There were those that rallied behind J.J. Abrams' decision to largely undo the narrative events of "The Last Jedi" and bring back the presumed dead Emperor Palpatine as the main villain. And then there were those who wondered how Disney could have let things go so wrong. "The Mandalorian," a show that launched with the Disney+ platform several weeks before "The Rise of Skywalker" entered theaters, had instantly captivated audiences with its back-to-basics Star Wars style in late 2019. The space western, which took inspiration from the days of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and the films of Akira Kurosawa, captured the hearts of Star Wars fans and casual pop culture consumers.