It’s extremely rare for a TV series to make the leap to the big screen, but The Mandalorian has been Force lightning in a bottle for Disney. Set within the Star Wars universe, and following the events of Return of the Jedi (but decades before The Force Awakens), the space western is arguably the most popular new addition to the franchise. As a launch title for Disney+, back in 2019, it certainly helped drive streaming subscriptions. Now it seems like The House of Mouse is relying on The Mandalorian yet again, this time to fill the Star Wars-shaped hole in its 2026 cinema release schedule.
So we have new movie Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, following on from Season 3 of The Mandalorian. It’s directed and co-written by show creator Jon Favreau, whose filmography includes Iron Man 1 and 2, along with the “live action” The Jungle Book and The Lion King.
As for the plot of The Mandalorian and Grogu, ever since adopting orphaned baby Grogu (long known as The Child), Pedro Pascal’s titular helmeted bounty hunter has become more “selective” in the contracts he accepts. Put another way, he only hunts down the bad guys, namely former Empire commanders and other threats to the fledgling New Republic. Then his Republic contact, colonel Ward (newcomer to the franchise Sigourney Weaver) encourages Mando to accept a mission that will see him work for the treacherous Hutt crime family. In exchange for information on Empire strongmen, Mando must rescue Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta (voiced by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White) from a rival mobster.
The good news is that if you were worried that The Mandalorian and Grogu was going to feel like episodes of the TV show simply rebundled for the big screen, you’re wrong. At least technically. Filmed for IMAX, The Mandalorian and Grogu is extremely cinematic in its framing and scope, going beyond its already movie-scale home viewing origins. Ultra-large format screens, especially those with updated high-clarity technology, spotlight any CGI that’s subpar, but there’s nothing wobbly here. The Mandalorian and Grogu is visually as polished as Beskar Steel, while still using charming lo-fi puppetry to bring to life Grogu and the scene-stealing Anzellans, those diminutive mechanics who are basically the Minions of the Star Wars universe.
A further plus is that the movie is scored by Oppenheimer and Sinners’ Ludwig Göransson, probably the most exciting film composer working today. It’s unusual to single out music as a primary drawcard for any modern Star Wars project, but three-time Oscar winner Göransson – who also scored the first two seasons of the Mandalorian – makes The Mandalorian and Grogu stand out on the audio front. While he ticks the box on stirring John Williams-esque orchestral sound, he also produces powerful synth, primarily to accompany scenes on the never-before-visited planet of Shakari, a setting that gives the Outer Rim its own cyberpunk dystopia.
The Mandalorian and Grogu looks and sounds great – every bit the sci-fi fantasy blockbuster audiences could want. The problem, though, is that the film is narratively as tepid as they come. Not bad, let it be noted, but bland. At the same time it doesn’t bother to reintroduce any characters, The Mandalorian and Grogu jettisons the series’ secondary storylines (focused on the Empire’s attempts to regain power) and most of the fan service cameos.
What fills the plot void for the surprisingly standalone movie then? Sadly, nothing much. The interesting new character of Rotta – a future Hear Me Out contender – is treated with the nuance of a WWE body slam. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian and Grogu goes out of its way not to build on its tale of unlikely foster father and son in any way. There’s no evolution of Mando and the Child’s relationship. On top of that, the film oozes a sense of “playing safe,” like events are rolling out with a foot only partially applied to the emotional accelerator.
It’s thrilling to watch Mando – doubled when helmeted by stuntmen Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder – in John Wick mode as he fights solo through whole squadrons of enemies. However, the battles are bloodless, and/or only against cannon fodder droids and CGI monsters, making them meaningless. As for the film’s lone distressing moment, which might produce some tears, the scene swiftly cuts to the next day and all is well again. Evidently someone insisted that it’s hard to sell Grogu plushies to sobbing little ones.
It’s not even like The Mandalorian and Grogu is strapped for running time, at 132 minutes. It just feels committed to rolling out doggedly like two disparate episodes of the series stitched together, back-to-back. The movie is dazzling on the senses, but disappointingly dull on a deeper level. In going bigger, it forgot to bring with it the emotional grappling hook, and sense of consequence, that caught viewers in the first place.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in cinemas from 22 May.
| Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu review | |
It looks and sounds great, embracing the scope that the cinema experience provides. However, in focusing on the superficial razzle dazzle, The Mandalorian and Grogu ends up devoid of emotional depth, doing nothing to develop the tender found family dynamic that propelled the Mandalorian to success in the first place. |
7 |
| Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu was reviewed on IMAX | |