RUMOR: THE MANDALORIAN Season 4 Could Be Shortened With Upcoming Movie Serving As A Big Screen Finale

RUMOR: THE MANDALORIAN Season 4 Could Be Shortened With Upcoming Movie Serving As A Big Screen Finale

If a new rumour is to be believed, The Mandalorian season 4 is still happening, but it's going to boast a shorter episode count in order to make room for The Mandalorian & Grogu movie. Check it out...

By JoshWilding - Jan 13, 2024 09:01 AM EST
Filed Under: The Mandalorian
Source: Bespin Bulletin (via SFFGazette.com)

On Tuesday, Lucasfilm announced plans for a new Star Wars feature film titled The Mandalorian & Grogu. Understandably, that's led to concerns about The Mandalorian season 4 being scrapped, a shame seeing as Jon Favreau has already confirmed his scripts were all completed last year. 

The trades have said the fourth season is still in active development, and Bespin Bulletin (via SFFGazette.com) has heard the original plan was for production to begin next month. The situation has since changed, though insiders remain resolute in their belief that cameras will begin rolling later this year.

Making Star Wars (who broke the news about Mando heading to the big screen last year) has since chimed in to reveal both The Mandalorian and The Mandalorian & Grogu being developed at the same time "sounds really possible." 

"One of the concepts has come out of this, count this as a rumour for now, is that the plan was to do six episodes of Mando [season four] and to take the finale, what would’ve been the finale, the big two parter, from the end of that and that’s being developed into the film [The Mandalorian and Grogu]," the site reveals.

Lucasfilm getting The Mandalorian's fourth season on Disney+ by next year is a smart move as it can then serve as a lead-in to the movie. We wouldn't take those comments about The Mandalorian & Grogu serving as the "finale" too literally because Disney needs to ensure the film is a draw to more than just Disney+ subscribers. 

However, filmmaker Jon Favreau expanding his original idea into a two-hour feature which can be enjoyed by new and longtime Star Wars fans alike sounds like an ideal way to restore the franchise to its former glory in theaters. 

Last year, Favreau made it clear there's no end in sight for The Mandalorian franchise as far as he's concerned so we'd bet on bucket head and his war returning to streaming somewhere down the line.

"I think the beauty of this is that it's a middle chapter of a much larger story. And though we'll have resolution over time with these characters, I think that how these characters fit into the larger scope and scale, but it's not like there's a finale that we're building to that I have in mind."

"Quite the contrary, I love for these stories to go on and on. And so these characters potentially could be with us for a while, and I really love telling stories in their voice, and I love the way the adventures unfold and I'm looking forward to doing much more."

The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn't have a confirmed release date but is expected to arrive in theaters on May 22, 2026. 

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lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 1/13/2024, 9:09 AM
I still hold out hope the 4th season and the film will be great but, man, that 3rd season was not even close to up to par.
JFerguson
JFerguson - 1/13/2024, 9:17 AM
Wonder which characters will return in the movie.
Hoping for more Bo Katan but expecting more insufferable Taika Waititi
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 1/13/2024, 9:33 AM
Is there actually going to be a 4th season in light of the movie announcement?
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 1/13/2024, 12:06 PM
@JustAWaffle - Yes apparently they are going to do both. THR and IGN reached out but they declined to comment for now.

So since both have been officially announced and greenlit we can expect both to be coming out.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 1/13/2024, 2:46 PM
@mastakilla39 - That’s cool. wonder which will lead into the other
DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/13/2024, 9:39 AM

Not enough material for all this.

Mickey the Rat will go right past a creative end and run the Mandolorian into the ground like he & Hollywood do to everything.

poop.
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 1/13/2024, 12:08 PM
@DocSpock - Not enough material? You forgot Disney can always use the pander stone.
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/13/2024, 12:55 PM
@mastakilla39 - The Womandalorion.

DocSpock
DocSpock - 1/13/2024, 12:58 PM
@mastakilla39 -

I know.

Urrrrppp....

rkshuttleworth
rkshuttleworth - 1/13/2024, 1:04 PM
@DocSpock - Not enough material? Based on what? This is a new story. It isn't even close to an end as far as I can tell.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/13/2024, 9:45 AM
I actually quite like that idea. Wish I got to see S2's finale on the big screen already.

As for the shorter season. I don't mind. I do want stand-alone adventures again like season 1 and 2 had, but I also want an all-out war for Mandalore. This way, it can be both.
StSteven
StSteven - 1/13/2024, 7:54 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Yep, totally agree. They can use S4 to build up to the war with a semi-satisfying "finale"/cliffhanger to S4 that leaves everything set up for the movie. Then the movie can pick up on what we thought was an avoidance of the war, only to have something that triggers it going into full-blown war. Kinda like, in S4 things build right up to the point that war is about to erupt, but then Mando (or someone) figures out a way to stop it. But then there's a stinger or whatever ending scene that shows someone is about to trigger events again going into full war.

