The Mandalorian and Grogu is a lazy attempt at bringing TV to the big screen
Key takeaways
- It’s a fun diversion, but is that enough?
- Lucasfilm The Mandalorian and Grogu was quite literally an afterthought, and it shows.
- The result is a space adventure that feels surprisingly low-stakes for a Star Wars film.
It’s a fun diversion, but is that enough?
Lucasfilm The Mandalorian and Grogu was quite literally an afterthought, and it shows. It was pitched after the 2023 Hollywood writer's strike delayed production of The Mandalorian's fourth season, even though director and writer Jon Favreau had already completed the scripts for that season. So Favreau had to go back to the drawing board to create a whole new adventure for his two characters, one that didn't lean too much on prior knowledge of the TV series, and that could tell a self-contained story in a few hours.
The result is a space adventure that feels surprisingly low-stakes for a Star Wars film. Following the end of The Mandalorian's third season, the armor-clad Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his tiny green ward are now working for the New Republic to find previous Imperial commanders, and ultimately bring them to justice. In an almost video game-like setup, Djarin is tasked with hunting down a mysterious Imperial, but doing so also involves finding the kidnapped son of Boba Fett. It may as well be a fetch quest.