Who is really under The Mandalorian's mask? ALSO: RIP Silicon Valley & Mrs Fletcher.

Who is The Mandalorian? Pedro Pascal may voice the guy, but under the suit has been a number of stunt performers.

As per Bryce Dallas Howard:

“He was in rehearsals for King Lear on Broadway. And so, while we were doing my episode, I wasn’t working with Pedro,” she told Vulture about the making of “Sanctuary,” her TV directing debut.

So, who is The Mandalorian? Brendan Wayne, grandson of John Wayne, is one of the performers.

Source: Vulture

Yesterday was a big day for HBO - the final episode of Silicon Valley, the (likely) final episode of Mrs Fletcher, and Watchmen aired its penultimate episode.

That last episode of Silicon Valley… it was okay. One of the strengths of Silicon Valley is that it has always been a mildly brainy hang-out show with no stakes of any real consequence. Ending the series with the characters effectively saving the world should have been more fun than it was - what kind of killed the final episode was the framing device of a documentary that looked back on that fateful day where everything changed for them.

The AV Club has a very good write-up on the finale:

Silicon Valley has never tried to be anything other than it is, fully formed from minute one and installing upgrades since then. It’s a show about the hubris and incompetence of the tech industry, a vehicle for some of the most creatively profane jokes on television, and a showcase for a terrific comedic ensemble. If it hasn’t aimed as high as its stablemates, it’s because it never wanted to do that, comfortable in its role as class clown instead of an overachiever. And in six years, it’s scored far more hits than misses, able to pick up on the changes in a rapidly changing industry and find the humor at their expense.

Source: The AV Club

The Mrs Fletcher finale was an interesting case study in giving the audience next to nothing. I mostly liked the finale, which played well into the thematic idea of the series - the show has always been about characters opening themselves up to a new way to look at the world and their place in it. With that rationale, it was fitting to see the show conclude with the very open ending.

It may not have felt entirely satisfying, but it was probably the right way to end it.

Ben Travers at Indiewire has a look at the season finale and floats the idea of seeing the series continue on. I kind of hope it doesn’t, but I’m absolutely there for more episodes if that comes to pass.

Read: Indiewire

Watchmen actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was outed in last week’s episode as actually playing an unexpected character. He had this to say in a great short and tidy interview with EW’s James Hibberd.

“People have been really moved. I didn’t see that coming. I was just playing the guy who happens to be the vessel but I’ve been noticing how important that is to people — to the see the possibility of a ‘god’ living in a black man. Especially in a world where the antagonists are a white supremacist organization. It’s really powerful imagery we’re putting forth and I’m proud to be part of that imagery of representation.”

Source: EW

New HBO comedy Avenue 5 has released a full trailer.

Star Trek: DS9 / Benson / Boston Legal actor Rene Auberjonois passed away at the age of 79.

Source: Dark Horizons

The trailer for the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife has been released and I have on my skeptical face. I’m a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters. I can’t really say if the recent reboot was worse than the terrible Ghostbusters 2, but neither were particularly good. The thing with Ghostbusters is that the premise is purposefully dumb and not really why people loved the first one - it was always just a vehicle for a specific comedic tone (it fit into the very 80s genre of wise-ass guys sticking it to the man). Replicating that years later when comedic tastes have changed has proven foolhardy.

What kind of works in Afterlife’s favour is that it doesn’t seem to be trying to overtly be a comedy. It’s light in tone, but based on this trailer, is doing something else.

Twin Peaks VR is coming. It will initially be available on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Valve Index headsets. Oculus Valve and Playstation VR is planned.