Werner Herzog Might Be in Jon Favreau’s ‘Star Wars’ TV Series
Last month, German filmmaker and general human icon Werner Herzog revealed that he has an acting role in an upcoming “big franchise film” — leading many to speculate wildly about what that franchise might be. Best guesses included Top Gun: Maverick (starring Herzog’s Jack Reacher co-star Tom Cruise) or possibly Star Wars: Episode IX. As it turns out, Herzog may have misspoke: it would appear that his latest acting gig isn’t for a “big franchise film,” but for a big franchise TV series, and one of those guesses wasn’t entirely off the mark.
As one of our most prolific filmmakers, Herzog has written, directed, produced and manufactured all manner of film projects. He’s also proven a delightful actor in everything from Incident at Loch Ness to episodes of Rick and Morty and Parks and Rec. In an interview with Indiewire last month, the iconic director revealed that he’d taken another seemingly random acting gig, this time in a “big franchise film.” Although he obviously couldn’t say much about the project, he did offer that its production code name was “Huckleberry.”
Fast forward to this week, when the folks at Making Star Wars noticed something particularly interesting: In a new photo, a crew member on the set of Jon Favreau’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian was spotted wearing a badge with the word “Huckleberry” printed on it. /Film pointed out that other crew members have been seen wearing the same badge near the set, though Making Star Wars obtained the first photographic evidence of someone wearing the badge while actually on set.
You see where this is going. Herzog said he’s in a big franchise thing (film, whatever) with the code name Huckleberry, and these photos seem to prove that this is the code name that Favreau is using for his Star Wars TV series — which isn’t a film, but is definitely still part of a big franchise. According to basic math, this means that Herzog very likely has a role in this TV series, and while that has yet to be officially confirmed, it’s a pretty fair assessment of the available information.
Now, exactly what or who is Herzog playing in The Mandalorian? And is it a major role or a small cameo? Hmm.