The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) - Book Review

It’s been over a year since the second season of The Mandalorian shook every Star Wars fan to the core—pushing the boundaries of storytelling while bringing along new and iconic characters and never before seen locales. We have experienced the debut from animation to live-action of fan favorites Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano, the return of legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and (to everyone’s surprise) Luke Skywalker—the latter brought back via a combination of physical performance, face deaging technology, and the use of voice cloning software to create new dialog. For fans who thirst for behind-the-scenes content, Disney+ later released new episodes of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, which covered the making of season two just enough for fans to ask for more. Luckily, the wait is over, as The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) by Phil Szostak with foreword by Star Wars legend Dough Chiang reveals a collection of incredible concept artwork (some of which were already showcased during the credits of each episode) that shaped season two—from numerous character and creature designs to the development of new planets set in a galaxy far, far away.

Just like its predecessor, The Art of Star Wars: Mandalorian (Season Two) delves into the development of the series, focusing on the art department efforts—which, just like in the prequels, constituted an essential part of the process, from the very beginning until the final iteration of the story. A quote from Dough Chiang’s foreword perfectly describes the symbiotic approach between screenwriting and the art department: “The story informs the art, and the art defines the story.” As readers begin to dive deeper into this gorgeous book, the fascinating evolution of the many character and location designs is slowly revealed—making The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) an absolute page-turner. From Brian Matyas’ exploration of the new character designs (particularly for The Magistrate, Bo-Katan Kryze, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka Tano) to the stunning location and creature concept artwork from (including but not limited to) Star Wars veterans Ryan Church and Erik Tiemens, and even some incredible sculptures by Tony McVey.

The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) is structured the same way as the book for the first season, where each chapter dives deep into each episode of the show. Readers will spend time admiring the carefully chosen concept artwork (some of the labels hint at several iterations of specific designs) that are full of detail and are accompanied by quotes from the artist and sometimes by Dough Chiang, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni—providing some context to the visuals while revealing some storyline decisions that led to design changes. A couple of them really stand out, one being the visual evolution of the character of Morgan Elsbeth, aka The Magistrate and her duel rival, the one and only Ahsoka Tano—the latter’s (controversial) design choices for her montral and lekku lengths thoroughly explained by Dave Filoni.

Besides the character design, the book showcases the concept artwork for the design of the new locales, describing the inspiration for the architecture while taking into account scale and how physical sets would marry with “the volume”. Noteworthy are the Western vibes town of Mos Pelgo, the design of Boba Fett’s ship interior and the challenges of matching it with the exterior (which to this date was never fully explored before), the Japanese-inspired city of Calodan, and the various Imperial Remnant facilities—their designs reflecting the low level status of the Empire post Return of the Jedi.

The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) does more than just reiterate each episode through the artwork—Szostak incorporated some insightful quotes from Favreau and especially Filoni that reveal crucial details about the path of key characters, which are currently shaping the events of the newest series, The Book of Boba Fett (and even future ones) and explaining that these creators have a concrete vision for this era of Star Wars television.

Are you ready to unveil the secrets of the second season of The Mandalorian? If so, this book is exactly what you’re looking for. Make sure to grab a copy today and let us know about your favorite concept artwork and behind-the-scenes insights via our social media outlets.