Star Wars is back on the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu, a film that’s enjoyable enough for what it is even as some aspects might leave you frustrated.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Directed By: Jon Favreau
Written By: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Sigourney Weaver
Release Date: May 22, 2026
After seven years, Star Wars has finally returned to the big screen. After several different movie announcements and false starts, the one to finally get across the finish line actually picks up from the first ever live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. Coming years after wrapping its third season, this film had the simultaneous ability to be more appealing to general audiences—everyone loves “baby Yoda”—while also adding on to some of the bigger elements teased throughout the series.
The end result is something that’s a strange mix of both. It definitely has the ease of access to it, even for people who haven’t watched the show, but obviously picks up on certain story threads (Mando works for the New Republic now) from the show. It’s…interesting and I’ve got a lot of thoughts I can’t quite shake.
If you’re looking for a straight up “good/bad” review, I’ll go ahead and tell you: it’s a lot of fun. I would definitely suggest checking it out in theaters and bring some kiddos along if you can. The hooting and hollering they bring to the experience makes it all the more enjoyable—and they will love it. It’s a perfectly fine popcorn flick that’ll keep you entertained.
The problem is, when you think about any of it too much, it begins to come apart at the seams. I’ve likened it to Attack of the Clones in that it’s a movie that knows what it wants to do and says fuck all to get there. It makes for some head-scratching leaps in story logic, but brings an undeniable fun factor that makes it strangely engaging.
Mandalorian and Grogu is an odd mix of contrasts, bringing both some of my favorite things to see happen along with some of my least favorite. As such, this review isn’t so much a review as it is me diving into the film’s strange dichotomy to try and parse out my own conflicted thoughts upon watching it. As such, I will be diving into spoilers unlike my normal reviews. So if you haven’t watched yet, come back later for this chat.
Nostalgia and Change
Take a quick gander around at some of the comments about the movie and you’ll likely see a number of people saying too much of it is “nostalgia bait.” In some ways this is true. It very much embodies that “playing with action figures” vibe, with a number of homages to the original films. The biggest being the gladiator action sequence as Rotta and Din Djarin are forced to fight a dejarik match featuring the real-life versions of the holographic monsters we saw in the original film.
Honestly, these bits weren’t much of an issue. Hell, the gladiator sequence is among the best parts of the film. I noticed more nostalgia based callbacks to the show itself than anything from the older movies. But for the ones that do pop up, I actually thought they were handled in a fun way.
Yes they are obvious—maybe even eye-rollingly so—but only to long time fans. The reality is, so many casual viewers and kiddos aren’t even going to make the connections. For all the complaining some of us fans do about Filoni bringing in everyone from The Clone Wars to new projects, even my older kids had no idea who Embo was until I mentioned he originated in the cartoon (same with Rotta). For them, he was just a badass bounty hunter with a cool dog. To be frank, I actually never cared much for Embo in the cartoon, but loved him here.
That’s how pretty much all of these “nostalgia-bait” moments play out. In the crowded theater only myself and a couple others could be heard chuckling at them, while everyone else was unaware. If you’re going to plant a bunch of Easter eggs, it’s genuinely one of the best ways to incorporate them.
But as much as Mando and Grogu plays on Star Wars nostalgia, it’s wild how much it eschews some of the staples fans have come to expect. There’s no opening crawl (not even “A long time ago…”) and it’s also the first Star Wars movie ever to have opening credits.
It also keeps most of the story elements fresh/new. There aren’t any big cameos, unless you count Zeb, but he also works as just a cool new character if you haven’t watched Rebels. Legacy characters are given a rest while we also get to visit all new planets, or at least ones never put on the big screen before.
While we see the return of the Razor Crest, there are a host of new ships/vehicles as well. Not to mention we don’t see a single TIE fighter (been a while since a movie hasn’t had one of those), and the Stormtroopers who show up are only in a couple sequences.
So yeah, while the marketing obviously pushed the familiar aspects of the franchise, the film itself does a whole lot of new stuff. For me, this is one of the things it does best.
Conflicting Themes
While The Mandalorian and Grogu is fairly light on plot in general, it does have a couple primary themes running throughout. The biggest, centers on Grogu. When Din is captured by Embo and taken to Nal Hutta, Grogu embarks on his own rescue mission. Following that, he’s left to fend for himself and care for Din after he’s been poisoned by the giant dragon/snake thing.
It’s a touching sequence overall and hammers home the idea that Mando won’t always be there to protect him. As such Grogu has to “grow up” just a little bit in order to do what needs to be done.
Generally speaking, this is a pretty great theme and makes for some of the most emotionally engaging parts of the movie. Grogu finally feels like a character coming into his own, which is the type of growth that needs to happen. The problem, however, is the film still seems largely intent on infantilizing him overall.
This is most apparent early on, where he seems to be treated almost more like a pet (being fed treats by Rotta and given “heel/stay” commands) than a kid. Even after nursing his dad back to health and proving his independence, he’s still largely treated as a baby in the following scenes.
