The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Premise: A spinoff of the Disney+ Star Wars series. The bounty hunter known as The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and his childlike counterpart Grogu hunt an at-large Imperial warlord. Their search brings them into the criminal underworld.
What Works: The original Star Wars was inspired by the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s. The Mandalorian series was created in the same vein and the film version has the same appeal as the show. The feature film is essentially an extension of the series. It’s made in the same style and has the same scale and tone. The story is a one-off, self-contained adventure. It doesn’t require viewers to have seen the series although watching the first season would probably help provide some context. One of the strongest aspects of the Mandalorian television show was the music by Ludwig Göransson. He scores the film as well and Göransson’s music is the one aspect of the movie that doesn’t feel flat. The music includes some traditional orchestral pieces we associate with Star Wars but the score also includes electronic and percussive elements that are unique, punching up the movie’s energy and making these worlds more vivid. There is one exceptional sequence in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Grogu is a sidekick through most of the story but in the middle of the movie Grogu acts with volition and the sequence plays almost entirely visually. It’s funny and creative and unlike anything else in the picture.
What Doesn’t: The Mandalorian and Grogu never overcomes the feeling that it’s part of a television show. That’s true of the visual style which looks very televisual in its design. There’s not much style or showmanship to the movie and special effects that would have been passable on television don’t look convincing on a theater screen. The story plays as several episodes that have been edited together into a feature length. Episodic television is generally careful to preserve its characters. Characters begin each episode as basically the same person. That is certainly the case in The Mandalorian and Grogu. None of the characters nor their relationships evolve over the course of the film. Everything is fundamentally the same at the end of the movie as it was at the beginning. That’s indicative of a lack of dramatic stakes. The heroes fight the villain of the week but there are no larger implications to their mission. The Mandalorian and Grogu has no new ideas for this series or for Star Wars in general.
Bottom Line: The Mandalorian and Grogu is an entertaining but average Star Wars film. It’s a bonus episode of the series that will entertain but doesn’t justify its existence as a theatrical event.
Episode: #1102 (June 7, 2026)