Spoiler alert! We're discussing minor details about “The Mandalorian and Grogu” (in theaters now). Stop reading if you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want to know what happens.
Did Tatooine just freeze over, or is Martin Scorsese actually ina “Star Wars” movie?
For years, the filmmaking legend has been staunchly against franchise flicks, famously tellingEmpire magazinein 2019 that Marvel movies are “not cinema" and are more akin to "theme parks."
But Scorsese, 83, has seemingly changed his tune at least somewhat, having now voiced a small role in “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a big-screen spinoff of the Disney+ TV series.
The Oscar winner appears in two early scenes of the film as a brusque fry cook named Hugo, who runs a tiny food kiosk making sandwiches on the seedy planet of Shakari. But when the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) shows up fishing for information about the Hutt-turned-gladiator Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), Hugo immediately closes up shop in a panic.
Later, Mando returns to the multi-armed alien for more details about the gangsters who are holding Rotta captive. Hugo warily shares what he knows, although he expresses concern for his family’s safety if the mobsters discover he’s a snitch. (“I’ve got 12 little ones at home,” Hugo tells Mando gravely.)
Scorsese ultimately has very little to do in "The Mandalorian," aside from shout phrases like “I don’t want your credits!” or “Everybody knows Rotta the Hutt. That guy’s a monster!” But hearing his unmistakable voice is one of the unexpected pleasures of the film.
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Pascalrecently told USA TODAY’s Brian Truittabout having A-list costars such as Scorsese, White andSigourney Weaver, who plays a veteran New Republic pilot named Colonel Ward.
“I credit [director] Jon Favreau for the embarrassment of gifts that has been being a part of this world,” Pascal said. “It’s a total dream.”
Scorsese has previously done extensive acting work: playing himself in NBC’s “30 Rock” and Apple TV’s “The Studio,” and voicing a pufferfish in the animated “Shark Tale.” He has also made cameos in many of his own films.
The director received widespread derision from superhero fans for his comments about Marvel. He clarified his stance ina New York Times opinion piecepublished in the wake of the backlash.
“In many places around this country and around the world, franchise films are now your primary choice if you want to see something on the big screen,” Scorsese wrote at the time. “It’s a perilous time in film exhibition, and there are fewer independent theaters than ever."
He went on to call it a “chicken-and-egg issue,” adding, “If people are given only one kind of thing and endlessly sold only one kind of thing, of course they’re going to want more of that one kind of thing. … The situation at this moment is brutal and inhospitable to art.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Martin Scorsese's surprising 'Star Wars' cameo in 'Mandalorian'
