The Mandalorian: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About The Razor Crest
Exploring the coolest ship Star Wars has had in years.
It is said that clothes make the man. In The Mandalorian's case, that would be his beskar armour, and, by extension, his ship, the Razor Crest.
The Razor Crest has become a character in its own right, being the setting for much of the show's exposition and being a literal vehicle to advance the plot from locale to locale. It's a warrior's ship, heavy and brooding. You certainly wouldn't catch any rich kids of Imperial bigwigs hotrodding around in something so bulky.
The Razor Crest is everything to Din Djarin - home, base of operations, transportation, holding cell, and pretty much his only property aside from the weapons and armour he carries on his back. In fact, the ship is more or less an analogy to Mando himself - it's not pristine, it's not pretty, but it's tough, practical and packs a wallop.
The Mandalorian director Jon Favreau knew that the ship would have to be something special, and luckily for us, all the designers, builders, artists, and engineers involved - both inside and out - shared his passion. The Razor Crest is easily one of the best pieces of Star Wars ephemera ever put to film.
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NOTE - This article was written on the day The Mandalorian's 'Tragedy' episode premiered. Under those circumstances, please consider this a eulogy for the feisty little ship.
10. It Was Designed By One Of Lucasfilm's Most Storied Creators
The Razor Crest was designed by Doug Chiang, one of Lucasfilm's longest-serving employees, who has been with the company since 1989 and is currently vice-president and executive creative director of the company.
Chiang started with Industrial Light and Magic (Lucasfilm's effects company), working on dozens of notable sci-fi and fantasy films of the late '80s and early '90s. He left ILM in 1995 to start working directly with Lucasfilm on Phantom Menace and Shadows of the Empire, and has bounced back and forth between the two companies, having design and creation involvement in every major Star Wars property since.
When Favreau approached him, Chiang says he 'jumped' at the chance to design a completely new ship. Favreau gave him very few specifics, saying he wanted aspects of 'World War 2', 'military', and 'well-used.'
Chiang went back to original trilogy's grittier, lived-in look for his inspiration, keeping in mind how old the ship was supposed to be and not wanting the cleaner, brighter look of the more recent movies for Din Djarin's ride.
As a result, the Razor Crest has much more in common with the heavy, bulky ships of Episode IV and Empire than the sleeker craft in Force Awakens or Rise of Skywalker.