The Mandalorianis one of the biggest series in the world. It has been a major hit for Disney+ and probably the biggest and most popular piece of theStar Warsfranchise since the release ofThe Force Awakens. It has generated massive amounts of fans new and old, and audiences are eagerly anticipating the series' return for season 3 on August 03, 2025.
The Mandalorian, like the rest ofStar Wars, pulls from a rich pool of different film genres to tell its stories;Star Warsitself was partly inspired by theKurosawa samurai filmThe Hidden Fortress. While the franchise has the visual elements most audiences associate with science fiction, the themes of the films have always been more fantasy based. It in many ways draws from both, being both science fiction and fantasy.The Mandaloriancontinues this trend but tends to embrace the genre conventions of a western.
Yet even thoughThe Mandalorianuses the style of a western, does that make it a western? Take a look and find out if it can be classified as one.
What Is Genre and What Is a Western?
Genre is an interesting concept because it is ever evolving, yet people tend to know what it is based on the hallmarks. Some stories change genre as time goes on. Mary Shelley’s novelFrankensteinwas originally classified as a horror story but is now considered by many to be the first science fiction story, in a sense it created a whole new genre of storytelling. Genres help an audience understand a story, and set a certain type of expectation for what to expect. The western is one of the most iconic and easily identifiable genres. Even if someone hasn’t seen a western, they likely know what to expect from one.
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The western genretends to be associated with particular visual signifiers and thematic elements. They typically take place in the frontier, usually America, and feature sparely populated and dangerous environments as well as a sense of lawlessness with a battle between law officials, criminals, and gunslingers. Most people associate certain visual elements like horses, wide open skies, cowboy hats, and shootouts with westerns. WhileThe Mandalorianmay not have the obvious visual signifiers, it does feature them in more subtle ways.
The Mandalorian Is a Type of Western
WhileThe Mandalorianmight not fit the traditional look of what audiences expect from a western, the western genre clearly has an influence over the story.The Mandalorianfeatures a gunslinger-type character, taking on dangerous jobs for money and typically hunting down other outlaws. Instead of riding into new towns on a horse, he flies to new planets on his ship. Instead of the American frontier, the Mandalorian himself is generally exploring planets in the Outer Rim that are away from the jurisdiction of the New Republic.
Throughout the series, there is a reference to the New Republic’s lack of presence on these planets leading to various factions vying for control of power includingthe remnants of the Galactic Empireand various other criminals. The Mandalorian character is very much molded after Clint Eastwood’s character The Man with No Name from Sergio Leone’sDollarstrilogy.
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The Mandalorianwould be classified as a space western, a science fiction set story that uses the themes and conventions of a western. Common examples tend to includeCowboy Beboop,Firefly, andStar Warsitself. George Lucas based his classic 1977 film on both westerns and samurai films (the two genres have a great deal of overlap, as seen in remaking the samurai filmSeven Samuraias the American westernThe Magnificent Seven). BothThe MandalorianandStar Warsfeature many western elements to them, which makes them part western, part science fiction but also unique to themselves: they areStar Wars.
Star Wars Is a Genre Unto Itself
The Mandalorianis very much a space western, but that is very much a product of being aStar Warsseries.Star Warsis both a franchise, but also a brand, and a genre. Audiences expect certain elements from aStar Warsproject, and much of an entry’s popularity can be tracked by how much it does or does not subvert the expectations of what audiences want fromStar Wars. Lightsabers, spaceships that go to lightspeed and make sounds in space, certain aliens, and other elements are expected from aStar Warsstory and set it apart from other science fiction properties likeStar TrekorDoctor Who.
The Mandalorianwears its western influences proudly, but it also homages a wide variety of other genres and films. The first episode of season 2 is the most western of them all, featuring a desert planet and a small town dealing with a threat, but it also features a scene that is clearly paying homage toIron Man(the episode wasdirected byIron Manfilmmaker Jon Favreau). Other episodes reference the works of Akira Kurosawa, the 1977 William Friedkin filmSorcerer, and even horror movies.The Mandalorianis a space western, but it is more than that. It is many different genres at once.
