Credit: LucasfilmThe Mandalorian & Grogu (2026) is less than a week away from its theatrical release on May 22, so it’s hardly surprising to see a huge push in the film’s marketing.
The iconic duo has been showing up everywhere lately: toy shelves, trailers, TV spots, billboards, and interviews – you name it, and Din and “Baby Yoda” have been there.
Buzz for The Mandalorian & Grogu Has Been Missing
This push follows a far less enthusiastic response to earlier marketing that began last year with the first official trailer for the upcoming film.
That first-look footage was hardly “the spark that lit the fire” of excitement with fans, despite the project being the franchise’s first time on the big screen after more than six years since Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
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Earlier this year, things went from bad to worse when a Super Bowl ad featuring the titular characters was met with backlash from fans for its confusing tone and overall lackluster feel.
Now, evidently, Disney and Lucasfilm are keen to get as many people in theaters to watch the film as possible, which might have something to do with the fact that the film is tracking to secure a soft box-office opening domestically during its four-day run over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend.
As such, The Mandalorian & Grogu could become the biggest theatrical flop for the franchise since Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), which debuted to $103 million over the Memorial Day holiday and finished at $213.8 million domestically, and $393 million worldwide, against its reported $365.7 million budget.
The New Star Wars Film Could Still Be a Huge Hit
Still, there’s every chance the film will be a success, despite Star Wars being in a multi-year slump following the mess left by The Rise of Skywalker (and before that, 2017’s The Last Jedi), as well as a number of Disney+ live-action shows, including The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Ahsoka (2023), The Acolyte (2024), and even The Mandalorian Season 3.
The Mandalorian & Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau, who co-wrote and produced the film with Lucasfilm’s new co-president Dave Filoni, and acts as a continuation of the popular series that helped launch Disney+ in 2019.
“The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy,” the film’s official synopsis for The Mandalorian & Grogu on StarWars.com reads. “As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.”
The Mandalorian & Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau, and produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Ian Bryce, with music composed by Ludwig Göransson.
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Now, an official new trailer promoting the film has arrived. However, this one forms part of its wider marketing, as it showcases a new event in the hugely popular online multiplayer game Fortnite.
The trailer for “LEGO Fortnite Odyssey x Star Wars 2026” features, of course, Din and Grogu, complete with the iconic Mandalorian theme. And it also features appearances from the franchise’s two most iconic Jedi figures, Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker.
Seeing Star Wars collaborate with Fortnite is nothing new. On May 1, Fortnite – STAR WARS Experience launched, featuring characters including Rey, Palpatine, and Darth Vader. Still, it’s exciting to see Mando and Grogu show up in the game, and in LEGO form.
Unfortunately, though, neither Ahsoka Tano nor Luke – who both appeared in The Mandalorian Season 2 and in The Book of Boba Fett – are expected to show up in the film.
The good news is that Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) will be returning in the second season of her own Disney+ series, which was recently confirmed to have been pushed back to 2027.
Meanwhile, there are rumors Luke will appear in animation in the Tales of anthology series.
Who Has Returned for The Mandalorian & Grogu?
No characters from the Disney+ side of the galaxy far, far away other than Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu are returning for the new film.
The Disney+ series featured a huge roster of recurring characters, including The Armorer (Emily Swallow), Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), IG-11 (Taika Waititi), Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen).
But while none of those characters are confirmed, on Star Wars Day (May 4), which marked the last major push to promote the film, Lucasfilm released a trailer titled “Generations,” which compares Din Djarin and Grogu with other iconic Star Wars mentor-student duos.
This was done through a montage of footage that includes Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) from the prequels, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) from the sequels, and even Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) and young Jyn Erso (Beau Gadsdon), from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
Legacy Star Wars Characters Could Appear
Confirmed characters in the film include Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), the Lasat warrior Zeb Orrelios from Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018), who briefly appeared in The Mandalorian Season 3, the Kyuzo bounty hunter Embo from the animated series The Clone Wars (2008-2020), Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), who first appeared as a baby in the 2008 Clone Wars film, and the Hutt Twins, who appeared in The Book of Boba Fett.
Of course, surprise cameos are always possible in Star Wars. During the premiere for the film on May 16, Sigourney Weaver hinted that we might see some legacy characters show up.
The film releases in theaters on May 22.
Are you excited about The Mandalorian & Grogu? Let us know in the comments!
