Despite its status as a cultural phenomenon, anticipation for the next installment of the Mandalorian saga has been tepid. After three seasons on Disney+, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young ward Grogu are moving to the big screen to co-star in the first Star Wars film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, appropriately titled The Mandalorian and Grogu. With Jon Favreau set to direct, Dave Filoni executive producing, and sci-fi legends like Sigourney Weaver rounding out the cast, the team behind the project looks strong on paper, yet there’s a sense of apprehension surrounding it.
Maybe it’s because Star Wars has so many other movies in limbo, and seems content to let these promising ideas wither so the Mandalorian saga can expand. It also doesn’t help that Lucasfilm followed in Marvel’s footsteps to build out an elaborate interconnected storyline, a choice that’s made keeping up with the current era a chore. But perhaps most worrying are Favreau’s recent comments about Mandalorian and Grogu, which reaffirm that the saga is learning the wrong lessons from its contemporaries.
Favreau and Filoni gave fans their first look at Mandalorian and Grogu at this year’s D23 Expo, and further teased a story that would “reward” Star Wars lovers for their fandom. “Part of what we’re setting out to do is to have something that rewards people who have been with the show since the beginning; been with Star Wars since the beginning,” Favreau said. Mandalorian and Grogu will also, ideally, reach those who are otherwise unfamiliar with the duo, but Favreau’s choice of words is telling. They certainly seem to reaffirm Lucasfilm’s recent priorities, and its determination to cater to fans at all costs.
The Mandalorian has subtly shifted throughout the years; recent entries have focused more on fan service than on telling a compelling story, as the show coasts on homages to franchise legends and uncanny cameos, not unlike its MCU sibling. The Mandalorian began as a promising standalone series, one total novices could enjoy alongside hardcore fans. But it’s since become “a love letter to Star Wars,” in the worst sense of the term.
Hamfisted cameos paved the way for self-referential messes like The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, and with Filoni reportedly planning an adaptation of the non-canon novel Heir to the Empire, there’s no doubt Mandalorian and Grogu will somehow inform a larger story to come. A succinct, standalone story is also likely off the table, pushing the film even further from The Mandalorian’s promising starting point as an adventure of the week series.
A bit of fan service, especially in a franchise like Star Wars, isn’t the end of the world. But fans don’t need to be rewarded for sitting down in front of their screens, and many subpar Mandalorian episodes have proven as much. There’s still a chance that Favreau and Filoni will strike a balance between what they think the fans want and what the saga actually needs — but if they don’t, even hardcore fans may lose interest in the subpar product the franchise has become.
