For the first time since 2019, a new Star Wars film is released in theatres. Continuing the story of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, everyone’s favourite bounty hunter and Jedi Padawan duo return for a new adventure. In what was supposed to be a fourth season of the series now repurposed as a two-hour slog, you would wish Ben Kenobi would use his Jedi mind trick to make you forget this movie.
Time has passed since the events of Season 3 for Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and young Jedi Padawan Grogu as the duo pick up contract work for The New Republic. When Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) assigns the next bounty to the duo to locate and capture the mysterious Imperial Warlord Coin, Din and Grogu team up with Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum) to locate the rogue Warlord. This leads them to the twin siblings of the late Jabba the Hutt, who only agree to help them if they rescue their nephew and Jabba’s sole son, Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White). Sounds intriguing and fun right? Then how does The Mandalorian and Grogu fail to excite?
Right off the bat, you can tell time has passed and the gaps between Season 3 and the film are never filled. There are missing storylines that were meant to bridge a fourth season and a movie. What made the three Star Wars trilogies work was that each film ended where it was easy to know what happened when starting the next film. When The Empire Strikes Back ends with Luke now knowing who his father was and having already met Master Yoda, Return of the Jedi shows Luke continuing his training. The Mandalorian and Grogu never filled in where the Season 3 finale left off. Din and Grogu were on another planet away from trouble, but now they had already been accepting jobs for The New Republic with no explanation or reasoning.
The film’s story offers no high stakes and fails to engage with audiences. It goes from point A to point B and back to point A and back to point B and so on. It felt more like showcasing key Star Wars world references and leaving out any actual substance to add depth to the story. The last gripping story I felt that worked was Andor. While Andor was set more outside the larger universe, the show managed to tell a captivating story of the rise of the Empire and the start of the Rebellion. What made the show work so well was that not only were there stakes, but it also focused more on story and characters rather than references to the larger franchise. The show’s themes explore the ruthlessness of The Empire’s Authoritarian established in The Original Trilogy. Cassian Andor is fed up with The Empire and following their takeover of his home planet Ferrix, teams up with Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael to fight against the regime. Andor doesn’t rely on the nostalgia of Star Wars and instead explores the political themes of the franchise, offering a more realistic and compelling story.
The Mandalorian and Grogu does have some redeeming qualities. Grogu is still a delight on screen and I’m glad he’s still a puppet as opposed to CGI (shoutout to Werner Herzog for shaming them for attempting to make him CGI). Even having the Anzellan Droidsmiths being practical puppets as well helped give some life to a dull film. The best sequence of the entire movie was the gladiator pit battle. It felt like one of the only sequences to not feel like you were getting nostalgia shoved down your throat. It felt like an actual thrilling scene with some stakes.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is proof that a great movie cannot rely on cheap nostalgia dangling like keys. When the credits started rolling I felt relieved but also questioned how they managed to get Shark Tale star Martin Scorsese in a cameo role. Did he owe Favreau a favour or maybe Favreau discovered he really did enjoy hits such as Thor: The Dark World and Black Widow? We may never know the answer. If you want something to refresh your plate, I recommend watching Andor.
Watch the trailer right here.
All images via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by Jon Favreau
Screenplay by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Noah Kloor, from characters created by George Lucas
Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni
Starring Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, Steve Blum, Jonny Coyne
Premiere Date: May 22, 2026
Running Time: 132 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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