There are some great moments of Grogu taking charge (him kicking off the chase after Rotta, etc) but are almost immediately followed up by something kiddish. Almost like they’re afraid to age him up and miss out on the “baby Yoda” charm that’s captivated people.
Which is a little frustrating considering it feels like Grogu needs to age up. Even in the show, during his sojourn with Luke Skywalker, it’s outright said Luke feels like he’s reminding Grogu of things rather than training him. There’s the implication Grogu is repressing things due to his trauma during Order 66. And yet, he still hasn’t really moved beyond essentially being a toddler.
I get wanting to keep that aspect (it’s a merchandising monster), but it’s beginning to feel out of place. That the movie hints at him growing up, only to revert back when convenient feels like a harsh tease.
Another theme centers around Rotta (who ends up being one of my favorite new characters). The end of the film sees the New Republic bomb the shit out of an entire community, where we know civilians are living, and the justification for it boils down to: Hutts are bad.
Which is kinda funny considering the point of Rotta overall is to show how not all Hutts are bad and probably shouldn’t be lumped together as a singular entity. The whole thing about him is proving he’s not like the other Hutts. He doesn’t want to run a criminal empire, nor live the same hedonistic lifestyle. Instead he genuinely wants to help people and do good, all while making his own way in life.
Staying In Place
Mandalorian and Grogu works very well as a standalone adventure. Sure there are some connections to elements of the show, but nothing viewers necessarily need in order to enjoy what’s happening. By and large this is a good thing and allows the story to be enjoyable for everyone.
The downside is it seems wholly disinterested in engaging with the bigger things the show has previously focused on/teased. Sure, we get to see two members of the Shadow Council introduced in the last season, but the references to the Imperial Remnant at large, or its resurgent threat, are mostly absent.
That’s not to mention the stuff with the other Mandalorians working to remake Mandalore, or even the dangling thread of Grogu potentially being the “chosen one” in regards to the Mythosaur looking up at him. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand incorporating some of these things (especially that last bit) would require a far deeper knowledge of the show than most casual audiences would have. But not even a mention, nor Easter egg reference makes the film feel locked in place and unable to move things forward.
Along these lines, I couldn’t help but notice how the film takes some steps back in other ways. Namely, where are the women? For a show that featured so many women characters in very prominent roles for the story (to the point the online incels lashed out at it). It’s a strange regression.
Again, it’s hard to see where Bo-Katan, Fennic Shand, Koska, Kane, etc could fit into the specific self-contained story, but it’s nonetheless strange. We’ve only got Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward and Deborah Chow’s cameo character doesn’t even get a line of dialog. Considering how vitally important the Armorer has been to Mando AND Grogu’s journey, I was particularly bummed at her absence. Hell, Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto seemed like a shoo-in to show up and help Din work on his new Razor Crest.
Between the show finally filling in the gaps following Return of the Jedi (even giving us Luke’s Jedi academy!) and other progressive aspects, it feels all the more headscratching to see the film be so firmly stuck in place.
Looking Ahead
The Mandalorian and Grogu, in many ways, feels like what Star Wars as a franchise needs at the moment. With an abundance of shows, multiple films, countless books/comics, it can feel like a lot to get into. The film is readily accessible for newcomers of all ages. For kids especially, I could see this easily being their “gateway” point into the larger universe down the road.
It’s anecdotal, but my youngest child has never been all that big into Star Wars. She enjoys it well enough whenever I put it on in the background, and she’s had fun during the re-releases in theaters. That said, she’s largely looked at Star Wars as “Dad’s thing,” and something she doesn’t seek out on her own. Maul: Shadow Lord is the first time one of the shows have really hooked her (much to my joy), but she absolutely LOVED The Mandalorian and Grogu.
She saw it twice (once as a family and then as a helper during my charity event) and has mentioned wanting to go yet again. As we left the theater after the second round, she loudly proclaimed to her sibling, “I can’t wait for the next Star Wars movie!”
Star Wars is a generational franchise, with everyone having their own entry point. While I don’t think any of the shows over the last several years have had the same effect (despite their quality), Mandalorian and Grogu as a film has that quality. It’s simple, easy to get into and follow along without any previous lore knowledge necessary, and a lot of fun.
This is what the franchise, as a whole, needs right now to grow and bring in the next generation of fans…but it’s not necessarily the kind of film I want more of. I still want big swings out of the franchise and stories that connect on a bigger level that make you think deeper about things, expand on core themes, and even add to the lore.
This is perhaps the film’s greatest paradox. It works as a necessary entry point at a time when Lucasfilm needs to expand beyond their current fan-base. Yet this type of pure, popcorn flick, fun that only goes surface deep isn’t what I hope the future of the franchise looks like.
As I said, The Mandalorian and Grogu is a film of vast contrasts. Even as I write about the things that didn’t work for me, I find myself eager for that next viewing. While I can’t ignore the missed potential and long for it to have done more, I also can’t help but appreciate the fun factor and accessibility it brings to the table.
