The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the first Star Wars movie to touch down in theaters since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. While The Mandalorian was one of Disney+'s biggest hits, it won't be until next May that we discover whether that popularity translates to ticket sales.
The movie is believed to be a condensed version of The Mandalorian Season 4, suggesting filmmaker Jon Favreau had to leave many ideas and characters on the cutting room floor (turning 8 episodes into a 2-hour movie).
Among the absentees will be Katy O'Brian's villainous Elia Kane. We don't know what became of Moff Gideon's eyes and ears in the New Republic after Season 3, and with his arc likely over, it seems there will be no room for the Imperial's right-hand woman.
"Dude, nothing," O'Brian told Polygon when the site asked what she knows of Favreau's plans for The Mandalorian and Grogu. "I don't know if they're going to do a season four. I know the movie's coming out. I know I'm not in it."
It's been widely theorised that Gideon's cloning plans were a precursor to Supreme Leader Snoke's creation. However, it's just as possible that, after co-opting Emperor Palpatine's research, his endgame was to just create a "Mandalorian" army comprised of...himself. He's been defeated and his doubles destroyed, so that may be it for Gideon and Kane.
In terms of new additions to the Star Wars franchise, we know that The Bear star Jeremy Allen White will lend his voice to Rotta the Hutt, the surprisingly ripped son of Jabba the Hutt.
Talking to Good Morning America, the actor explained, "I came in to do the voice. They hadn’t filmed the movie yet. Then they made the movie, I came and did more. I’ll probably have to do a little bit more. I spoke to Pedro [Pascal] the other day, and I think he was doing some more work, and seeing more of the film."
"I met Jon Favreau, and I’ve been such a huge fan of his for a long time," White continued. "He said, 'Would you like to come in and maybe talk to me about doing just a voice-over for Star Wars?' I said, 'I love Star Wars.' I discovered kind of in the moment almost the weight of the kind of character I was voicing."
Much of The Mandalorian and Grogu's plot remains under wraps, though Jabba's son is expected to be one of the movie's leads. How the Imperial remnants factor into that, and what it means for Dave Filoni's eventual Star Wars crossover movie, remains to be seen.
Alien icon Sigourney Weaver plays a New Republic Colonel, Ward, but told Josh Horowitz that she was "only [on] set for a few days" and "surrounded by all sorts of creatures." So, a cameo then, which was perhaps to be expected given the small role the New Republic has played in The Mandalorian thus far.
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. Stay tuned to SFFGazette.com for more on the movie.