The Mandalorian And Grogu: What We Know About The Star Wars Movie

For the last few years, the Star Wars franchise has found its success on the small screen. The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka have continued the story of the galaxy far, far, away while the franchise has undergone a significant hiatus in theaters. But that is now set to change, and sooner than we thought, as the biggest heroes on Disney+, The Mandalorian and Grogu, are set to take on the big screen in a new film fittingly titled The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Specifics of what The Mandalorian & Grogu will be about, and how it will all fit into the larger franchise are few, but there are a few significant facts that we know for certain, and a bit more that can be reliably surmised. Here’s what we know about the next Star Wars movie.

(SPOILER ALERT: This article contains specific details about events from The Mandalorian series, so be warned if you're not caught up on the Disney+ show!)

What Is The Mandalorian & Grogu Release Date?

When The Mandalorian & Grogu was first announced, only a production start date of “2024” was given. No release date was specifically given, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a pretty good idea of when the film will come out. The official calendar of upcoming Disney movies lists three release dates for "Untitled Star Wars" films. Two are scheduled for 2026 and the third in 2027.

While there are at least three other upcoming Star Wars movies in development right now that we know of, none are expected to go into production this year. What’s more, the announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu stated that the movie would “lead Lucasfilm’s ongoing feature-development slate” indicating the movie will be the next Star Wars movie to come out. This makes it most likely the movie is targeting a release date of May 22, 2026, but that has yet to be confirmed, so we'll have to wait and see. 

The Mandalorian & Grogu Cast

If there was one thing more surprising than the announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu as a film, it was the fact that almost nothing was said about the movie. This includes information that the title itself would seem to confirm. At this moment not a single cast member of the movie has been revealed, including The Mandalorian himself.

We can’t say with certainty that Pedro Pascal will appear in the movie. At the same time, it seems highly unlikely that we won’t see him or at the very least hear his voice. Who else may be part of The Mandalorian & Grogu cast is another question. Seeing other characters from The Mandalorian franchise seems likely, and based on where we left the character on the Disney+ series, we could see actors like Emily Swallow or Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze appear.

Jon Favreau Will Direct The New Movie

While little is known about who will appear in front of the camera, more is known about who will be running things behind the camera. Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Kathleen Kennedy will produce the film. It’s also been confirmed that Favreau will direct the new movie.

Surprisingly, this will only be Favreau’s second time directing any Mandalorian-related content. While he has written or co-written nearly every episode of the series, he’s only directed a single episode. It’s unknown who has written or is writing The Mandalorian & Grogu script, but it’s likely Favreau is involved. 

What The Mandalorian & Grogu May Be About

With The Mandalorian & Grogu going into production this year we’re to believe the movie will be the next chapter of this story. Therefore, trying to figure out what the movie will be about, we take a look at where Season 3 of The Mandalorian left the title characters. In The Mandalorian Season 3 ending we saw Din Djardin formally adopt Grogu, and the newly christened Din Grogu became his adoptive father’s apprentice. We also saw the pair put down roots in a home on the planet Nevarro.

With most previous plot threads seemingly resolved,  the door is open to a story going in just about any direction. One assumes the story will begin where we left off. Perhaps something will happen on Nevarro that Mando and Grogu will get involved in. Or perhaps the two will be back to being bounty hunters, and that’s how the story gets rolling. Of course, it could be something much bigger.

Who The Mandalorian & Grogu Villain Could Be

Every good Star Wars movie needs a villain, and there are a couple of high-potential options for The Mandalorian & Grogu. One is Grand Admiral Thrawn. His name has been mentioned in The Mandalorian and we finally met him during the first season of Ahsoka. He’s now back in Mando’s galaxy, and we expect he will attempt to resurrect the Empire.

Another possibility is Moff Gideon. While we seemingly saw him die in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, we also saw a room full of clones of him that he was developing, so it’s possible the person we saw die was a clone, or that somewhere there’s a clone that survived and so one way or another Gideon isn't dead. Of course, Gideon was a supporter of Thrawn, so it’s possible both could be part of the new movie. 

What Does The Movie Mean For Season 4 Of The Mandalorian?

The announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu was a bit of a shock because all focus had been on The Mandalorian Season 4 on Disney+. Jon Favreau had previously stated that Season 4 was already written, and while the announcement of the new movie didn’t say anything about the new season of the show (though it did confirm Season 2 of Ahsoka was coming) we expect that the new season is happening, unless, the new movie is Season 4 of The Mandalorian.

It’s possible that, for whatever reason, the decision was made to transform what was to be Season 4 of The Mandalorian into a theatrical film. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that with a Disney+ show. The Don Cheadle-led Armor Wars was to be a Disney+ series before the decision was made to make an Armor Wars movie instead. It’s possible that could be what happened here, but until we have confirmation, we’ll assume more Mandalorian on Disney+ is still planned.

The Mandalorian & Grogu Are Still Expected To Appear In Dave Filoni’s Planned Movie

While The Mandalorian & Grogu was a surprise announcement when it came, we were expecting to see the two title characters on the big screen at some point. At the last Star Wars celebration it was revealed that Dave Filoni would direct a theatrical Star Wars movie that would act as a blowout finale to the interconnected Star Wars series we’ve seen, including The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and the new Skeleton Crew, among possibly more. The announcement of the new movie confirmed that Dave Filoni’s movie is still one of those planned for the future, so this film is not that movie.

It’s still very early days for The Mandalorian & Grogu so there’s a lot of information we still don’t have. As new details are revealed, we’ll continue to update this so keep checking in as we go along for the ride and follow the next Star Wars adventure on the big screen.