Every piece ofStar Warsseems to inspire new questions. Who shot first? What are midichlorians?What if Boba Fett got his own show? Well, now a group of fans has decided to both ask a question and answer it in one fell swoop: what ifThe Mandalorian’s theme song had lyrics? It’s a question nobody asked until now, but thankfully it’s already been answered.
The folks over atThe Warp Zone on YouTubehave dedicated the latest video on their pop culture-centric channel to this very issue, and it’s exactly as zany as it should be. Referencing elements of the show from its various homages to, of course, Baby Yoda, the video boasts some impressive production values. Between the accurately rendered recreation of the theme itself and the well-done camera work, it’s clear the people behind it came from a place of love forThe Mandalorian.
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It starts off cute and relatively surface-level. But things quickly change tracks as the lyrics move from a witty description of Din Djarin (the titular Mandalorian himself) to an increasingly barbed critique of the show’s many clearreferences to classic Japanese filmsand the westerns which had already done the same. Now, it’s not like they’re writing a scathing Roger Ebert-esque takedown of the series. It’s just more of a clever and light-hearted callout of theStar Warsfranchise as a whole and its penchant for mirroring beats from classic films.
Many fans have likely already noticed a number of the similarities addressed in the video. Lines like “He’s just Clint Eastwood with a much sweatier hat” probably ring true to viewers who enjoy the show precisely for its western influences. But other tidbits like a deliberate remake of a scene fromApollo 13might have come as a surprise. Though as the video points out, it’s pretty obviously a loving homage, since it was literally directorBryce Dallas Howard paying tribute to her father Ron Howard, who directedApollo 13.
They call into question “the line between homage and stealing” in a humorous but not entirely joking manner before once again bringing up Baby Yoda (whom they refuse to refer to as Grogu, the name given by the show). Just as viewers were likely relaxing, the song takes a slight tangent and addresses the widely discussed idea thatGrogu had almost committed genocide earlier in season 2when he kept eating a poor frog lady’s precious eggs. Naturally, The Warp Zone wanted to keep everyone watching on their toes.
It’s a fun little video that takes itself just seriously enough. Fan content like this really drives home how important it is for fans to be critical of the things they love, but also that a critique doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like it. Such context could very well affectthe future ofStar Wars. Or maybe it’s just a funny song. That’s always a possibility too.