Then in the movie, you start with the usual crawl for the GA. It can go something like this: "It is a time of great uncertainty throughout the galaxy. Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion have defeated the Empire and a fragile peace has been restored to the galaxy, however there are those who wish to see the Empire rebuilt. Across the galaxy, these threats have risen, and new warriors have also risen to counter them.

On the planet of Mandalore, one such warrior, Din Djarin, known across the galaxy only as The Mandolorian, has risen to fight the remnants of the Empire and restore his people so that they can once again live peacefully on their home planet. However that fragile peace may be in great jeopardy..."

There you go. For those folks worried that the GA won't pick up on the premise and will need to watch all 4 seasons of the show, I think that a crawl like that pretty much sums up all you need to know (the rest of the details (like who Grogu is) can be filled in throughout the movie through dialogue and exposition). Then you can pickup that "fragile peace" that S4 ended on and go from there. As long as the writing is done well I think this could totally work. Plus it would be a novel concept to take a 4th season of a show and have it lead directly into a movie (as far as I know).
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/14/2024, 3:09 AM
@StSteven - that would be a pretty good way to go about. Ending the last episode on a cliffhanger isn't anything new, but doing the last two episodes as a movie might be (Inhumans did the first two episodes as a theatrical movie, but that doesn't count).
StSteven
StSteven - 1/14/2024, 6:16 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Yeah, and when I'm referring to ending the last episode on a "cliffhanger", I don't mean like in "Across the Spider-verse" kind. I mean, like, everyone assumes that war has been avoided and everything's going to be okay, but we see something/someone at the very end (maybe in a stinger) that makes you think that it's not quite over. That way the D+ audience won't be pissed because it seems like you HAVE to go see the movie, BUT you know that the movie will pick up on that thread and follow it through in a bigger story (that realistically most of the audience WILL want to go see). But if you don't see the movie right away, you'll still feel some sense of satisfaction at the end of the season until you can watch the movie on D+ or the (likely) next season starts, in which they will undoubtedly recap the events of the movie.

Hope that makes sense, but I'm just trying to come up with a satisfying way for those who watch the show but for whatever reason can't/don't want to see the movie right away, as well as for those who will be there opening night. It's a tricky balance, but I have faith in Favreau and Filoni.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/15/2024, 2:03 AM
@StSteven - yeah, that makes the most sense. I think they know that those who watch the movie don't always watch the shows. Same with Ahsoka, that worked despite not having seen Rebels
StSteven
StSteven - 1/15/2024, 3:53 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Yeah, I never really watched "TCW" or Rebels (as I was doing my grad school work and then onto married/house/kid life) but I know the main beats and I enjoyed "Ahsoka" and think that they provided enough background that even if I didn't know anything about the animated shows (except that they existed) I still would have gotten enough background info to enjoy it. Sure, there were a lot of little things, Easter eggs and such that I missed out on, but I don't think that picking up on those would have changed my opinion of the show appreciably. So they can do the same thing with the "Mando" movie, as it seems that they know how to handle just enough background info and make it feel organic without it feeling like forced exposition. (Ha! Forced! I see what I did there!)
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/15/2024, 4:43 PM
@StSteven - the only forced thing they did was Grogu and Mando getting back together in another show that wasn't their own
StSteven
StSteven - 1/15/2024, 5:05 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Yeah, I agree. They should have drawn out that separation for a lot longer, maybe shown Mando lamenting the loss of Grogu, like sitting in his bed looking at a framed pic of Grogu and crying out "Grogu!!!" like Wolverine in "X-M:TAS" 😜.

Seriously, yeah they should have stretched that out for a while and shown it taking an emotional toll on one or both of them to make it more impactful when they finally reunited (which, let's be honest, we all knew was going to happen eventually). I can't help but think that if it were up to just Favreau/Filoni they would have let that go on longer, but I suspect that the studio had some say in that due to Gorge's extreme popularity and fear that they would lose some of the audience if they kept Grogu out of it for too long.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/16/2024, 1:24 AM
@StSteven - I'm thinking the same thing. They should've just let that be the first (or second) episode of Season 3
StSteven
StSteven - 1/16/2024, 6:52 PM
@bkmeijer1 - Well, as we know, even writers/directors that are doing as well for LucasFilm as Favreau and Filoni aren't completely free to do as they wish with their projects. Hell given Gorge's vast popularity we should be thankful that they weren't immediately told to change the name of the show the "The Mandolorian & Grogu" and feature Grogu as the second lead with every other episode being about some wacky adventure that that lovable little scamp goes on in search of one-eyed frogs and space cow ice cream. Think "Baby Groot" but Baby Yoda instead with Mando as the dad from "Alvin and the Chipmunks". He goes to put on his helmet and Grogu just pooped in it. Mando: "Grogu!!!". Hilarity ensues. Hell, we could have gotten a laugh track, man. A f**king LAUGH TRACK!

