There are various constants in the STAR WARS universe that vary little from project to project. All of the films, books, and streaming series are world-building. The production values are always state-of-the-art. And the attempt at family appeal in its storytelling, four-quadrant in studio speak, tends to be the norm. All such elements are present and accounted for in THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, the new feature film based on the popular Disney+ streaming series. Plaudits to show creator/co-screenwriter/director Jon Favreau for faithfully continuing those tropes mentioned with fervor and flair. However, this new film raises many more questions than it answers and leaves me scratching my head about where the franchise is going, despite some entertainment value. Is the venerable STAR WARS franchise at a crossroads? I think so.
For starters, where is the focus of the franchise now going to be? Is Disney concentrating on the big screen anew by bringing the franchise’s streaming successes to IMAX and similar formats? Second, is Disney going to expand their universe of characters and storytelling to keep both old and new fans thoroughly engaged? And finally, what do they want an audience to take away from the last 20 years of the franchise, especially as some of their newer properties are being discontinued (OBI-WAN KENOBI), while others are promised to continue despite lacking return dates to the small or big screen (AHSOKA)?
On these core levels, I think Disney is waffling, and unfortunately, such timidity looms large in this new film. Specifically, the story may be presented on a screen as large as IMAX, but its adventure felt almost insignificant, even puny, compared to the grandeur of previous efforts showcased on the big screen.
Additionally, the characters they’ve centered this big tentpole around do not hold much interest here. The Mandalorian, played by the charming and versatile Pedro Pascal, is under a helmet and boxy metallic uniform for 90% of the film, while Grogu is an underdeveloped alien child that never convinces you it’s little more than a glorified puppet. (Despite being dubbed “Baby Yoda” by the fans, this little guy isn’t half the creation that Yoda was back in 1981.) There are few human characters around to pick up the slack, and a certain humanity feels lacking from the first moment to the last. (This was not the case with the show, where there were plenty of strong human characters.)
Also, this film betrays its family-friendly modus operandi by being too cutesy by half for adult audiences, and far too violent for half the movie for younger audiences. If I had to guess who this film is really for, I’d say 8-year-olds, what with the emphasis on Grogu and other cuddly critters in support, but in no way is the JOHN WICK-esque murder spree undertaken by the Mandalorian appropriate for that age group. It’s confounding.
I would argue, too, that those pulling the strings, including Favreau, don’t fully have a grasp on what they’re doing yet in regard to the big picture or the next five years. Perhaps they are waiting to see how the wind blows here, but make no mistake, this first effort out of the gate in 2026 doesn’t cut the mustard. It’s too kiddie, but also too violent. It’s likable and familiar, but not very unique. And it feels like the galaxy far, far away is shrinking with each execution because too many of the same characters pop up over and over and over again. Does every tale of STAR WARS have to tie into characters from the first three films so absolutely? It would seem so.
The galaxy should be big enough to hold all kinds of new stories, completely fresh characters, and more varied points of view than just those that align with the Empire or the Rebels. Projects in the pipeline should be able to exist without conjuring the names of Skywalker, Hutt, or Jedi, but I doubt that is the case with what is coming down the pike from those running operations. The streaming series ANDOR was an exception, feeling very fresh because it focused more on the political maneuverings that were setting the stage for the various alliances, but can STAR WARS tell a story without all its past?
Perhaps the worst thing that THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU does is fail to make this STAR WARS film feel special. It certainly doesn’t feel like an event, unlike the other films that did so when released, despite their levels of success. Perhaps by shrinking STAR WARS to fit the small screen, a healthy portion of swagger or grandeur dissipated. And the story of the Mandalorian assignment to keep the good son of Jabba the Hutt out of the clutches of his evil Hutt uncles here feels more than a little off-brand. The film wants to be an intergalactic version of MIDNIGHT RUN, with the bounty hunter and charge fighting and bickering, but it turns into one big kill-fest when Mando has to murder all the guards and minions the bad Hutt brothers send their way.
Meanwhile, Grogu is starting to learn to use his Yoda-like powers, such as mind melding, moving objects, and lifting 100 times his body weight, but the character doesn’t talk and still feels like a toddler. Sigourney Weaver shows up as a rebel manager, but it feels like a glorified genre cameo more than anything. That’s the extent of the rest of the narrative, despite the CGI wizards creating some remarkably grotesque monsters for Mando to battle.
It remains to be seen how an expensive property like STAR WARS fends off the new Disney budget cuts, the back-and-forth between the big and small screen, and the extra patience required of an audience to wait for new executions that demand so much post-production. Yet, if THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU is any indication, it paints a picture where trying to do good just isn’t going to be good enough. Not with the biggest franchise in Hollywood history. Bring back the swagger and grandeur. Please!
