#brendan wayne

Following the fall of the Empire, many Imperial warlords still hold pockets of power across the galaxy, threatening the stability sought by the New Republic. To counter these lingering threats, the New Republic enlists Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, and his young charge Grogu. Together, they navigate dangerous territories and confront adversaries who refuse to surrender their grip on…

It doesn't sit right with me that people go after Brendan constantly when he's been genuinely nothing but supportive towards Pedro every time I've spoken to him directly about it. He had every opportunity to tear him down to me, yet he didn't.

I was literally there on the SWCJ press line when I heard Pedro bring up Brendan and Lateef, completely unprompted, and praise them. And we all saw that picture of Pedro and Brendan hugging at the movie's world premiere (which I was also at). That's not fake. None of it is fake.

Can I understand why fans get frustrated because Brendan tries to acknowledge the support from his fans while they're saying he deserves more credit than Pedro in the same breath? Yes, I can. (And the whole "acting is more than talking" wasn't a great moment; I don't think it was shade, but it came across poorly and could've used more reflection prior to posting.) At the same time, however, people often forget that Brendan nearly lost his job because they were told by Lucasfilm not to acknowledge the rumors during season 2 about Pedro being a "diva" on set and wanting to have the helmet off more, yet he posted on Instagram insisting that Pedro hadn't quit, he was coming back for season 3, and that he did incredible work in season 2 being more physically present.

But people going after him and particularly diminishing the fact he looks smaller in the suit in season 2 doesn't sit right with me when the reason behind that is that Brendan had a life-threatening health condition that put him in the ICU and literally killed him (he flatlined). He lost tons of weight and did everything he could to be back on set, which allowed him to shoot all of Chapter 13 and some scenes in Chapter 11 and Chapter 16.

Barry Lowin was brought in to assist. He might've done some stuff for season 1 as well, I can't remember, but he became the stand-in for whatever Pedro couldn't do in season 2 because of this. People often call for more recognition for him, which is indeed fair, but I've heard a story of him speaking bitterly about Pedro at a con, completely unprompted. That's something Brendan has never done.

It is always a good day when I can wake up, go to the movie theatre and see a new adventure in a galaxy far far away . From the moment I could recognize the magic of this beloved franchise and to the day I die, I will always be a die hard Star Wars fan. That being said, I can whole heartedly acknowledge its greatest achievements and its abysmal faults. Now comes a new film that sort of falls in between those lines and I was okay with it. We come to these films hoping to see an advancement in the lore or to see character development of those we love and we get crumbs of that, but not enough in my opinion. Its false to say that the spirit of adventure was missing, but it is true that this film didn't feel like a story that was either groundbreaking or sadly, necessary. I hate saying that because I know that there is a lot love that goes into these stories, but I can't shake the shocking amount of ambivalence that washed over me once the credits began to roll.

Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder all return as Din Djarin/ The Mandalorian. Pedro delivers the same level of stoicism to the character we all love and further explores his father like feelings to his adopted son Grogu. Brendan and Lateef continue to bring the amazing physicality to the character in some of the best stunt work I've seen for the character. From his classic cowboy swagger to his quick and brutal fighting style, its all a show stopper in the great action set pieces we get along the way. Grogu is still the cute foundling and I liked that he has become more confident and effect. He gets his own amount of side quests and I found one particular scene with a fisherman the most compelling scene in the film. Steve Blum returns as Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios and it was great to see the character enjoying his job as a pilot for the New Republic. His charm was intact and I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing him absolutely destroy stormtroopers left and right. Sigourney Weaver was good as colonel and leader of the New Republic's Adelphi Rangers, Ward. Her commanding presence was great and I like that she doesn't really where her heart on her sleeve. She is a war time leader and she shows it subtley, but her performance was a pretty hollow. Martin Scorsese provides the voice of Ardennian shopkeeper, Hugo and he was a fun addition to the film. He pretty much was himself the entire time, but you could tell he was having fun. Jeremy Allen White was great as the voice of Rotta the Hutt and I liked that he took the character in a familiar, but new direction. Rotta breaks the stereotype of the Hutt race and truly has his own motivations and dreams. I loved his physicality as his story was more Gladiator influenced.