Following the lackluster reception to The Mandalorian Season 3 on Disney+, Lucasfilm isn't just changing the format of Season 4. In fact, Lucasfilm is looking to steer clear of a huge Season 3 misstep with The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Set to release on May 22, 2026, The Mandalorian and Grogu movie will arrive three years after Season 3 of The Mandalorian, whose Mandalore-heavy story fell flat with audiences. With filming now complete, actor Brendan Wayne, the body double for Pedro Pascal's Mando, who's often under his beskar helmet, shared what the film is intentionally doing differently to fix its past mistakes.
In talking with Rebel Force Radio, Brendan Wayne explained that The Mandalorian and Grogu is a return to the show's original storytelling in that the galaxy's favorite father and son are "forefront:"
"I will say about the movie itself, I think we go to the storytelling originally that we loved with Mando. We're not creating... We're not growing another tree just to make a bigger universe. We're with the kid and Mando quite a bit, and their journey is forefront."
While Mando and Grogu were present throughout The Mandalorian's third season, they weren't always the focus or the driving force. Bo-Katan Kryze, played by Katee Sackhoff, enjoyed more of an arc than the show's titular character, and the season was critiqued for its various plotlines and celebrity cameos. As a result, the show struggled to maintain fan interest with Season 3 producing The Mandalorian's worst audience demand since its debut.
While Jon Favreau had already written The Mandalorian Season 4 in February 2023, in January 2024, Lucasfilm announced the series's story would continue in a theatrical film. Joining the cast are Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White (and in a shocking role), with Star Wars Rebels' Zeb Orrelios confirmed to make an appearance. The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the first Star Wars movie in theaters since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
Why The Mandalorian and Grogu Is a Bold Experiment
While Brendan Wayne’s comments offer hope to Star Wars fans who felt Season 3 sidelined the series’ main stars, it’s important to remember that many details remain unknown, and this 2026 film represents an unprecedented direction for the franchise.
For instance, there's the question of whether The Mandalorian will work as a theatrical film. After all, that original storytelling Wayne referenced was episodic and meant for a streaming series, not a self-contained, cinematic story. Another question, especially in light of The Mandalorian and Grogu refocusing on their titular stars, is what the conflict and the stakes will be. Season 2 ended with Grogu leaving Mando to train with Luke Skywalker, only for the two to be swiftly reunited in The Book of Boba Fett. Also, their longtime nemesis, Moff Gideon, was seemingly dispatched at the end of Season3 (but is almost guaranteed to return?) Can the movie deliver a new compelling threat that won't be undercut by what's happened before?
But perhaps the biggest question of all is whether fans will be interested in seeing The Mandalorian and Grogu on the big screen, especially after Season 3's underwhelming story. If not, or if the movie itself fails to deliver, is this experimental jump from streaming to cinema the end of The Mandalorian?
Once marketing ramps up in 2026 (check out The Mandalorian and Grogu's trailer decription here!), it will be interesting to see how audiences respond. Still, audiences won't likely have the verdict on Disney and Lucasfilm’s experiment until the film arrives in theaters in May 2026.
