Today The Mandalorian and Grogu movie trailer dropped from Lucasfilm and I have mixed thoughts about seeing this incredible duo on the big screen but first let’s stop and take a moment to appreciate how damn cool the poster for this film looks!
Pedro Pascal is back again on the big screen (no surprise there, he’s in literally everything EVERYWHERE) stepping back into the boots of the Mandalorian alongside Grogu (Baby Yoda) with a May 22, 2026 release date penned for their first cinematic debut together.
Whilst I love the idea of seeing these guys on the big screen it’s going to be quite a mammoth task to take the episodic format and expand it into a fully fledged feature film without it feeling like one very extended episode.
World building will be part and parcel of the story and whilst building upon the foundations of the series it’s certainly a leap stretching it in a cinematic length debut.
Academy Award winner Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast whereas Jeremy Allen White joins as Rotta, the son of Jabba the Hutt, hinting at fresh connections to the criminal underworld. Jonny Coyne plays an Imperial warlord, representing the remnants of the old regime still determined to resist the New Republic.
The trailer feels very hollow and is simply there to wink and nod to fan service and nothing more but there isn’t a great deal on display here that we haven’t already seen a million times before and an audience demands more from a film than it does from a series so this could be a very interesting film to keep an eye on when it debuts next year.
There’s a feel gloss Disney+ feel to it that isn’t sitting right with me but it does have the best folks behind it so I’ll keep the faith for now.
The film is directed by Jon Favreau, who also produces alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and creative partner Dave Filoni. This core team has been central to the success of the Disney+ series, ensuring the transition to the big screen retains the same balance of character-driven storytelling and immersive world-building.
I’m curious of the scale that this film will handle along with stepping outside of the usual battle and bounty hunting storyline that anchored the series as they overcome more challenging obstacles together.
Will they be able to handle this new significant step forward for the franchise or will it come crashing down as easily as an AT-AT playing hopscotch?
Time will tell!
