The Mandalorian is meant for a wide audience, young and not as young. Grogu, or Baby Yoda, surely appeals to younger viewers as well as more mature ones.
As The Mandalorian gears up for its third season, it’s bound to bring in new viewers, one of the original intentions of the series.
The main character, Din Djarin, may capture the attention of more mature Star Wars fans first but is still quite appealing to children. However, it’s not entirely clear what ages the show was intended for.
What age is The Mandalorian suitable for? The creator seems to have made the show for most ages, but parental advice tends to limit the age minimum to around age 10.
Contents
The Mandalorian Show and Audience
As the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian broke new ground and captivated audiences young and old alike.
The creator and main writer of the show, Jon Favreau, has indicated he was originally inspired to follow George Lucas’s lead by using a western-Clint Eastwood approach. Favreau also says, “you see characters that are warriors, but also have a code.”
Like Favreau, actor Pedro Pascal, who plays Din Djarin, comments on his love for Star Wars from a young age, including the action figures Boba Fett and Greedo.
Both Favreau and Pascal went to Star Wars films early on and became engrossed in the franchise.
Favreau has indicated that the targeted market for The Mandalorian is Star Wars fans. That leaves it quite open, but what he means is that the show is meant to balance the expectations of an existing fan base while drawing in a new generation of viewers.
Given these roots and direction, the show was designed to capture young viewers. Yet,
The Mandalorian is rated TV-14, with some episodes rated TV-PG.
So, it leaves some room for speculation about how young viewers should be.
The Mandalorian and Parental Ratings
Some of the parental commentaries about The Mandalorian point out its western-movie-like qualities along with aspects of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
With that framing, the above review recommends parents watch the show first and then let teens watch it alone while continuing to view it with tweens and slightly younger than that.
Younger than 9, according to the above post, should probably not watch at all.
Similarly, another rating indicates the show is fine for ages 10+. The bounty hunter background, the battles and blasters, and some graphic imagery, like “giant sandworm-type creatures eating humanoid creatures”, may make it unsuitable for younger than 10.
Another parent guide focuses on the violence of the show compared with Star Wars movies and indicates that if The Mandalorian were a movie, it would be rated PG-13. Ultimately, this guide suggests ages 12 and above.
These are some of the views of modern-day parents who assess the violence and other content that places the series in the TV-14 category.
It seems that Star Wars fans and the above reviews agree that parents could watch the show with viewers who are younger than age 10. This post also brings up a good point: Lucas had meant Star Wars to be for children, which presents a related question…
At What Age Should Children Watch Star Wars?
The original trilogy with its heroes and villains, droids, and creatures like Yoda was certainly designed for younger children. So too was Episode I: The Phantom Menace with Jar-Jar Binks, for better or worse.
Some of us can remember seeing A New Hope at age 5 or 6, with a parent. The same could apply here with The Mandalorian.
Star Wars films are fantasy-based with flying spaceships and good triumphing over evil. So, if “you were able to grasp it when you were a kid… your child probably will, too.”
This logic can be extended to The Mandalorian. Like Star Wars movies, this show has violence and even death, but it is restrained compared to a horror film.
We should also remember the Yoda to Baby Yoda connection. One breakdown of the appropriateness of Star Wars movies confirms Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as all right for ages 8 to 9.
This film is when Yoda first made his entrance, and the film drew in younger audiences with his character in a way that Grogu does.
Yet, The Empire Strikes Back has dark moments too that may not sit well with an 8 to 9-year-old. For example, Luke Skywalker’s hand is cut off by his father.
Hence, the above 9 or 10 standards for viewing The Mandalorian may not hold. Then again, it could be a matter of time periods.
Ratings and Time Periods
The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980 before new ratings for movies kicked in.
In 1984, the PG-13 rating came out. Before then, we had these ratings for films: G was appropriate for all ages, M designated mature audiences, yet all ages could be admitted, and R was for those under 16 who would not be admitted without an adult.
Afterward, we got the more nuanced PG-13 and R was raised to 17. Later, we also had reasons for the rating provided with the movies too.
We may be living in an age that does not find it acceptable to have younger viewers see the second original Star Wars film.
In the late 1990s, we also had tighter standards applied to television that monitored such relevant areas as violence and language. This move altered the TV landscape and could make for a higher bar today.
The time in which we live thus impacts our opinions on who can watch shows like The Mandalorian.
Ages and The Mandalorian
The question of age suitability and The Mandalorian will of course come down to viewer discretion. Each parent and individual needs to make that decision.
However, we could say that it seems Jon Favreau, the creator of the show, like Lucas, aimed for a broad age range that included younger viewers. This thinking follows the original intent of Star Wars movies.
Parental guidelines, though, tend to draw a line around the 9 to 10 age range for safe viewing with a parent.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.