Credit: LucasfilmThe Mandalorian (2019) is heading for the big screen, but it may be doomed to repeat a huge mistake made by the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Earlier this year, when it was announced that The Mandalorian was being adapted into a major motion picture with the show’s creator, Jon Favreau, at the helm, Star Wars fans were left giddy with excitement. The poorly paced and thinly written Season 3 may have left a lot to be desired, but Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu are still as iconic as Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew/Joonas Suotamo). However, the film could be set to replicate the disastrous sequel trilogy with the return of a dead character.
The Mandalorian: A Disappointing Star Wars Story
When The Mandalorian arrived in 2019, it was just what the Star Wars franchise needed. Following the disastrous sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017), the fanbase was in tatters. Even with the trilogy-topping entry Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019) heading to theaters later that year — whose trailers attempted to manipulate fans back into the franchise’s good books with the promised return of Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) — there was little hope Star Wars would recover. But when The Mandalorian landed on Disney+, “a new hope” emerged.
Star Wars‘ first live-action television series took things back to basics in a Western-inspired adventure with a gunslinger-esque hero at the heart of the story: Din Djarin, a faceless bounty hunter who’s suddenly confronted with a moral crisis when his latest bounty turns out to be an innocent child wanted by the Imperial remnants for reasons unknown. As Din sets out to protect “the Child” (who’s now infamously known as Grogu), more exciting new characters are introduced, including Ugnaught Kuiil (Nick Nolte), bounty hunter guild leader Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), ex-shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), hunter droid IG-11 (Taika Waititi), and Imperial remnant officer Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
Season 2 delivered even more crowd-pleasing characters. Not only did it feature the likes of Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) — who had only previously seen in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 — 2020) — and the return of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), The Mandalorian suddenly felt like a Star Wars renaissance, especially after The Rise of Skywalker turned out to be as equally soul-shattering as The Last Jedi. And seeing iconic Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) show up in the finale, alongside faithful droid R2-D2, sealed the deal.
Unfortunately, when Season 3 arrived early last year, fans were already feeling deflated after the world-famous firing of Cara Dune actress Gina Carano and two disappointing live-action Star Wars shows that followed the second season: The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). But Season 3 would fare no better than the spinoffs, becoming a huge disappointment for many through weak storytelling and the fact Din Djarin was seemingly being side-lined by Bo-Katan Kryze in his own show. A contrived plot involving Moff Gideon creating clones of himself also felt far too reminiscent of the bizarre Emperor Palpatine/Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) revelation in The Rise of Skywalker, one of many issues fans took with the sequel trilogy film.
Related: Disney May Replace the Mandalorian and Grogu Later This Year
The Attack of the Clones
If The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to replace Season 4, it will likely follow on from the third season, which could mean the return of the show’s main antagonist: the Imperial remnant officer, Moff Gideon. In a recent interview with GQ, Giancarlo Esposito was asked if he’ll be reprising his role in the film, to which he replied, “I love the Star Wars universe. I don’t have any plans because they haven’t called me. [I] love Moff Gideon because you have something I want.” It doesn’t sound very promising, but don’t forget — “Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
Watching Moff Gideon go out in a blaze of glory hasn’t left everyone convinced, with many believing the one we see die isn’t even the original, a theory that’s hardly surprising considering we’d seen tanks of Gideon clones, an obvious attempt to form some connective tissue with the “pickled Snokes” scene in The Last Jedi. It’s fair to say Star Wars has become obsessed with the concept of clones in recent years. While, of course, it works very well in clone-centric shows like The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021), it has become something of a crutch for the live-action side of the faraway galaxy.
So, it’s possible that Moff Gideon’s death in Season 3 will be retconned in the upcoming film, not unlike Palpatine’s death in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983). The Emperor’s revival in The Rise of Skywalker was made possible through the use of “cloning” and “dark magick,” and, in the same film, it’s revealed that Supreme Leader Snoke, who was prematurely killed by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in The Last Jedi, was also a clone.
Is Star Wars destined to repeat the same mistakes as the sequel trilogy? We’ll just have to wait and see, but somehow, despite Giancarlo Esposito saying he’s currently not involved with the project, we’re positive Moff Gideon will somehow return.
The real question is, will it be in the upcoming movie or Season 4?
Related: ‘The Mandalorian’ May Rewrite Yoda’s ‘Star Wars’ History
The Mandalorian Season 4 to Be Scrapped?
The announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu (TBA) has naturally caused confusion among fans, with many wondering whether the film is set to replace The Mandalorian Season 4. Speaking to BFMTV Inside in February last year, Jon Favreau confirmed he’d already written the script for the fourth season.
In March last year, while secretive, Pedro Pascal hinted to Radio Times that Season 4 was still happening. The following month, executive producer and director Rick Famuyiwa and executive producer Dave Filoni told Collider they expect Season 4 to happen. And in May, Deadline reported that filming on Season 4, which still hadn’t been officially confirmed by that point, was being put on hold due to the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes.
Of course, plans may have changed, and perhaps The Mandalorian & Grogu is now set to replace Season 4. However, with Disney and Lucasfilm having canceled a number of Star Wars movies in recent years, there will be some fans who are doubtful the film will ever see the light of day. That said, Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron (TBA), which was among those put on the back-burner, was recently confirmed to be in the process of getting off the ground after all.
Related: All 14 ‘Star Wars’ Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
Pedro Pascal’s Flourishing Career Outside Star Wars
Pedro Pascal’s career continues to go from strength to strength. Before The Mandalorian, he was best known for playing Oberyn Martell in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones (2011 — 2019) and Javier Peña in Narcos (2015 — 2017). Since joining the Star Wars franchise, however, he has appeared in films such as Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) and the HBO series The Last of Us (2023).
While Lucasfilm has implied that The Mandalorian & Grogu will be heading to theaters in 2025, that’s now looking unlikely as Pascal will be filming F4 later this year (the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Fantastic Four reboot). He will play Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic, alongside Vanessa Kirby (Susan Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and Ebon Miss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/Thing).
Pascal is also set to reprise his role as Joel in The Last of Us Season 2 next year.
Taking this all into account, it’s unlikely that Pascal will be shooting The Mandalorian Season 4 or the movie this year.
Related: 7 Burning Questions We Have About the New ‘Mandalorian’ Movie
All three seasons of The Mandalorian are streaming on Disney+.
The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/The Mandalorian), Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon), Carl Weathers (Greef Karga), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Nick Nolte (Kuiil), Emily Swallow (The Armorer), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Sasha Banks (Koska Reeves), Omid Abtahi (Dr. Pershing), Amy Sedaris (Peli Motto), and Tim Meadows (Colonel Tuttle).
The Mandalorian & Grogu is one of many upcoming Star Wars projects. Other theatrical releases will include the untitled Mando-Verse crossover from Dave Filoni, Dawn of the Jedi (TBA) from James Mangold, the sequel-era film from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Rogue Squadron (TBA) from Patty Jenkins. Later this year, the live-action shows The Acolyte (2024) and Skeleton Crew (2024) will stream on Disney+. The open-world video game Star Wars Outlaws (2024) is also expected to release later this year.
Would you like to see Giancarlo Esposito reprise his role as Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian & Grogu? Do you think the upcoming film will replace Season 4? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!