The Mandalorian and Grogu looks set to be a fresh start for the popular Disney+ franchise as it makes the leap from streaming to theaters. Season 3 concluded in a way that opened the door to new adventures, though those were originally set to play out in Season 4.
Disney decided to prioritise box office revenue over subscriber numbers, and filmmaker Jon Favreau reportedly condensed his original 8-episode plans into a two-hour feature (similar to what happened when the Moana series became Moana 2, a move that paid off massively when it grossed over $1 billion worldwide).
Talking to Empire Online (via SFFGazette.com), the filmmaker said that this cinematic adventure will see Din Djarin and The Child team up with the former Rebels on Adelphi Base.
"The Mandalorian has changed his priorities," Favreau teased. "One of the last things we say [in Season 3] is, like, 'I don’t want to go out there and just be a hired gun. I want to work for the good guys.'"
That means lending his skills to Sigourney Weaver's Colonel Ward and Star Wars Rebels' Zeb Orrelios. "Now we get to really have fun with him," the writer and director teased. "He’s such a compelling character, even if you’ve never seen Rebels, between the voice, the swagger, and the physical ability."
"That central relationship, as they go off and face adventure together, that’s the underpinning of the film," Favreau continued, referring to the movie's title characters. "Star Wars is always about progression and growth and characters evolving, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad."
"It’s about apprenticeship, it’s about one generation teaching the next," he added. "There’s more growth that happens over the course of the film."
Whether Favreau has been able to tell the story he originally intended is hard to say, but we don't know how deep into production he was into The Mandalorian Season 4 when plans changed (there have been conflicting reports about how many episodes were written).
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 and his young apprentice Grogu.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau, who is also producing alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Ian Bryce. The film's music is composed by Ludwig Göransson, who returns to score the franchise after working on the Disney+ TV series.
The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian and Grogu, an all-new Star Wars adventure filmed for IMAX and opening exclusively in theaters May 22, 2026.