With a little over two months to go until The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in theaters, the first Star Wars movie since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, is now confirmed to have a surprise third writer.
While we've known for some time that director Jon Favreau penned the screenplay, it was confirmed earlier this week that Ahsoka showrunner and new Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni is a co-writer on The Mandalorian follow-up.
Filoni and Favreau have worked together on the Disney+ series from the start, also co-producing other "MandoVerse" series like The Book of Boba Fett and Skeleton Crew. With that in mind, a reunion here didn't come as a shocker (Filoni was also enlisted as second-unit director).
A Writers Guild of America listing has confirmed (via SFFGazette.com) that Favreau and Filoni collaborated with Noah Kloor on The Mandalorian and Grogu. His name will be familiar to Star Wars fans, as he wrote every single episode of The Book of the Boba Fett alongside Favreau. In addition to that series, he worked on The Mandalorian Season 3 and was a credited writer on "Chapter 19: The Convert."
So, he's no stranger to this Galaxy Far, Far Away, and was likely a big help to Favreau and Filoni as they transitioned The Mandalorian Season 4 into The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
While it's worth noting that The Book of Boba Fett was a divisive series with some moments and ideas that remain problematic for many longtime Star Wars fans, the extent of Kloor's involvement with The Mandalorian and Grogu isn't clear.
During a recent interview, Filoni said, "Episode VII was a completely different entity. I had dreams of Episode VII since I came out of Return Of The Jedi. You were like, 'After VI comes VII! Where’s VII?' We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now."
Calling this big-screen follow-up to The Mandalorian a "celebration" of the duo, Filoni confirmed that the shift from streaming to theaters will give the franchise a new feel.
"What can’t you do now?" he said, acknowledging that spectacle only goes so far. "It’s a question of, 'Is the audience going to believe it? Are they going to feel it?' That comes through the characters. If the characters are connecting, then the adventure plays, the action plays, the tension plays."
In The Mandalorian and Grogu, the evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. 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.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie also stars Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White and is produced by Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Ian Bryce, with music composed by Ludwig Göransson.
The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in theaters on May 22.