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Credit: Inside the MagicAfter being the savior to the Star Wars franchise for many, it seems Disney and Lucasfilm are letting the Mandalorian franchise go.
In May, The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars franchise will make its grand return to the movie theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026). Directed by Jon Favreau, who also created the hit Disney+ TV series that premiered in 2019 and has run–so far–for three seasons, The Mandalorian and Grogu takes place after the events of the divisive third season.
According to the synopsis, trailers, and Favreau himself, the feature film will follow Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian played by Pedro Pascal, and his ward, Din Grogu (formerly The Child, AKA ” Baby Yoda”), as he takes on quests to eliminate the Imperial Remnant–foes left over after the fall of the Galactic Empire.
With the Mando-Verse taking place approximately five years after the historic events of Star Wars: Episode VI–Return of the Jedi (1983), when the Rebel Alliance successfully ended the reign of the Galactic Empire, Star Wars has used this New Republic timeline to explore what that downfall looks like for the galaxy at large.
As Favreau stated late last year, Din Djarin began his journey as a bounty hunter, a gun-for-hire, but as fans come to this next chapter, the character is all about helping the New Republic and the greater good–a profound change for the version of the Beskar-clad anti-hero audiences were introduced to seven years ago.
The Mandalorian and Grogu, while featuring familiar faces, will also introduce Sigourney Weaver’s Admiral Ward and Jeremy Allen White’s Rotta the Hutt. The latter looks set to be an integral part of the movie and may even replace Grogu as Din Djarin’s sidekick for a while. As for Weaver’s Ward, the Avatar franchise star is reportedly only slated for a small role in the movie, yet appears to be a key player nonetheless.
With Favreau’s movie coming soon, Ahsoka Season 2 lined up for late this year or 2027, a potential fourth season of The Mandalorian, and Filoni’s Mando-Verse crossover film, it looked like the Mando-Verse was set to be the face of the franchise for many more years.
However, that now seems extremely unlikely.
According to new reports, the Mando-Verse is coming to a close, with only The Mandalorian and Grogu and Ahsoka Season 2 in the pipeline.
“According to insider Daniel Richtman, Lucasfilm is considering potentially moving away from the MandoVerse for future Star Wars projects,” The Direct explains.
“The know scooper shared the news in a new post on Patreon, writing that, as it stands, nothing within that particular section of the Star Wars timeline is planned beyond the upcoming Ahsoka Season 2, and Lucasfilm is waiting to see how the Rosario Dawson-led streaming series performs before committing to anything else.”
This is interesting for a number of reasons, and may be worth more than a grain of salt. Previous reports had Filoni bringing Ahsoka Season 2 to a neat conclusion by the end of the second season if viewership did not allow for a third outing. That report circulated after the unceremonious cancellation of The Acolyte, which ended as far from wrapped up as a TV show could be.
Not only that, but the recent major news is that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down and being replaced by Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan.
“A new report from the reliable Puck News says that Filoni is about to be tapped as co-president to run the creative side of Lucasfilm, i.e., all of Star Wars,” Forbes writes. “His fellow co-president would be Lynwen Brennan, who would be on the executive side.”
The outlet added: “Filoni is currently the chief creative officer of Lucasfilm, while Brennan is general manager. But for the big moves, it seems it will fall to Filoni.”
Filoni, once the George Lucas protégé and once untouchable figure of the Star Wars franchise, came under more scrutiny than usual during the run of his live-action Ahsoka series.
Many fans have taken issue with Filoni’s need to incorporate legacy characters into his projects, but overall, he is widely favored as a standout creator within the studio. He was, after all, handpicked by George Lucas and co-led/led multiple popular animated projects like The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
It was only last year that reports surfaced about Kennedy’s retirement, claims she refuted; however, now it seems that the succession plan is officially in motion, with Filoni and Brennan joining forces to run the beloved company. The joining of two minds to lead a major franchise is not an uncommon occurrence; only a handful of years ago, James Gunn and Peter Safran became the co-CEOs of DC Studios at Warner Bros.
Circling back to Filoni’s planned movie, which Kennedy announced almost three years ago at Star Wars Celebration 2023, the chances of that happening as he takes the lead of the company are slim, which only adds to the aforementioned reports about the Mando-Verse slowing down.
So far, Disney and Lucasfilm have only two movies on the slate: Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter (2027).
While one seems to be the replacement to The Mandalorian Season 4 (whether Favreau says it isn’t or not), the latter is the first foray into post-sequel trilogy territory, and will be–despite conflicting reports–be a standalone adventure. Levy’s movie arrives in May 2027, with Ryan Gosling in the leading role.
The leadership shakeup news only adds to the growing strain on the franchise, and only time will tell if fans stay with Star Wars through the next few years.
How do you feel about the reported end of the Mandalorian franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!