Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 21st of May 2026
Disney presents a film by Jon Favreau
Written by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor
Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Ian Bryce, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni
Starring Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jonny Coyne, Martin Scorsese, and Sigourney Weaver
Cinematography David Klein
Edited by Rachel Goodlett Katz and Dylan Firshein
Music by Ludwig Göransson
Rating: M
Running Time: 132 minutes
Release Date: the 21st of May 2026
Set after Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu follows the story of the titular character, also known as Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). Djarin is a bounty hunter now working under the new Republic alongside his infant companion/apprentice, Grogu. After undertaking missions to remove Imperial fugitives threatening to revive the Empire, he is tasked by his commanding officer, Ward (Sigourney Weaver), to go on a rescue mission.
The mark is Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), son of the deceased Jabba the Hutt, and now gladiatorial champion in his current confinement. If the rescue succeeds, the Hutts will provide information on the location of Galactic Empire leader, Janu (Jonny Coyne). Considering the Hutts are essentially the crime lords of the Galaxy, the assignment may not be what it seems.
It is seven years since a Star Wars film released in cinemas. Ever since Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) flopped financially and critically, interest in the franchise has waned exponentially with the creatives opting to focus on television. Now we have the latest adventure of our titular heroes on the big screen. After the critical success of the TV series Andor, this film will likely carry the franchise’s newfound goodwill. With the returning cast and creatives (Jon Favreau, Ludwig Goransson, and Dave Filoni among others), a higher budget, and grander scale, does the film live up to the franchise’s high standards?
As for positives, returning composer Goransson delivers a grand musical score that encompasses Star War’s grandeur, fun, and vitality in ways transgressing the orchestral norm. Instead, the inclusion of techno and guitar makes the potential energy feel fresh again.
Grogu is also refreshingly free of the excessive fan service and worldbuilding lore that threatened to drown out recent entries. No returning legacy characters, no talks about trade deficits and taxation, and no attempts at de-aging or retconning storylines. Instead, the filmmakers trim the fat and keep the story to its essentials. It makes it easy for newcomers to jump in without prior show knowledge.
Unfortunately, one may need a lot of grog to imbibe and escape the film’s tedium. Knowing the filmmakers have supposedly trimmed the fat, they must have replaced it with something substantial. With a story that riffs off Midnight Run (1988), it should have been a homerun for Favreau as he specialises in films involving improvisation, such as Swingers (1996), Made (2001), Elf (2003), and the Iron Man series (2008-2013). Favreau and Filoni’s story is agonisingly glacial in its pacing, ugly in its depiction, and ironically, weightless in its stakes.
Say what you want about George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, but his films provided potential for political intrigue, seeds of romantic melodrama, and entertaining pantomime through abysmal dialogue. With Grogu, everything looks and feels tired. Pascal’s vocal performance is phoned in to the point one feels sympathy for stuntmen/suit performers Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder for bringing perfect physicality to the part. Pascal sounds hyperactive compared to White’s vocal work, which is so lethargic and lazy that it becomes ironically fitting to play a slovenly slug.
Much like this writer’s attempts at humour, the comedy is more infantile than funny. It makes the appearances of Grogu and the returning Anzellans (portrayed through admirable puppetry) appear as cutesy relief from the tedium. Meanwhile, the drama in the theme of father-and-son relationships is inert due to a lack of stakes. Even with a substantial amount of Grogu being shot on IMAX cameras, the lensing from cinematographer David Klein (best known for working on Kevin Smith’s films) lacks visual splendour. His compositions appear grimy in all the computer-generated excess and muted colour grading.
Overall, The Mandalorian and Grogu is a flat and leaden attempt to bring Star Wars back into cinemas. This is definitely not the way.
Summary: The Mandalorian and Grogu is a flat and leaden attempt to bring Star Wars back into cinemas. This is definitely not the way.
2
Weak
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