Seven years ago, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters and left me with a feeling reminiscent of another infamous franchise low point 22 years earlier: Batman & Robin. Was this the end of our theatrical journey with these characters for the foreseeable future? Not because I held vitriol toward the film. Anyone who knows me knows I’m an unapologetic guilty-pleasure defender of Batman & Robin, and I understand the long-term damage a divisive finale can inflict on a franchise. The Rise of Skywalker closed out the Skywalker Saga in the most shrug-inducing fashion possible, especially after Star Wars: The Last Jedi dared to open the galaxy to bold new ideas and, in the process, fractured the Star Wars fandom.
Ironically, 2019 also gave us the first season of The Mandalorian, a series that brought a “new hope”, intentional pun included, to the future of Star Wars by stepping away from the familiar. However, by its third season, the show had failed to meet those lofty expectations. That ultimately made The Mandalorian & Grogu the first Star Wars film in seven years to arrive with surprisingly muted anticipation, leaving many fans hoping for something closer to Andor than this return to blockbuster Star Wars storytelling.
The Mandalorian & Grogu may not reach the highs many hoped for, but it still delivers a fun two-hour space adventure in the same vein as Solo: A Star Wars Story. Instead of trying to reinvent or massively expand the Star Wars mythology, the film keeps things simple and focuses on Din Djarin and Grogu’s latest mission together. Jon Favreau takes full advantage of the IMAX format with large-scale action sequences built for the theatrical experience, while Ludwig Göransson continues to make a strong argument for himself as one of the best composers working today. The film still carries some of the episodic pacing issues inherited from the Disney+ series, but Din Djarin and Grogu remain such a naturally entertaining duo that it’s easy to get swept up in the adventure regardless. It may not belong on the Mount Rushmore of the franchise, but after years of uncertainty surrounding Star Wars on the big screen, it’s still a welcome hyperspace jump back to a galaxy far, far away.
The Mandalorian & Grogu picks up after the events of season three of The Mandalorian, as Din Djarin and Grogu continue navigating a post-Empire galaxy still dealing with the remnants of Imperial rule. When the New Republic pulls the duo into a mission to rescue Rotta the Hutt, what initially appears to be a straightforward assignment quickly spirals into something far more dangerous, as information tied to a growing threat emerges in the Galaxy.
Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor craft a screenplay that feels far more interested in introducing new characters than building a compelling emotional story around the ones audiences have spent three seasons investing in. Many of these new additions ultimately fall flat, leaving much of the film oddly devoid of genuine emotional motivation. That becomes especially frustrating once the movie finally attempts to tap into deeper emotional weight so late in the story, long after those moments needed to land. While some of those emotional beats do work, they arrive a little too late, leaving the film feeling emotionally hollow at times and making its 2+ hour runtime feel far more overlong than it should.
One of the film’s biggest swings comes through its usage of the Hutts, particularly Jeremy Allen White’s take on Rotta the Hutt. A gladiator-style reinvention of the character yields a handful of entertaining sequences, but I never fully connected with Rotta himself. Even more disappointing is the inclusion of Rotta’s aunt and uncle as central antagonists, who often come across less like genuine threats to Din Djarin and Grogu and more like villains pulled from a standalone episode of the series. That ultimately adds to the feeling that portions of the film play more like an extended Disney+ adventure than a fully realized big-screen story.
The Mandalorian & Grogu is at its strongest whenever the focus remains on Din Djarin and Grogu. Part of what made the 2019 debut season of The Mandalorian feel like such a refreshing addition to the franchise was its ability to tell a smaller, more personal story while building such a compelling dynamic between its two central characters. Whenever Jon Favreau leans back into that, the film genuinely works. Pedro Pascal once again brings an effortless charm to Din Djarin, while Grogu continues to steal scenes as arguably the most adorable creature in the galaxy, leading to some of the film’s sweetest moments. And while Sigourney Weaver is mostly relegated to an extended cameo appearance, she remains a welcome presence anytime she shows up on screen.
The film’s technical scope remains impressive, as is often the case with Star Wars on the big screen. The opening action set piece is undeniable, immediately setting the tone with the kind of scale audiences expect from the franchise, while the IMAX presentation is consistently used to its advantage throughout the film. It all leads to several genuinely crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster moments, while the CGI-heavy visuals are very much present, they rarely become distracting. The true MVP, however, is three-time Academy Award winner Ludwig Göransson. Göransson’s use of synth throughout the score absolutely rips, and what continues to separate him from so many working composers is his ability to make each soundtrack feel distinct from the last. With The Odyssey already on the horizon, it feels safe to assume even more praise and another Oscar nomination are likely headed his way.
The Mandalorian & Grogu ultimately feel like a reflection of where Star Wars currently stands as a franchise. It’s no longer carrying the impossible burden of concluding a decades-spanning saga, nor is it trying to reinvent the mythology in the way The Last Jedi once attempted. Instead, it settles into being a straightforward adventure driven almost entirely by the chemistry between Din Djarin and Grogu, and for the most part, that’s enough. While the film never fully escapes the episodic limitations inherited from its Disney+ roots and occasionally leaves emotional opportunities unexplored, there’s still an undeniable charm to watching these characters back on the big screen.
Maybe that’s ultimately where Star Wars works best right now: not trying to constantly carry the weight of legacy or reshape the franchise’s future, but simply telling entertaining stories within this galaxy again. The Mandalorian & Grogu may not be the grand cinematic revival some hoped for, but it proves there’s still plenty of life left in Star Wars when the franchise remembers that adventure and heart should always come before mythology.
