The Mandalorian and Grogu marks Star Wars’ return to the big screen, seven years after The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm likely hoped the sequels would serve as a launchpad, but instead Star Wars migrated to Disney+; Star Wars movie ideas were adapted into TV shows. Now, in an amusing reversal, The Mandalorian and Grogu essentially sees a Disney+ TV show migrate to theaters. First reactions have been mixed (the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score is disappointing to say the least), but box office projections are positive given the low budget.
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That said, even director Jon Favreau isn’t quite sure what’s going on with this Star Wars film. Asked by GamesRadar, he admitted he didn’t quite understand why this particular movie was being made. “I’m not sure what, exactly, why we were asked to do this,” he said, a remarkable admission. He then continued with a more standard response, but the initial comment is understandably the one that has captured the fandom’s attention. Here’s the full reply Favreau then followed up with:
“I suspect it was because these are characters that people, even who hadn’t seen Star Wars, may be aware of, especially Grogu. Baby Yoda was everywhere. And these are two characters that were used to launch Disney Plus, and we made no assumptions when the Mandalorian TV show came on that anybody had seen any Star Wars before. But we also wanted to make it feel authentic to Star Wars, and so the world that we created as the backdrop and the way the characters present themselves were embraced by Star Wars fans, which I really appreciate. But it also was an inroad for people who may not have ever watched Star Wars on television, and here we are now, seven years after the last film. I think there’s an opportunity to present Star Wars to a new audience using these characters as well.”
Why Is The Mandalorian and Grogu a Film, Not Season 4 on Disney+?
Favreau’s comment makes it pretty clear The Mandalorian and Grogu was a Disney mandate. Looking back, part of the reasoning probably lies in a change in corporate direction all the way back in 2023. Companies like Disney began to recognize the streaming model hadn’t worked out, and Lucasfilm was reportedly told to “ramp up” theatrical production. Those reports were apparently confirmed when the studio announced three upcoming Star Wars movies at that year’s Star Wars Celebration, but production stalled. Fast-forward to January 2024, and Lucasfilm began succession planning for Kathleen Kennedy’s replacement as president; her replacements-in-training, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, were likely told to prioritize movies.
Filoni and Favreau have a strong working relationship, and Favreau is an experienced filmmaker who’s used to delivering on-time and on-budget. The Mandalorian and Grogu has a budget somewhere north of $166.4 million (not counting some post-production costs), so it won’t be hard for it to make a profit. It will then surely go on to become a streaming hit. Meanwhile, Grogu (originally “Baby Yoda”) is easily Star Wars’ most merchandised character right now, so The Mandalorian and Grogu is a pretty safe bet. Given all this, and Favreau’s understanding that he’s aiming at younger viewers, it’s reasonable to assume the film felt logical to Disney.
Hardcore Star Wars may well be a little disappointed, though. The Mandalorian and Grogu seems to be a standalone, rather than some sort of “triumphant return” for Star Wars, which many had hoped for. To be fair, that’s not really a problem; it’s all the film was ever meant to be, and the major relaunch is presumably next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter. Still, it’s somewhat disappointing to realize the first Star Wars film in seven years didn’t really have a strong pitch behind it.
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