The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook

The phenomenon of Star Wars has never seen the amount of content or fanbase that it does today. When the original trilogy was released over 40 years ago, a certain demographic flocked to theaters with their significant others and made those box office dreams come true. And with the addition of the mass amounts of merchandising that was solid over the years, kids for decades became addicted to the universe of Star Wars. After a prequel trilogy made box office records again despite the rabid fanbase treating those three early movies harshly, a new moon appeared with a fresh crew coming in to reignite the franchise by bringing new and old characters together again. And with Disney now in control of Star Wars, it wasn't long before the entertainment conglomerate started pumping out content for both film and television. Their heir first televised effort being The Mandalorian Season One. 

It didn't matter what people thought of the sequel trilogy, The new series for Disney+ that eventually catapulted the streaming service into existence was going to change the course of Star Wars and their content forever by creating a simple enough story that all age groups could get behind. Taking its cues from the famous Lone Wolf and Cub and adding Jon Favreau to the creative team along with George Lucas' right-hand man Dave Filoni, this series was destined to be something special. With Favreau penning almost every script and bringing along big names to direct episodes such as Taika Waititi and Bryce Dallas Howard amongst others, The Mandalorian felt right at home in the center of the Star Wars Universe. 

Setting the series only a few years after the events of Return of the Jedi was a key ingredient that bridged the old with the new. After the Empire was defeated, the further planets became breeding grounds for more scum and villainy with gangsters and mafias ruling these worlds. It is certainly a place for an anti-hero to make some money, which ultimately introduces a Mandalorian named Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) who travels from planet to planet as a bounty hunter for hire. But how does Star Wars create a brand new fanbase and continue to go viral every week with virtually every outlet in every medium covering this show? Introduce the new cutest character imaginable that looks like the child version of Yoda, and have this machismo, violent bounty hunter protect this green baby gremlin at all costs. The world had no idea what hit it. 

The show didn't even have to show Mando's face or give this green child a name. The results were in and this new show was a hit, if only to get more glimpses of this cute baby where a bond was made between two unlikely people where they were on a road to nowhere to survive in this new Star Wars world. Introducing new characters such as Greef Karga (Apollo Creed) and even a cameo from the fantastic, mad director Werner Herzog, who is now a part of Star Wars lore, serves up some amazing new backstory that is continuing to this day in the show. The show looks and feels like a perfect Star Wars movie, bringing back that nostalgic drip from the late '70s and early '80s that fans found. And with the new additions in The Mandalorian, new generations have fallen in love all over again with the power of the force. Season one of The Mandalorian is exquisite on every filmmaking and storytelling level. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Mandalorian Season One hunts its way to 4K with a beautiful Steelbook set. The two discs are housed inside a Steelbook that features new artwork of Mando and the child. There are three new art cards wrapped inside as well. There is no Digital code or Blu-ray Discs included in the 4K set. 

The Mandalorian Season One has a 2160p UHD 4K image with HDR10 enhancement. This is a night and day difference from the Disney+ 4K streaming video. There's a reason why physical media is so much better than streaming and it clearly shows it here on these new 4K Discs. 

The colors are bolder, and more vibrant in every sequence. The HDR10 picks up on those more nuanced blues, greys, and warmer colors of oranges and yellows. The different shades of green are also richer in color this time around. The banding and aliasing that was seen in the Disney+ streams are all erased on this physical disc with far better detail. Closeups reveal better textures and facial features in all lighting conditions.

Black levels are now their inkiest and the skin tones are all natural. The video is so great that the physical sets in the background that are used for planets or even green screen technology can be seen now. It's truly a wonderful-looking video presentation and the ultimate way to watch this season. It gives a whole new look at this series and proves that physical media rules the world. 

If the video hasn't sold anyone yet, then feast those ears on the new uncompressed Dolby Atmos track that comes with this 4K set. Each sound is bigger and better this time around with sound effects opening up on all channels. Those gun blasts pack a bigger punch than they did on the streaming version. Vehicle and ship engines make for a big rumble each time they pass on screen. The little nuanced sounds from the child are wonderful too. All of the atmospherics from each planet come through beautifully through the surrounding speakers. The low end of the bass has a fantastic rumble too. Ludwig's score nails the drama and intensity at every turn and the dialogue is clean, clear, and easy to follow. The height speakers capture weather elements and chaos reigning from above. This is an excellent-sounding Dolby Atmos track that is far better than the streaming service. 

There are only about 17 minutes of extras on this release in the form of two bonus features. Unfortunately, none of the four hours of extras that are included on the streaming platform are imported to this disc. And that's a shame. Couldn't they add another Disc to this set and encompass all the bonus features? Both extras are located on the second Disc. The episodes are split evenly over the two discs. 

• Remnants of the Empire (HD, 6 Mins.) - An all too quick look at where this story fits into the Star Wars Universe by way of timing, props, and production. 
• Forging The Covert Part One (HD, 11 Mins.) - Filoni and Favreau discuss how the story and plot were conceived for the show, along with how some of the characters came to fruition. 
• Concept Art Cards - Three great art cards are included here. 

This new 4K Steelbook set of The Mandalorian Season One is the ultimate way to watch the show. The series itself has given new life and force power to every fan of Star Wars and has introduced one of the most talked about characters on television. The new 4K image is a large upgrade from the streaming service and the Dolby Atmos track that is uncompressed now sounds terrific. Sadly, all of the bonus features through Disney+ did not import over, but there are two new ones, three art cards, and one hell of a beautiful-looking steelbook. MUST-OWN.