Summary
- The Mandalorian & Grogu movie idea has been in the works since 2020, shaping the direction of The Mandalorian TV show.
- Star Wars had plans to transition The Mandalorian to the big screen even before announcing season 3 of the show.
- The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters in 2026, marking the franchise’s first cinematic release since 2019.
Despite the nature of Star Wars’ January announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu movie seeming quite new and sudden at the time, it actually seems as if this movie idea has been in the works for much longer than anyone previously thought. As soon as The Mandalorian first premiered in 2019, Star Wars knew they had a massively successful brand in their hands, which they have since continued to cultivate. With 4 spin-off shows created and 3 successfully airing – The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew – The Mandalorian quickly became much more than a TV show.
The Mandalorian only had two seasons planned when the Star Wars TV show first aired, with its second installment knee-deep in production at that same time. The massive success it garnered opened up many pathways for Star Wars to take with this brand, and though it was assumed that the franchise intended to stick with multiple more seasons and spin-off shows, it turns out they were looking to the big screen quite early on. The Mandalorian & Grogu may have been a result of a change in plans, but these plans were much more than just a backup.
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Everything We Know About The Mandalorian & Grogu Movie
The Mandalorian’s story will continue with a Star Wars movie. Here’s everything we know about the project, including cast, release, and timeline.
Disney May Have Had Mandalorian Movie Plans As Early As 2020
Just a Year After its Debut
Surprisingly, it has been suggested in a recent update to Gina Carano (Cara Dune)’s lawsuit against Disney (via Deadline) that The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau mentioned plans for a “series of Star Wars movies based off of Disney+ shows including The Mandalorian” as early as November 2020. This is, of course, a notable three years before the announcement for The Mandalorian & Grogu even arrived, which had already been speculated to be a result of The Mandalorian season 4 being delayed by 2023’s Hollywood strikes. As it turns out, this may have been the plan all along.
This Movie Future Certainly Shaped The Mandalorian Season 3
The Mandalorian’s Most Recent Stories Reflect this Movie Mentality
It’s not hard to believe that this is true simply based off the way The Mandalorian-related stories have looked ever since 2020. While The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 felt very much like a contained story with a bittersweet ending of Din Djarin and Grogu’s tearful goodbye (aside from the various spin-offs set up in season 2), The Book of Boba Fett‘s three Din Djarin-centric episodes and The Mandalorian season 3 felt like big efforts to reset things back to a status quo that would allow Din and Grogu to go on countless adventures. This opened up their movie future.
This is likely why The Mandalorian season 3 felt so over-saturated; Star Wars wanted to resolve everything to make way for the movie.
This is especially true of The Mandalorian season 3’s ending, which wrapped things up in a perfectly neat bow by resolving the Mandalore plot and giving Din Djarin a new job and a new home base on Nevarro. Even if The Mandalorian was originally going to continue with one more season before heading to the big screen, Star Wars intentionally gave themselves a way to pivot if they decided they wanted to pursue the movie instead. This is likely why The Mandalorian season 3 felt so over-saturated; Star Wars wanted to resolve everything to make way for the movie.
Whether Star Wars actually wanted to do the movie directly after season 3 or not is unknown, and Favreau’s own words about completing season 4 scripts in the past seem to suggest otherwise, but one thing is perfectly clear: a Mandalorian movie has long since been the goal. November 2020 would have been the time frame when Favreau was working on scripts for The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian season 3 with this movie future on his mind. The Mandalorian & Grogu is thus no new idea, which hopefully means all good things for its future.
The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters May 22, 2026.
The Mandalorian & Grogu
The Mandalorian & Grogu is a Star Wars movie directed by Jon Favreau that continues Disney+’s immensely popular TV Show, The Mandalorian. The film will replace The Mandalorian season 4 to bring the franchise back to the big screen and follow Din Djarin and his adventures with Grogu. The Mandalorian & Grogu is the first Star Wars film to be released since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
- Release Date
- May 22, 2026