Insight Editions has announced that Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One is set to hit retailers May 18th. The book is dedicated to the first season of the live-action Star Wars Disney+ series and features character files, plots, settings and behind-the-scenes content.
With never-before-seen photographs, a complete episode guide, and a detailed behind-the-scenes look at how the show came to life, it's sure to delight Star Wars fans.
The 96 page hardcover is available for pre-order through Amazon.com and Forbidden Planet for $17.99 USD.
Insight Editions was kind enough to offer us an exclusive first look at the Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One covers (included below), as well as a glimpse of one of the interior pages and its contents. The interior page highlights the blurrg breeding, jack of all trades, fan favorite Kuiil. Readers also get some insight into his history, along with some "behind the scenes" details.
We've included the interior page below, as well as a written transcript.
Do you plan on picking up Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season One? Make sure and sound off in the comments below!
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A former slave under the Galactic Empire, Kuiil has earned his own freedom by the sweat of his thick, white brow. He treasures the tranquillity he has found on planet Arvala-7, but peace, just like freedom, comes at a price. Despite having spent many years in solitude, Kuiil is, in his own way, generous and kind—though it’s better not to argue with him once he “has spoken.”
SEEKING PEACE
After buying his freedom through hard work and labor, Kuiil settled on planet Arvala-7, where he accomplished what he was seeking most: serving no one but himself. For many years, working in a vapor farm with just his blurrgs for company, the Ugnaught lived a quiet life. However, when bounty hunters started to comb the area in search of the Child, the situation changed drastically. The valley chosen by Kuiil as his forever home had become “an endless stream of mercenaries bringing destruction.” Believing that the sooner they found the creature, the sooner they would leave once and for all, Kuiil then started to help hunters with their mission. Unfortunately, they would all die in the attempt—all, but one: a certain Mandalorian coming from Nevarro…
A KIND-HEARTED JACK OF ALL TRADES
From blurrg breeding to droid repair, old Kuiil has developed a wide variety of skills over his lifetime. Not only did he help the Mandalorian negotiate with Jawas after they had stripped the Razor Crest, but he also contributed to its repair once Djarin got the looted parts back. A talented mechanic, Kuiil also managed to reconstruct droid IG-11, which was blasted by the Mandalorian upon rescuing the Child, as well as to reprogramme it for nursing, much to the Mandalorian’s dismay. However, Kuiil’s greatest skills lie in his heart rather than his hands. He willingly helped the Mandalorian protect the Child from Imperial slavery, an action which cost him his life.
BEHIND THE SCENES
As a homage to die-hard fans, series creators endeavored to feature minor characters or races from the Star Wars saga. This is the case with Ugnaughts, the relatively unknown species Kuiil belongs to. Bringing Kuiil to life required a combination of performance, puppetry and animatronics. While filming, performance artist Misty Rosas wore an animatronic face mask which was additionally controlled by puppeteers. As explained by Rosas herself, there would be a puppeteer operating the character’s mouth “and another puppeteer working in doing the eyebrows.” According to Rosas, shooting Kuiil’s scenes proved particularly challenging as puppeteers couldn’t hear her; to make them get the timing right, the actress strived to give them physical cues. Ultimately, actor Nick Nolte was chosen to perform Kuiil’s voice.