The Mandalorian & Grogu director Jon Favreau recently revealed why Lars Mikkelsen's Grand Admiral Thrawn wasn't in the film, and it wasn't because of a story issue. The Mandalorian & Grogu was recently released by Disney and Lucasfilm and marked the first Star Wars theatrical release since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. So far, the film has not performed well at the box office, especially considering it is a Star Wars movie, and has gotten mixed reactions from fans. One aspect of the film nearly everyone has criticized is how self-contained it is, as many felt that it should have connected with the rest of the MandoVerse.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jon Favreau (the creator and showrunner of Disney+'s The Mandalorian and the director of The Mandalorian & Grogu) revealed that there was one major reason Grand Admiral Thrawn did not show up in the recently released film.
For reference, Thrawn was a major character in Ahsoka Season 1, which is connected to The Mandalorian within the MandoVerse, and it seemed as though Ahsoka Season 1 primed Thrawn to make an appearance in the next Mandalorian project due to him making it back to the regular Star Wars galaxy at the end of Ahsoka and waging war on the New Republic.
According to Favreau, Thrawn's absence from The Mandalorian & Grogu had nothing to do with creative decisions, and the movie's storyline, but had everything to do with Thrawn already appearing in a Disney+ project. Specifically, the Mandalorian executive revealed that moving the Din Djarin and Grogu story over to "a theatrical presentation" completely "changed the way [they] approached how interconnected things should be."
Additionally, Favreau stated that "a fourth season of a show would have assumed that [viewers] saw three seasons previously," as well as "everything else on Disney+," such as Ahsoka:
"When we were discussing doing a fourth season of ['The Mandalorian'], which was put on hold, and then the idea of doing a theatrical presentation… It changed the way we approached how interconnected things should be. A fourth season of a show would have assumed that you saw three seasons previously and, frankly, everything else on Disney+. That's the nature of a serialized long-form TV story."
Favreau essentially said that Lucasfilm and Disney thought fans would have been confused if Thrawn had popped up in The Mandalorian & Grogu, since there would likely be a large portion of the audience who hadn't seen The Mandalorian or Ahsoka.
It also sounded like the director alluded that Thrawn would have shown up in The Mandalorian Season 4 if it had been released, which would have made complete sense considering Ahsoka Season 1 set up Thrawn revealing himself to the New Republic.
Therefore, The Mandalorian & Grogu didn't include any other MandoVerse characters in a substantial role simply because Disney and Lucasfilm didn't want viewers to be confused, and because The Mandalorian Season 4 did not happen. That also explains why The Mandalorian & Grogu essentially didn't include any references to The Mandalorian, or continue any of the show's storylines.
Disney and Lucasfilm's Theatrical Decision Killed Star Wars' Future
Disney and Lucasfilm turning half of The Mandalorian & Grogu into a movie is nothing short of frustrating. Since The Mandalorian debuted in 2019, multiple projects (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew) were established as part of the MandoVerse, meaning that they were all connected, and what happened in one project would affect the rest. The Mandalorian & Grogu killed that and, quite frankly, the future of Star Wars storytelling.
Jon Favreau just essentially admitted that Thrawn was going to be a part of The Mandalorian Season 4, which would have then set up the major crossover movie that was going to be directed by Dave Filoni. Now, The Mandalorian Season 4 could still happen, but it most likely won't since The Mandalorian & Grogu's box office numbers are pitiful at the very least.
The Mandalorian & Grogu as a film could have been successful, but Star Wars more or less shot itself in the foot with the title. It is a bit head-scratching that Disney and Lucasfilm would put so much emphasis on not crossing any of the MandoVerse over into The Mandalorian & Grogu, but were okay with the movie's title literally including the entire title of the Disney+ series within it.
The companies were worried that people would be confused if they saw other characters from the MandoVerse, but didn't think it was a big deal for viewers to see The Mandalorian & Grogu title and think, "This must be part of that Mandalorian show on Disney+, so there's no reason for me to go watch it since I haven't seen the show."
It is possible the movie was doomed from the start, but one would have to think that if it had had a title that was a bit more ambiguous and didn't appear as though it was directly playing off the Disney+ series, it would have sold more tickets and would have allowed the MandoVerse to continue.
At the same time, it seems as though the most logical decision would have been to not even make the film, continue on with The Mandalorian Season 4, and tie up the MandoVerse the way it was supposed to be in the first place.
All in all, it just seems a little silly that Disney and Lucasfilm were worried about the film connecting to the MandoVerse when the most basic marketing element of the movie was directly tied to the MandoVerse.
No one knows what Disney and Lucasfilm are going to do next with the MandoVerse. Ahsoka Season 2 is slated to be released sometime in 2027, so it will probably be released, but it is entirely possible that nothing else from the MandoVerse will ever see the light of day. Even Dave Filoni's Avengers: Endgame-like project may never go into production thanks to the box office numbers from The Mandalorian & Grogu.
On top of that, there is still Starfighter to think about, which is scheduled to be released on May 28, 2027. Fans better hope that it performs well, or the future of Star Wars as a whole may be in trouble. Once again, Lucasfilm and Disney didn't do that movie any favors either, as general audiences will now likely think there is no reason to go watch it if they think The Mandalorian & Grogu was bad due to its box office numbers.
One has to think that Starfighter, with its original story and star-studded cast, would have been a much better movie to put out as the first Star Wars movie in almost a decade.
At the end of the day, what's done is done, and the past can't be changed. However, the future of Star Wars (at least on the theatrical side) has never looked darker.
