The Mandalorian & Grogu movie confirmed it will feature an exciting Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Easter egg.
The upcoming film from The Mandalorian creative team, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, will mark the first big-screen effort for the storied sci-fi franchise since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
Since then, the Star Wars world has been an exclusively out-of-theaters brand, finding its success in TV, books, and video games (like Respawn Entertainment's acclaimed Star Wars Jedi series).
Jedi Survivor Crosses Over To the Big Screen
A recent announcement revealed that a major Easter egg from the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor video game will make its big-screen debut in Mandalorian & Grogu movie.
As a part of Disney's detailing of new The Mandalorian & Grogu-themed content coming to Disney Parks, it was announced that the fan-favorite BDX droids from Respawn Entertainment's Jedi series of video games will appear in the upcoming film.
Announcing the BDX's appearance in some of Disney's international parks, the House of Mouse mentioned, "That’s in addition to the little droids appearing in The Mandalorian and Grogu film," confirming they will be a part of the Star Wars franchise's return to theaters:
"But, that’s not the only thing making the jump from the parks to the movies, and vice versa. You might have seen the playful BDX droids puttering around Disneyland before, and soon they’ll make a trip around the world to visit Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. And that’s in addition to the little droids appearing in 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' film, too."
These adorable bipedal droids debuted in the Star Wars Jedi video game franchise, first appearing as main character Cal Kestis' lovable mechanical companion, BD-1.
The BDX droid (aka BD Explorer Unit) would then make the transition over to the Disneyland park in California, popping up around Galaxy's Edge as one of its droid character activations that can be spotted throughout the Star Wars-themed land.
Various BD droids have been seen on-screen outside of the Star Wars Jedi games since their debut in 2019's Fallen Order as well.
The notably were featured during a scene in Episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett; however, their confirmed appearance in The Mandalorian & Grogu will mark the first Star Wars movie they have been a part of.
With the future of the Star Wars Jedi games still in question (although a third game seems highly likely), it seems unlikely this BDX mention will include the beloved BD-1, but there is always a chance.
Could More Jedi Survivor Crossover Be On the Way?
It is exciting that The Mandalorian & Grogu will be dipping its toes in the Star Wars video game pool with the inclusion of BDX droids, but the Easter eggs may not stop there.
Of course, these droids could pop up as one of the movie's various mechanical companions, simply being another astrobot among the masses. Or, it could be something bigger.
It might sound crazy, but there is a non-zero percent chance this BD mention could be the beginning of a greater Jedi Survivor crossover set for the film, with perhaps that game's main character, Cal Kestis, on the cards.
Cal Kestis actor Cameron Monaghan has long touted this idea of seeing his Star Wars character come to life in live-action in some form.
In 2024, he teased what he would want to see from a live-action transition for the Jedi, saying it would have to "mean something and for there to be a significance for the character itself." What better place for that debut to mean something than in the first Star Wars movie in over five years?
Now, will it happen? It does seem unlikely. Cal's digital adventures have not yet come to an end (with a third Star Wars Jedi game seemingly in the works).
It would seem like developer Respawn Entertainment, as well as Lucasfilm, would want to keep his story confined to those for now. This keeps the future of the character open while not showing its hand of where Cal's journey ends up.
Also, one has to factor in the large jump in time between the events of the Jedi games and The Mandalorian & Grogu. Jedi Survivor technically takes place 18 years before the events of the forthcoming movie (read more about The Mandalorian's timeline placement here).
So, while Cal being alive and well at the time of the film is possible, it seems like just a bit too big of a jump for an appearance from the Jedi to be a common consideration among fans.
The Mandalorian & Grogu comes to theaters on May 22, 2026.
