I haven’t been around to comment on this show before now, but I’ve really enjoyed the majority of THE MANDALORIAN’s initial 2 seasons. I wasn’t expecting too much from the TV show side of things initially, but it’s exceeded my expectations with some excellent moments throughout…and it’s been fun to be transported back to a ‘STAR WARSY’ setting on a regular basis.
I’ve just posted some ideas on page 10 of the main THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT discussion thread, and mentioned that I’d also prefer to alter the ending of the THE MANDALORIAN’s 2nd season more to my own taste too…so I thought I’d show EXACTLY HOW over here.
It was a fantastic moment when ‘Luke Skywalker’ initially revealed himself at the time…but despite a good effort, the digital face replacement wasn’t quite there during all the shots, mainly due to a somewhat ‘dead-eyed’ look I think. On top of that, things then ended up being just a little too schmaltzy for my liking, which is another reason I’d rather alter it. But that’s just my own take on that at the end of the day.
I’ve since seen Shamook’s excellent ‘deepfake’ improvement of the scene on YouTube of course, and I only wish that there could be a future official release of the show using his version. I would be content with the existing ending if that was the case. Anyway, it’s terrific news for us all that he’s actually been hired by Lucasfilm now, and it’s great to know that this type of thing is in very capable hands for their future shows.
Anyway, here’s how I’d alter things for a less schmaltzy, final moment once the summoned Jedi is allowed to enter by the Mandalorian…
As the tension builds, the Mandalorian puts ‘the child’ down, and then presses a switch to open the doors…
…and the anticipation builds as the hooded figure enters, as we get our final look at Mando and the waiting group…
…and then the lightsaber switches off, as we get to the ‘Oh WOW, look who it is!’ moment…
…and as a brief reprise of John Williams’ familiar music gently plays over Luke’s eventual reveal, I’d finish things off on the next shot below…where we’d get our final look at Grogu, as he peers round at Luke and blinks, while the the music fades down…
…and then I’d CUT to blackness as we hear a brief echoing sound (from where the lift door closed during the final shot in the original version), as the echo fades to silence and the end credit ‘Directed by PEYTON REED’ appears, before the end theme begins as normal…
So I’d be content with just that, as we only see the best of the existing ‘Luke’ shots, without having to see any more of them. A ‘Jedi’ has heard the child’s ‘Force call’, and come to his aid…so we are at the end of the Mandalorian’s mission now. We effectively end on the sudden ‘Oh WOW!’ factor of the reveal that it’s actually ‘Luke Skywalker’ who has responded, and know that all will be well for the child now, with no further dialogue necessary.
Now onto the NEXT season’s adventures, post haste!
IMPORTANT NOTE - if anyone wishes to comment on any of this, please DO NOT re-‘quote’ the entire post, thanks!