Star Wars is finally coming back to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu, and it’s pulling in other corners of the galaxy far, far away to help its return. It’s been six years since the last Star Wars movie, 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, which ended the Skywalker Saga on a divisive note. Taking The Mandalorian from the small screen to theaters is an attempt at fixing that, building on the show’s popularity to help re-launch the Disney property as a bona fide movie franchise once again, with some even bigger things to come after it.
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The first trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu does a pretty good job of selling the movie, by… not changing too much. This looks like an episode of the TV show, only on an even greater scale, and if it can recapture some of the magic of the first two seasons, it’ll have done well. Still, this is a franchise release, which means it won’t be entirely standalone: there’s the presence of Rotta the Hutt (yes, son of Jabba), who first appeared back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the movie), and we also briefly get to see Garazeb Orrelios – that’s Zeb to his friends, and to us – from Star Wars Rebels.
Why Zeb Appears In The Mandalorian & Grogu
Zeb technically isn’t the first Star Wars Rebels character to make the leap to the big screen – Chopper had a background cameo in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – but this should be the most substantial. The animated series has already formed the backbone of Ahsoka Season 1, and Zeb himself had a cameo in The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 5. That established he was now working with the New Republic, and at the same Adelphi base as Carson Teva (with it later revealed in Ahsoka that Zeb was training recruits). Crucially, it was also clear that the New Republic, or at least parts of it, was well aware that the Empire remained a viable threat.
The movie is simply building on that and will likely give him an expanded role in things. From the trailer, we see Zeb fighting (and totally destroying) a Stormtrooper, using his trusty AB-75 bo-rifle, the weapon of the Lasan Honor Guard. Earlier, we saw Mando and Grogu scoping out what looks like some kind of lingering Imperial base, with multiple troopers surrounding it. This suggests Zeb accompanies the pair on whatever mission they’re on for the New Republic, which is something he has a hell of a lot of experience in, thanks to the events of Rebels. Zeb being in the movie had been revealed before now, but this is our first look at him in action and hints of his story, and it seems pretty great.
Zeb’s Mandalorian Movie Cameo Helps Set Up A Massive Star Wars Event
Zeb fighting against Stormtroopers is cool in and of itself, but that won’t be where things end for the character in terms of live-action. He is also confirmed among the Star Wars Rebels characters in Ahsoka Season 2 (and was featured in its concept art trailer at Celebration Japan), which is currently in production and expected to be released later in 2026, presumably after The Mandalorian and Grogu. To that end, Zeb could become a critical bridge between this movie, Ahsoka Season 2, and what’s next for Star Wars.
Ahsoka Season 1 not only brought back Grand Admiral Thrawn, but saw him return to the galaxy, having been in Peridea, with his sights clearly set on taking control and re-establishing the Empire’s dominance. Now, things are pointing to a major team-up to stop him, but that won’t just happen in Season 2. Dave Filoni is planning a New Republic event movie that will serve as the culmination of this Mandoverse storyline. Presumably, that’s going to involve Ahsoka and the characters from Rebels working with key characters from The Mandalorian, such as Din Djarin, and New Republic pilots like Carson Teva.
Ahsoka and Zeb are the only ones who’ve met Mando, and so are best-placed to recruit him for this mission and inform him about the threat Thrawn poses. That’s something we might even get teases of in The Mandalorian and Grogu. While the early glimpses do look a little more standalone, it could further build out the Imperial Remnant and even name-drop the blue-skinned villain, allowing for greater shared universe connectivity without getting in the way of its own plot too much. It remains to be seen just how much Zeb appears in the film, but clearly, this is the way to a much more epic crossover.
The Mandalorian and Grogu will be released on May 22nd, 2026.
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