Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | February 18, 2026
My earliest experience with seeing Martin Scorsese act was in a commercial for American Express. Luckily, my mother saw it too, and said, “That’s the guy who directed Goodfellas.” Despite being, at most, ten years old, I have already seen that picture. Years later, I’d watch Taxi Driver for the first time, and feel… not as excited to see Scorsese get in front of the camera. Then, I’d watch him in The Studio and try to forget him clad in a coke beard spouting the n-word ad nauseam for, like, three minutes (which felt like forever).
All that is to say, I have complicated feelings toward the famed director’s acting choices. But, I’d be foolish to say that he’s anything less than an inspiration, and I also think he’s one of those rare white men who have gotten more progressive as they’ve aged (looking at you, Conan). Marty is one of a kind, and the fact that he is still making movies all these years later is a blessing and a half. So, if he wants to spend some of that time traveling to a galaxy far, far away, let him!
Yesterday, a new trailer dropped for The Mandalorian and Grogu, Disney’s attempt to push Star Wars off of our TV screens and back into theaters. While I never watched the third season of The Mandalorian for several reasons (one of the main ones being that there was suddenly too much Star Wars to keep up with), I’m likely a confirmed purchase for this flick. The new trailer leans heavily on old aesthetics, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to experience that (and Sigourney Weaver) on the big screen.
However, I didn’t rush to watch the trailer just because I’m a rube with an easily pushable nostalgia button (but, to be clear, I am). I watched it because I saw that Martin Scorsese’s role in the film was revealed in the trailer, and I didn’t even know he would be involved. His moment in the trailer is relatively quick. He voices a four-armed merchant to whom the titular Mandalorian goes for information. Once Marty’s alien hears the info, he quickly closes up shop (though it is cut together in a way that suggests there’s more to the scene).
Again, I was going to see this regardless, but the cameo added to the fun of the whole thing. The trailer feels big in a way that feels well-suited for the big screen. It’s still playing in an era of Star Wars that has yet to be completely mined and could be used to retrospectively fix certain… mistakes. But, most importantly, it just looks like a big, fun Star Wars adventure that I get to watch on a big screen. Count me (and Marty’s eyebrows) in.
