The Mandalorian has received widespread praise for its gritty storylines, stunning VFX, groundbreaking StageCraft technology, massive ratings and glorious music and another element that has drawn praise is the knock-em-down-drag-em-out nature of the physical fights and Stunt Coordinator Ryan Watson discusses a fight that perfectly exemplifies that.
Talk about choreographing that epic fight between Mando [Pedro Pascal] and Cara Dune [Gina Carano], how important was that in establishing her character?
The different galaxies and planets allow for so many different types of fighting, and that made it easier to do Gina’s big debut. I’d met her before and heard she’s a tough girl and she can hit hard. That fight started out looser, but Jon [Favreau, executive producer] said it was a little too long. It needed to be more about establishing her attitude, it needed to be straight up, in your face, toe to toe, tit for tat. The final product was easy to make with Gina; she has intentions on every single one of her punches, even if it’s in rehearsal. I always tell the stunt guys don’t start snoozing because she’ll get you. She got one guy in the chest and he wanted to go home immediately. As stunt people we always say you’ve got to watch out for actors, because you never know what they’re thinking. They might hear the bell and go for blood.
