Star Wars started 2024 with a big announcement: a Mandalorian movie called The Mandalorian & Grogu will be the next franchise entry to hit theatres. On the surface, that’s a very exciting prospect. Two of our favourite Star Wars characters on the big screen for the first time! But it raises more than a few questions, many of which we have answers.
Scroll down to read them all!
What will The Mandalorian & Grogu be about?
The Mandalorian & Grogu is, simply, the next chapter in the story of these two characters. When we last saw them, they were living together peacefully on Nevarro and, frankly, the big beats of their story—Grogu’s Jedi training, the defeat of Moff Gideon, the resurrection of Mandalore—had all been covered. If we had to guess, the film will focus on Grogu learning the ways of the Mandalore, but that’s purely speculation.
Who is making The Mandalorian & Grogu?
Jon Favreau will make his Star Wars feature film directorial debut with the movie, which seems like the best choice as he created the series and has made more than his share of other big movies. He’s also producing along with Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy, but it’s unclear who specifically wrote this movie. We’d imagine Favreau played a big role as he writes the bulk of the show’s episodes, but it has yet to be officially confirmed.
Will there still be a season four of The Mandalorian?
While this movie certainly will delay the release of a fourth season of The Mandalorian, io9 hears that nothing is set in stone about its future. This movie will come out, other movies and shows will come out, and then Lucasfilm will see how it goes. So maybe the characters return to Disney+ and maybe they don’t. Time will tell.
Will Pedro Pascal return as The Mandalorian?
Production on The Mandalorian & Grogu will begin in 2024—which, one might assume, would make it very difficult for star Pedro Pascal to be a part of this. After all, he will be shooting season two of The Last of Us for a few months starting in February and is likely to lead a Fantastic Four movie soon too, which almost certainly also has to film this year.
So no Pedro? Not so fast. Pascal hasn’t been on set and in the suit for The Mandalorian for some time. That means Favreau could basically make the entire movie, or at least huge chunks of it, without him, then bring him in to do voiceover work at a later date. We’d bet anything that, once the movie is released, it’s his name leading the credits. Though, again, this is unconfirmed at the moment.
Will other stars of The Mandalorian appear in the film?
There’s been no official announcement on casting for the film at all but, as with the Pedro Pascal question, one has to assume that any characters needed to tell this story will be played by the actors in question. Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow, Katee Sackhoff, Amy Sedaris, keep an eye on your phones!
Is Dave Filoni’s Star Wars movie still happening?
Last year, Lucasfilm made a huge deal about three new Star Wars movies coming. One starring Daisy Ridley by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, one about the origins of the Jedi and the Force by James Mangold, and a mega Star Wars Disney+ crossover by Dave Filoni. That last movie is still listed independently in the official press release for The Mandalorian & Grogu, so: yes, a Dave Filoni movie blending The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and more is still in the works. But now, just coming a little later than first expected.
Does this movie change the release of other Star Wars movies?
Lucasfilm says that The Mandalorian & Grogu will “lead Lucasfilm’s ongoing feature-development slate,” a strong suggestion that it will be the next Star Wars movie in theatres. So, though a release date hasn’t been officially announced yet, if we turn our attention to Disney’s release schedule, there are films scheduled for release on May 22, 2026 and December 18, 2026.
Since we all assumed Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey movie would be the next film released, the safe—but unconfirmed—bet is that the film announced today just moves that one back. Maybe Mandalorian & Grogu gets released in May 2026 and Rey’s New Jedi Order movie hits in December 2026. There’s also a date of December 17, 2027 on the schedule, which could also be the Rey film.
What does this movie mean for Disney+ shows like Ahsoka?
With Favreau directing The Mandalorian & Grogu rather than Filoni, and Filoni’s movie coming after this, what will Filoni be doing in the meantime? Again, the official Star Wars website has the answer: he’s already developing Ahsoka season two. So it seems like 2024 will bring The Acolyte and Skeletron Crew, 2025 will bring Andor season two, and then maybe at the end of that year or early the next, Ahsoka will return as well. Because, come May 2026, Star Wars turns back to the big screen.
Why should we care?
This is kind of the big one, right? Over the past several years, we’ve seen almost 24 hours of the Mandalorian and Grogu across 24 episodes/chapters of their TV show. If this is merely Chapter 25, what could happen to warrant us paying to see two hours in the theatre when we can see 24 hours for half that much as part of a monthly Disney+ subscription? We don’t have the answer to that but that will be the big challenge. Have Favreau and Filoni found a story that demands to be made a cinematic event? Or is it just two episodes of the show as one? “This new story is a perfect fit for the big screen,” Kathleen Kennedy says, and it better be.