After running low on Stormtrooper costumes for the two most recent episodes of The Mandalorian, team members behind the Disney+'s live-action Star Wars series enlisted the help of a local fan group.Apparently, a particular scene filmed for The Mandalorian Season 1's closing episodes required more Stormtrooper costumes than the crew had on hand. As such, series creator Jon Favreau and Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni reached out to a local chapter of the 501st Legion. The 501st legion are a fan-based Star Wars organization dedicated to building and wearing screen-accurate costumes of Imperial Stormtroopers, among other villains from the franchise.Twitter user @TweetinJoshBe shared a photo from the set of The Mandalorian, featuring the enlisted Legionnaires alongside Favreau and Filoni -- as well as series stars Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and (presumably) Pedro Pascal, who play Cara Dune, Greef Karga and the titular masked bounty hunter, respectively.
The 501st Legion was formed back in 1997 in South Carolina. The fan group now has over 13,000 active members worldwide. While the group is not officially affiliated with Lucasfilm or Disney, members frequently make in-costume appearances at promotional functions or charity events, usually at the request of Lucasfilm's Fan Events division.
Season 1 of The Mandalorian concluded on Dec. 27 with the release of the series' eighth episode, "Chapter 8: Redemption." Per Favreau, Season 2 is expected to arrive next fall. Principal photography on The Mandalorian's second season was revealed to have begun not long after Season 1 premiered.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte. The entire first season is available to stream on Disney+. Season 2 is slated to arrive fall 2020.