So, again, be thankful that the sped-up reunion was all we got. It could have been SO much worse. shit, now I'm giving them ideas... 😳
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 1/17/2024, 5:30 AM
@StSteven - if you put it like that, the alternative does sound bad. And not something I'd put beside Disney to do.

I'm glad Favreau and Filoni were atleast free enough to keep Grogu out of the marketing for season 1. That was a nice surprise that wasn't ruined by leaked merchandise
StSteven
StSteven - 1/17/2024, 8:30 PM
@bkmeijer1 - True. I'm sure that Disney (and by extension Hasbro et. al) HATED that they couldn't market the hell out of the little guy until he was revealed. Andrew, here we are what 4 years later or so and the little bugger is STILL on everything. Like literally EVERYTHING. I remember not too long ago while I was at the stores like Walmart and whatever over the Holidays that dude was plastered on everything from tree ornaments to gingerbread houses, to Christmas signs, indoor decorations, outdoor decorations, those big inflatable things for people who are too lazy to actually decorate their yards, you name it.

So I guess that with that in mind and now that everyone (more or less) knows him as Grogu and not Baby Yoda, it's not surprising that they want to name the movie "The Mandolorian & Grogu" but that doesn't make it roll off the tongue any easier.
Timerider
Timerider - 1/13/2024, 9:48 AM
And Pedro is supposed to play Reed Richards and the Mandalorian too.

That’s a tough and long schedule.
rkshuttleworth
rkshuttleworth - 1/13/2024, 1:06 PM
@Timerider - He only really has to do a voice though for The Mandalorian.
Pathogen
Pathogen - 1/13/2024, 10:07 AM
I dunno man. I like the show, but its not the be all end all that so many fanboys are going crazy for. Its not that great. So i would skip seeing this in a movie, unless it upped the quality and such
bobevanz
bobevanz - 1/13/2024, 10:35 AM
Bring back Rian Johnson
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 1/13/2024, 11:58 AM
@bobevanz - They have to. Disney has some shit ideas going back to the start of the jedi, bringing in video game characters, making cartoons canon, or re-using non-canon novels/comic books. We need to bring star wars into the future not stuck in the past with old ass actors who can't even walk or remember their lines anymore.
#Broom Kid trilogy
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 1/13/2024, 10:38 AM
And when it’s news from JW we can all trust that it’s true true
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 1/13/2024, 10:39 AM
Still have to watch season 3. Probably should have watched that instead of forcing my way through Loki season 2
S8R8M
S8R8M - 1/13/2024, 11:37 AM
Not fussed about Season 4. Season 3 was complete crap!
dragon316
dragon316 - 1/13/2024, 11:47 AM
Should be intersting
Cleander
Cleander - 1/13/2024, 12:24 PM
These rumours sounds stupid bc if the movie is the finale for season 4 then the expectation is the general audience aren't part of the equation to gain a wide appeal and lucasfilm and disney don't even expect box office success.

It's already set up to be a movie NOW it doesn't need another round to make another season.
rkshuttleworth
rkshuttleworth - 1/13/2024, 1:08 PM
@Cleander - We already have found out that these kind of shows are the highest of any other ones that are streamed on any platform. You are making an assumption about the general audience that you don't even know.
Cleander
Cleander - 1/13/2024, 1:27 PM
@rkshuttleworth - "the highest streamed on any platform" and you're citing a data point that isn't full proof that a streaming show can crossover to cinema and become a box office success.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 1/13/2024, 12:45 PM
So they’re gonna start doing Star Wars like Marvel now and we’re gonna have to watch Disney+ shows just to figure out what’s gonna go on in the movie.
rkshuttleworth
rkshuttleworth - 1/13/2024, 1:10 PM
@AnthonyVonGeek - Don't you already have to do that with Star Wars kind of anyways? But alot of people stream these Star Wars shows anyways. We are in the digital era.
CaptainCheese
CaptainCheese - 1/13/2024, 1:39 PM
So people can't walk in cold? They're going to have to watch season 4 to follow what's going on? That's going to work. Ha!

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