The Mandalorian and Grogu Hits The Big Screen

During the pandemic, one of the most popular Star Wars series to hit Disney Plus was The Mandalorian and Grogu. To be clear, this is not a pre-Yoda story. Grogu (affectionately nicknamed “Baby Yoda”) was born around the exact same time as Anakin Skywalker and raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Because The Mandalorian takes place years after Yoda’s death in Return of the Jedi, Grogu cannot possibly be a younger Yoda.

Now, for those of you not all that familiar, let me catch you up. The story of the Mandalorian (Din Djarin) and Grogu embarks upon the tale of a hardened bounty hunter and a mysterious Force-sensitive child who form an unbreakable, adoptive father-son bond, traveling the galaxy to evade dark forces and protect one another.

Having been on Disney Plus for three seasons, Director Jon Favreau is bringing the fourth season to the big screen continuing the adventures of Din Djarin (The Mandalorian and his young apprentice Grogu).  In this expanded story, the evil Empire has fallen, but Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they enlist the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin  (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.

While in a search and rescue mission for the son of Jabba the Hut, Rotta (Jeremy Allen White), the dynamic duo find themselves in the fight of their life wondering if either one will make it to the other side alive. As in most Star Wars adventures, the New Republic is spectacularly led by Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), who trained under the late Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and it was thrilling to witness a woman at the helm if only for a few brief scenes.

The action sequences are jam packed and always just a tad too long, as evidenced by the gladiator style scene with Mando, Rotta and Grogu (parents might want to tread lightly with those scenes). Humor, for which the sci-fi western like franchise is recognized, is ever present with a scene stealing short order cook Hugo Durant (voiced Martin Scorsese), Gattori (voiced by the late Stephen Mckinley Henderson) and a little trio of tiny pilots aka Anzellians (voiced by Shirley Henderson). On top of all of that, as a former puppeteer, let me give a shout out to Legacy Effects who bring Grogu to life animatronically with at least five puppeteers, who make Grogu seem beyond lifelike.

Of course, what would The Mandalorian and Grogu be without a tug at the heartstrings moment when Grogu has to figure out how to save his buddy from sudden death – all of which is hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.

At the end of the day, as entertaining as the film is, it could stand to lose a good 20-30 minutes in those battle scenes which make the pacing lag in numerous spots.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is a wild west, deep dive, sci-fi ride with two of the Star Wars universe’s most beloved characters and is a great way to enter the summer blockbuster season of 2026.