Jon Favreau Says Directing The Mandalorian & Grogu Is Like Playing With Star Wars Toys

Jon Favreau isn’t just a director — he’s a storyteller who learned his craft the same way many fans did: by playing with toys.

In a new interview, Favreau explained his approach to directing The Mandalorian & Grogu by comparing it to those early imaginative play sessions many of us had with action figures.

“That’s how I learned how to tell stories. You take these characters. You’re talking with your friends, and you’re acting things out [with the toys]. My job is not that different from that.”

That one sentence says a lot about how Favreau views his work — with creativity rooted in play, imagination, and character interaction.

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From Toy Box to Director’s Chair

Favreau’s comparison isn’t just cute nostalgia — it reveals a storytelling philosophy.

Growing up with toys, you didn’t have scripts. You had:

• Characters with implied relationships
• Imagination filling gaps
• Physical movement telling scenes
• Play evolving into story arcs

It’s the same bones of narrative structure directors use today — only with bigger budgets and cameras.

Favreau emphasizes that filmmaking, at its core, isn’t so different from those early play sessions.

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Why This Matters for the Film

The Mandalorian franchise mixes:

• Character chemistry
• Nostalgic beats
• Genre rhythms
• Forward motion

By framing the process as “acting things out with toys,” Favreau is signaling something key:

He doesn’t see this as a sterile, clinical Hollywood product.

He sees it as playful storytelling — even when the stakes are huge.

And that perspective may be why the series resonates with fans from hardcore lore lovers to casual viewers alike.

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A Director Rooted in Fun

That doesn’t mean The Mandalorian & Grogu is silly.

Quite the opposite.

It means Favreau treats emotional beats, character moments, and cinematic moments the way a kid does when they rattle off stories for hours:

With ownership. With delight. With feel.

He’s not just moving pieces; he’s playing with them to create something that feels alive.

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Playful, But Purposeful

Think about it:

A toy doesn’t have to explain its backstory to be fun.

You fill in the blanks.

Favreau is doing the same with these characters — giving fans enough to latch onto emotionally while letting them fill in the magic themselves.

Sometimes that’s what makes storytelling work best.

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