Jon Favreau Speaks Out After 'The Mandalorian' Is Abruptly Cancelled

Jon Favreau has shared a new update on the current state of The Mandalorian.

Five years on from the launch of Disney+, The Mandalorian remains one of the streaming service’s most successful projects – particularly in the Star Wars universe. While Disney has released several overlapping shows set in a galaxy far, far away in the years since Pedro Pascal debuted as Din Djarin (aka Mando himself), The Mandalorian is often considered the cream of the crop, having impressed fans and critics alike over the course of its three seasons.

While the third season was met with a slightly less glowing response than its predecessors, it was still believed that a fourth season would soon follow. Creator and showrunner Jon Favreau confirmed as much in 2023, claiming that scripts were already in the works.

That’s why so many were surprised when Disney confirmed in January 2024 that The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars film since 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker, would hit theaters in 2026.

Since then, the unspoken implication has been that The Mandalorian Season 4 is dead in the water. Reports have suggested that Disney is keen to “ramp up” production of big-screen Star Wars efforts, with Shawn Levy’s Starfighter movie, featuring Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth, set to follow on the heels of The Mandalorian & Grogu. Theoretically, we’re also getting a standalone movie featuring Rey (Daisy Ridley), even if it’s currently lingering in development hell.

In the meantime, it seems like the Star Wars era of Disney+ is on pause. With the exception of Season 2 of Ahsoka, all has been quiet on the Star Wars front for the platform in recent months.

However, we wouldn’t rule out a fourth season of The Mandalorian just yet.

New Update on Axed Season 4 of ‘The Mandalorian’

Favreau recently spoke to Empire Magazine (via Geek Tyrant) about the prospects of another Disney+ outing for Mando and friends, revealing that he hasn’t entirely abandoned the storyline.

“We were planning on doing a fourth season,” Favreau said. “I had actually written all of that. I still have Season 4 sitting on my desk here.”

In other words, the show’s fourth storyline wasn’t repurposed for The Mandalorian & Grogu movie. “It’s structured around a movie structure as opposed to a serialized weekly television show,” explained Favreau. “So there’s a larger throw to the whole thing.”

Of course, just because there’s still creative potential for another season of The Mandalorian, doesn’t mean it will happen.

Disney ultimately has the final say-so on what goes into production, and if recent events prove anything, it’s that a good story doesn’t always equal the green light. Adam Driver confirmed that a script was already complete for a Rise of Skywalker sequel, The Hunt for Ben Solo, but Disney CEO Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, shot it down after deciding it was nonsensical for Ben Solo to be alive.

(Yes, this is the same studio that allowed the line “somehow, Palpatine returned” to make the final draft of a Star Wars script.)

What Can Fans Expect From ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’?

We’re still roughly six months out from the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, but Lucasfilm has revealed very little about what fans can expect from the production. The plot revolves around the New Republic enlisting Din Djarin and Grogu in the wake of the Galactic Empire, with the cast list including Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt and Sigourney Weaver as Ward, colonel and leader of the New Republic’s Adelphi Rangers.

Some have theorized that the film could include cameos from other stars of the Star Wars Disney+ universe. Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) is off limits after the character’s fiery end in Season 3, while a return for Cara Dune (Gina Carano) seems unlikely since her legal battle with The Walt Disney Company over her removal from the show. Temuera Morrison has also confirmed that he won’t be in the film, despite The Mandalorian previously crossing over with The Book of Boba Fett.

One name frequently raised by fans is Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, who remains a central figure in the post-Return of the Jedi timeline. Ahsoka’s discovery of Grand Admiral Thrawn and involvement with key characters like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) positions her narratively close enough to Din Djarin and Grogu to justify an appearance if Lucasfilm wants to tie story threads together.

Others speculate that Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze could return, given her expanded role throughout Season 3 and her position as ruler of Mandalore. The film’s title — The Mandalorian & Grogu — has prompted some viewers to wonder if it hints at Mandalorian culture more broadly, potentially allowing Bo-Katan to appear in a supporting or advisory capacity.

It’s also unclear whether fans will physically see Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Due to the nature of the Mandalorian’s creed, we rarely see the character’s face. That means Pascal typically just provides voice work for the character, with other actors stepping into the armor for his physical portrayal.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pascal confirmed that for “a lot” of The Mandalorian, somebody else now performs most of Mando’s physical movements while he provides a voiceover. Stunt performers Brendan Wayne – grandson of famous actor John Wayne – and Lateef Crowder are typically credited as doubles for the character.

“There was an extended amount of experimentation, being in the suit for a lot of it,” he explained. “Frankly, my body wasn’t up for the task as far as, like, the four months of it. But I was in it. I was in it a significant amount, an elastic amount. But now we’ve figured it out, which is super cool.”

Are you excited for The Mandalorian & Grogu?