The Mandalorian and Grogu 2026
I have been a fan of The Mandalorian on Disney Plus since it came out. But instead of a fourth season, they are releasing this movie, the first Star Wars movie since 2019. It hasn't gotten great reviews, but fans seem reasonably happy with it. One problem is that the creators couldn't assume the audience had seen any of the TV show, so most of that universe and those storylines are put on the back burner and you get this long stand alone episode. There is a lot of focus on Grogu, the little muppet Yoda baby, which is a challenge because he moves like a muppet and doesn't speak. They doubled down on this by bringing in some muppet co-stars which fills up maybe a somewhat slow moving quarter of the movie. Much of the rest of the movie involves the Mandalorian interacting with the Hutt family (relatives of the belated Jabba), who are a powerful faction in the Star Wars universe. But the CGI for them doesn't work much better than the muppet stuff does for Grogu, so surprisingly, this is a Star Wars movie with lackluster visuals. There are some highlights, like a big opening sequence involving a warlord aligned with the old Empire, plus it is neat to see Sigourney Weaver fill the shoes of Carrie Fisher with a similar character. But no real character development and there isn't much drama, just a lot of moving parts and a lot of fighting, including some gladiator stuff that I have issues with. I can see how some people might not like the movie, but I do like the characters and was happy to see this. It is entertaining in general, but not great, feeling a little too much like a minor offshoot of the bigger story, like the movie intro you might see for Mandalorian - The Ride at Disneyworld.
Written: 31 May 2026