences, says actor-filmmaker-writer Jon Favreau about the recurring theme of father-son bond in the “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” and his other projects.

It doesn’t happen consciously, said Favreau, known for Hollywood blockbusters such as “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2”, “Jungle Book”, “The Lion King” and “The Mandalorian”.

“The funny thing about doing what we do for a living is, we’re often confronted by reflections of what’s going on inside of us and by seeing what our work is. It’s not like you think about it in a conscious way.

“There’s definitely a recurring pattern in what I do. And I think it comes from, first of all, being a father now,” Favreau told PTI in a virtual interview where he was accompanied by the show’s writer and executive producer Dave Filoni.

He serves as the creator on the Disney+ Hotstar series, currently in its third season. Fronted by Pedro Pascal, the show revolves around the titular bounty hunter and his many adventures with Grogu, a Force-sensitive child.

“Star Wars”, an American epic space opera created by George Lucas, began with the eponymous 1977 film. A pop culture phenomenon, the story has evolved into a mega franchise with films, shows and animated series.

Favreau said the season two finale of “The Mandalorian”, involving the classic “Star Wars” character Luke Skywalker, was also inspired by his experience as a father. He shares a son and two daughters with wife Joya Tillem.

“When we were filming the scenes at the end of season two with Luke Skywalker going off to train Grogu and Mando saying goodbye to him, that very much captured how I felt about my first kid going off to college.

“I remember what it was like putting the kids on the school bus to kindergarten, like you’re happy that they’re growing up but selfishly it hurts you as a parent. So I think what we experience comes out,” the 56-year-old director said.

Even with his 2014 movie “Chef”, Favreau said, the story was heavily inspired by his own childhood memories.

“Even in movies like ‘Chef’, you channel memories of what you had as a child. When you’re a parent, you get to see it from both perspectives. And it’s certainly what defines me, me being a parent. And for a lot of Star Wars fans too, who grew up with the original movies, now they relate to being a father or a mother,” he added.

On “The Mandalorian”, the filmmaker wears many hats, that of a director, writer and executive producer. Favreau is also involved in upcoming “Star Wars” spin-off shows, including “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew”.

“The Mandalorian” started in 2019 and instantly became a hit for Lucasfilm. One of the key reasons for its success was the way the show juggled between legacy characters of the “Star Wars” franchise while introducing new ones.

The show’s two main leads — Mandalorian and Grogu — are new additions, while
classic characters such as Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano have made appearances.

Filoni said they are careful about the timing to introduce a character and how their presence will impact the story.

“We just decide what makes sense for the story. Like, when we brought Ahsoka into ‘The Mandalorian’ and I knew she would make sense in this time period and for what we need the story to do.

“Someone like Luke, we’re very careful… how we choose to use those characters because they’re so wonderful and we grew up with them. We don’t want to do anything to change the way they feel in that galaxy. It’s a big decision and we never take it lightly. But as long as it fits the story, it’s fun and makes a big adventure, it’s worth it,” Filoni said.

Favreau said he is lucky to chronicle stories in the “Star Wars” universe and have interactions with franchise creator Lucas.

“I’ve been very lucky to work with Dave, who is passing down the knowledge that he learned from George and to even have access to talk to George occasionally.

“It’s such a fertile landscape to tell stories about families, to incorporate new technologies, to work with archetypes and characters and types of characters that have been established and are tried and true. So as a storyteller, it’s a great toy box to play in,” the filmmaker said.

“The Mandalorian” also stars Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, Amy Sedaris, Emily Swallow, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon.

The directors of the eight-episode season three include Rick Famuyiwa, Rachel Morrison, Lee Isaac Chung, Carl Weathers, Peter Ramsey, and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The show is available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in Hindi and English.