Credit: LucasfilmThe Walt Disney Company apparently isn’t feeling too optimistic about The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026).
First announced back in 2024, The Mandalorian and Grogu marks the franchise’s grand return to the big screen after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The project follows three seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+, where the show was once the star of Disney’s streaming strategy.
The Mandalorian and Grogu, like The Mandalorian, follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his Force-sensitive apprentice, Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). Both Disney and Lucasfilm have stayed relatively silent on the exact plot details, but the most recent trailer confirmed that we will see Din Djarin unmasked – which, as fans know, is a pretty big deal in the Star Wars universe – and that he is looking for Rotta the Hutt, son of the iconic Jabba the Hutt, played by Jeremy Allen White.
We also discovered that Martin Scorsese will make a cameo in a galaxy far, far away as an Ardennian shopkeeper.
While fan sentiment was relatively lukewarm towards The Mandalorian and Grogu for a long time, the most recent trailer managed to spark more excitement. The prospect of Pedro Pascal actually appearing on-screen for an extensive period of time instead of just voicing the character has left plenty of fans intrigued. What makes this reaction all the more significant is that the previous teaser aired during the Super Bowl was met with largely negative reactions – and, as per a recent report, has left many within The Walt Disney Company feeling uneasy about its odds.
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Doesn’t Have Disney Feeling Excited
According to a new report by Variety, there were internal concerns that the 36-second Super Bowl spot “failed to generate the kind of excitement the marketing team was hoping to spark.”
With the film set to release in May, many felt the teaser – which showed the title characters riding a wagon pulled by Tauntauns – was oddly irrelevant, reinforcing “concerns” that the project may play more like an extended episode of the TV series than a fully realized feature film. Both Disney and Lucasfilm later issued statements defending the teaser.
“The film itself is something of a question mark, given that it’s based on a streaming series and, consequently, may not seem like a big-screen proposition for any but the most die-hard Baby Yoda lovers,” Variety reports.
This isn’t the first time a report has suggested concern about The Mandalorian and Grogu. Earlier this year, it was alleged that Lucasfilm is watching the film’s performance closely before deciding whether to push ahead with more cinematic projects set within the MandoVerse. The project also apparently has a significantly lower budget than your average Star Wars film, meaning it won’t need to make quite as much to break even.
At present, the only other confirmed upcoming project that takes place in the MandoVerse – an era of live-action Star Wars Disney+ shows spearheaded by Lucasfilm’s new co-president, Dave Filoni, and The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau – is Season 2 of Ahsoka.
Disney Turns Focus To Another ‘Star Wars’ Project
With that in mind, Variety reports that insiders are more optimistic about another Star Wars film: Star Wars: Starfighter.
Directed by Shawn Levy, who previously helmed the billion-dollar Marvel smash hit Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and written by Jonathan Tropper, the project is said to be “more likely to satisfy fans.”
Admittedly, we know even less about Star Wars: Starfighter than we do about The Mandalorian and Grogu. What we do know is that it stars Barbie (2023) and Hail Mary (2026) actor Ryan Gosling as its lead, with Mia Goth, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Amy Adams, and Flynn Gray also set to appear in undisclosed roles.
Theories suggest that Flynn Gray will portray Gosling’s character’s nephew. The Guardian reports that Amy Adams will portray the mother of Gray’s character and that the film will be an original adventure, set in a “period we haven’t seen explored yet.”
We also know that it won’t star Daisy Ridley as Rey, despite several reports suggesting otherwise in the wake of Ridley’s long-delayed sequel to Rise of Skywalker. It also feels safe to assume that Adam Driver won’t be popping up as Ben Solo after his own project, The Hunt for Ben Solo, was axed by outgoing Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Variety reports that those lucky enough to see early Star Wars: Starfighter footage claim Levy has “recaptured the franchise’s spirit of fun,” and that Gosling’s performance is a standout.
While skepticism around Shawn Levy’s ability to deliver a standout Star Wars film has been widespread – and let’s be real, unanimity has never been the franchise’s strong suit – a New York Times profile published in January framed Levy’s appeal differently. Rather than positioning him as an auteur, it highlighted his instinctive understanding of audience expectations, a skill that has defined much of his career.
That instinct, Levy explained, was crystallized years earlier on the set of Real Steel, which was produced by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg’s advice stuck with him: “You direct like you’re sitting in the audience.” The comment is revealing — and double-edged. Levy’s films often connect cleanly with viewers, even if critics remain unconvinced.
“I’ve never forgotten that,” he said. “For better or worse, I am making movies like I would want them to look and feel and sound like if I were sitting in that dark theater. So maybe that’s it.”
In the context of Star Wars, that philosophy may explain both the concern and the appeal. Levy’s work rarely aims to redefine the medium, but it is engineered to play clearly, emotionally, and accessibly — qualities that have increasingly become a point of tension for a franchise still searching for its next cinematic identity.
An identity, it seems, that likely won’t be rediscovered by The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Do you think The Mandalorian and Grogu will disappoint?