Though it wasn’t always the plan, a “Mandalorian” movie makes a lot of sense for where Star Wars is right now. Since the mixed responses to “The Last Jedi,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and “The Rise of Skywalker,” which were accompanied by diminishing box office takes, Lucasfilm has been timid to bet big on another Star Wars movie. “The Mandalorian” has been the most successful and widely watched Disney+ project that the franchise has put out since 2019, making it the perfect choice to bring casual fans back to the theater. As Kathleen Kennedy put it in the official announcement, “Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen.”
The official statement from Lucasfilm also mentions that Filoni’s Star Wars movie is still in development — a film meant to bring together storylines from “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Ahsoka,” and the upcoming “Skeleton Crew” show. The popular theory is that Filoni’s movie will feature Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) as the big bad. Hopefully, keeping these two movies separate will give “The Mandalorian & Grogu” more room to breathe. Given how tumultuous Star Wars has been in recent years, it seems prudent to return to theaters with a simple space adventure movie, rather than the climax to five years of assorted streaming storylines.
“The Mandalorian & Grogu” is currently slated to begin production later in 2024.
