According to a 2019 “Den of Geek” article, actress Bryce Dallas Howard took on the director’s role for the “Sanctuary” episode in the Disney + series “The Mandalorian.” While working on the project, she happened to work with the grandson of the legendary John Wayne. However, what one may not realize is that Brendan Wayne had an important job for the show.
Originally, as “Den of Geek” reported, Howard expected to direct the Mandalorian actor, Pedro Pascal during her directing experience. Instead, Howard worked with a stand-in. That’s where Brendan Wayne comes in.
“He was in rehearsals for “King Lear” on Broadway,” Howard said in a recent “Vulture” article, according to “Den of Geek.” Howard adds that because of this, she didn’t work with Pascal acting as the Mandalorian during the episode. Instead, the article reported, Howard found herself working with two of the Mandelorian doubles.
One of these doubles, it turns out, has very strong ties to classic Hollywood. Brendan Wayne, the grandson of “The Duke” himself.
During the interview, Howard said Wayne, “absolutely just brought everything to that character, and we were able to find the moments and figure them out together.”
Disney’s The Mandalorian Is A Sci-Fi Western
The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+ in the fall of 2019. The series begins five years after “Return of the Jedi.” Occurring after the fall of the franchise’s galactic Empire, the series follows Din Djarin.
Din Djarin is a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter throughout the galaxy. Initially, The Mandalorian is hired to take “the child,” (Grogu), but instead decides to protect The Child. Initially, the series follows The Mandalorian and Grogu as they search for more of Grogu’s kind.
While the popular streaming series may be a sci-fi hit, there is also a familiar quality to the hit show. A quality that Wayne is likely very familiar with.
In the episode entitled “The Gunslinger,” the popular series solidified its classification as a sort of “space western.”
This particular episode follows Mandalorian as he explores the planet Tatooine, home of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Eventually, in this fifth episode of the series of “The Mandalorian,” the title character finds a bounty hunter on an important journey.
Brendan Wayne is certainly not new to this genre. Wayne features in the 2011 film “Cowboys & Aliens.”
As it turns out, the creator of “The Mandalorian,” Jon Favreau, directed Wayne in the “Cowboys & Aliens” film.
