Come along as we take a hands-on look at the New Republic hangout as seen in the film, alongside the crew who built it.
If you take a certain turn onto a certain street in Southern California, you may just find yourself in Star Wars. There’s no hyperdrive required — it’s simply filmmaker and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Director Jon Favreau’s tucked away studio space. Just inside, a very lucky few were recently invited to step into a larger world: the still-standing set of the Adelphi Officer’s Lounge from Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. (But trust us, seeing The Mandalorian and Grogu on the big screen is the next best thing.)
As you open a normal-seeming door, you’re quickly greeted with a not-so-normal, 360-degree view of the Officer’s Lounge, filled with helmets, nods to past battles, and… games? “That’s the game from Tosche Station,” proudly recounts Andrew L. Jones, the movie’s production designer. “We took it from The Book of Boba Fett and put it here. It plays the game Space Wars on the top. That was the inspiration.” Another billiards-like game is also nearby, providing multiple opportunities for New Republic personnel to mingle.
As first glimpsed in the third season of The Mandalorian, the sunny locale of Adelphi Base is something that would already take your breath away. In the StarWars galaxy, it is an ocean-side retreat for New Republic pilots to regroup and refresh before their next mission. But in the real world, the very tactile set of this Officer’s Lounge — jammed with spoils of war and hidden mementos — is a step even above that. It is proof of Star Wars filmmaking magic.
Favreau filmed many scenes from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and more right here. When The Mandalorian and Grogu wrapped, he and his team decided to leave the Adelphi Base set up. After all, what’s better than a real sliver of a galaxy far, far away?
There are hidden elements everywhere: starbird flags, a wing of a downed starship, even the dome of a TIE fighter. “That’s the real one from Season 2,” says Jones. And, as the crew confirmed, some were even updated between the third season finale of The Mandalorian and the opening scenes of The Mandalorian and Grogu. The trophies had to be consistent with what had happened in-universe. “All the trophies and insignias have a whole story,” says Propmaster Josh Roth.
A few cups of sparkling cold spotchka are laid out on the bar. The bartender may not be Snivvian, but the blue drink is refreshing nonetheless. As the crewmembers are happy to point out, a lot of Star Wars has happened in this room. In one corner is the booth where Din Djarin and Grogu met up with Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward, as seen in the first trailer for the film. This spot at the bar is where we first met a live action Garazeb Orrelios in The Mandalorian, Season 3, Chapter 21: “The Pirate.”
But, if you get lucky, there also might be some real BD droids (as seen by visitors to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Parks) creating a little mischief and a lot of cuteness. The Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin, as well as his foundling, the little Grogu, have also been known to make an appearance at times. There is significant life in this room, especially when surrounded by droids and aliens. It feels like Star Wars is really happening all around you.
A lot of that is because of the room’s meticulous design. As Jones says, “Everything that we can find and repurpose we do because it already has a language of manufacture that humans are familiar with. See those incense burners on the bar table? Those are sprinkler covers. That’s the StarWars way.”
This repurposing is an intrinsic part of how Star Wars movies have been made, ever since the original film, which turns 50 in 2027. The familiar “IG heads” behind the Adelphi bar were first glimpsed in a cantina on Tatooine in 1977 — once simply the combustion chamber of a Rolls Royce engine. (They were later re-repurposed as the top of a fearsome droid bounty hunter on the bridge of the Executor in 1980 when IG-88 made his debut in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.) Everything in this room is manufactured, lived-in, and real.
A lucky few got to see this magic up close, but now we all get to experience it on the big screen in The Mandalorian and Grogu. And, honestly, it’s just a comfort knowing that there’s that sliver of a galaxy far, far away somewhere here on Earth.
Get your tickets for Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, an all-new Star Wars adventure filmed for IMAX, in theaters now.
