After so many discussions about its viability, it’s now clear that The Mandalorian & Grogu has proven that it was the perfect movie comeback for Star Wars. It had been seven years since the franchise set in the galaxy far, far away released something on the big screen. The Star Wars sequel trilogy ended with JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was, frankly, an underwhelming way to wrap up the new era of the series. At the same time, Disney was setting up its own streaming platform, Disney+, building its portfolio with a mix of legacy shows and movies, as well as new material from its established IPs. In fact, the service was launched in 2019 with Pedro Pascal’s The Mandalorian as its inaugural project.
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Since then, Star Wars has existed solely on the small screen, with shows like The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Acolyte, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and most recently, Maul — Shadow Lord. It kept the galaxy going with a mix of new stories from fresh and familiar characters. That said, as one of the biggest franchises in the world, it was only a matter of time before Disney started laying the groundwork for its return in theaters. With the sequel trilogy done and no plans for another in the works, at least that’s publicized, choosing the narrative to be its big screen comeback vehicle was pressure-packed, to say the least. Admittedly, despite The Mandalorian‘s success on Disney+, learning The Mandalorian & Grogu would be the movie to break the seven-year drought drew criticisms.
Now that the film is out, it’s difficult to argue that Disney and Lucasfilm made the right call. Granted that The Mandalorian & Grogu isn’t perfect, with other Star Wars stories stronger, it was able to effectively do what it needed to, and that was more important at this point.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Is The Perfect Star Wars Summer Blockbuster
It didn’t help that the marketing for the Jon Favreau-directed film didn’t do a good job selling the project. Aside from the odd Super Bowl LX trailer and the lack of buzzworthy takeaways from succeeding promos, there were doubts about the film’s chances to succeed. Even I was skeptical of the viability of The Mandalorian & Grogu. Arguments about how Star Wars should have opted to do an Andor movie instead to cap off its brilliant run circulated online. Meanwhile, others pointed out that Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter with Ryan Gosling should have taken its place instead.
While both could have been great, The Mandalorian & Grogu had the perfect mix of elements needed for the moment. Don’t get me wrong, it would be fantastic to see Tony Gilroy given the chance to bring his fantastic and timely narrative with an Andor film, and it’s something that Lucasfilm, hopefully, still does. However, the project can still happen at a later time, while The Mandalorian & Grogu was a more appropriate summer blockbuster. It was enjoyable all throughout, tackling universal themes, such as found family and the good vs. bad dichotomy. After three seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+, it was familiar enough, even for non-Star Wars fans, to check out — something that Gosling’s Starfighter still isn’t. It leaned on its ties to the bigger universe but not so much that it was burdened by canon.
Overall, it was a solid film that appealed to a broader audience, which would help Star Wars re-establish itself in the movie space. Beyond that, the creative team of Favreau and Dave Filoni spearheading the blockbuster decreased the chances of another internal snafu that bogged down movies such as Rogue One, Solo, and even Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Why Star Wars’ Movie Comeback Needed To Be Safe
The fact of the matter is that Star Wars is in an important junction in its history. Disney’s re-introduction of the franchise has been tumultuous, making it more controversial in recent years. Its massive fan-base has very strong opinions of how it should move forward, which, on the one hand, is an indication of a deeply committed community, but on the other, poses challenges for those who are in control of it creatively. Star Wars’ movie comeback after seven years didn’t have to be groundbreaking, it just had to be good, as it was merely the first step in the process, and The Mandalorian & Grogu was exactly that. Now that the universe is back on the big screen, Lucasfilm and Disney can slowly build its presence there, eventually paving the way for more complex storylines.
At the same time, the ending of The Mandalorian & Grogu sets up future adventures for the father and son duo without the pressure of answering pressing queries about what’s happening in the larger galaxy. Their relationship has always been the backbone of the show and now, it will also be at the core of the budding film series, assuming that a sequel is happening.
The Mandalorian & Grogu is now showing in cinemas.
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