“Now He’s an Apprentice”: Jon Favreau Teases Grogu’s Evolution in ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ [Exclusive]

Lucasfilm held its official panel at Star Wars Celebration on Thursday Night, which featured the first official look at The Mandalorian & Grogu, the upcoming Star Wars film set for release on May 22, 2026. Jon Favreau, the showrunner and creator of The Mandalorian, has been tapped to write and direct the film, which will see Pedro Pascal reprise his role as Din Djarin. The Mandalorian & Grogu will bring the most adorably green Force user, Grogu, to the big screen for the first time with an even larger role than ever before. Collider’s Steve Weintraub caught up with Favreau following the big presentation at Celebration, and he asked how much Grogu has grown up since we last saw him in The Mandalorian Season 3:

“You want to have a progression so it’s not just the same situation over and over again. So, on one front, the relationship between Mando and Grogu has evolved, as now he’s an apprentice, and now he’s a family member and adopted by him. As they go off, as it said in the end of the last season, it’s his job to train him. They have to go out on adventures, and they have to work together. There’s an apprenticeship that’s happening between the two of them, but also Grogu is becoming more comfortable, as remember, he was trained by none other than Luke Skywalker, and the path of the Force is a lifelong path. So, we want to have evolution. As the story gets bigger, the screen gets bigger, we want to have Grogu grow into that.”

Grogu started as nothing more than a target for Din, and the two have developed a beautiful relationship through three seasons that also extended into The Book of Boba Fett. Grogu and Din Djarin departed at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2 when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) arrived to train him, but Grogu ultimately chose to stick with his family, Din, instead of giving up his attachments to become a Jedi. Most fans were elated to see Grogu make this choice, as the Jedi’s rigid code of ethics has gotten them into trouble before. However, some fans felt that it lessened the emotional blow of Grogu and Din’s departure at the end of Season 2, just for them to be reunited at the start of Season 3. Still, the pair will return once more in The Mandalorian & Grogu in theaters next year.

‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Recruited an ‘Avatar’ Star

Set to make her debut in a Galaxy Far, Far Away in The Mandalorian & Grogu next year is Sigourney Weaver, the Alien veteran who is also known for her work in the Avatar franchise. A brief look at Weaver wearing an orange flight jumpsuit was shown to attendees at Star Wars Celebration, confirming that she’s playing a New Republic pilot. Fans were also treated to a look at Zeb Orrelios in the upcoming film, the Lasat rebel who is one of the primary characters in Star Wars: Rebels. Orrelios previously appeared in The Mandalorian Season 3.