Lucasfilm has finally released the trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu, and something feels off. Disney and Lucasfilm have chosen to bring their two most beloved new characters, The Mandalorian and Grogu (colloquially known as Baby Yoda), to the big screen in a feature-length continuation of the Disney+ series, replacing Season 4. Set for release in May 2026, The Mandalorian & Grogu will mark the first new Star Wars film to open in theaters in seven years, following the release of The Rise of Skywalker back in December 2019. That should feel like a big deal, but the trailer doesn’t communicate that.
The release of the trailer came without any hype, seemingly because it was originally intended to debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! before Disney and ABC put the series on hold following threats from FCC chairman Brendan Carr and television affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair. Yet even without the pomp and circumstance that normally accompanies the release of a new Star Wars trailer, this first footage from The Mandalorian & Grogu feels like a step down from the previous entries in the franchise, particularly those released by Disney. Say what one will about their respective qualities, the sequel trilogy trailers were epic, and the release of them seemingly made the world stop for a moment. The Mandalorian & Grogu looks cheaper by comparison, less like a movie and more like a long episode of a television series.
‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Trailer Feels Rushed
One element that all the previous Disney+ Star Wars trailers excelled at was building excitement. The Force Awakens teaser trailer was a masterclass in movie marketing. Released 13 months before the film, the teaser trailer for The Force Awakens was brief but filled with great little reveals that got audiences excited. Then, the first full trailer built up to that iconic moment when Han Solo says, “Chewie, we’re home.”
The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker trailers were also centered around epic reveals and truly jaw-dropping moments that left fans guessing what was in store, while also playing on fans’ nostalgia. Both Rogue One and Solo‘s teaser trailers were built around the reveal of a character, letting audiences know that even if these weren’t part of the main saga, these were still Star Wars films and therefore a big deal.
The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer doesn’t have that. There is no opening narration or dialogue building up to a big reveal of the title characters. Instead, the first shot of the title characters in the trailer is the second cut. It is a rather inconspicuous scene with a strange composition that doesn’t feel befitting of these characters’ feature film debut. Part of the decision to make the first Star Wars movie centered on these characters is that they are some of the most popular in the franchise; for a generation, they have been the face of Star Wars, so their big cinematic reveal should be a significant event.
The trailer doesn’t seem interested in that reveal, instead wanting to quickly rush through as many adorable Grogu antics as it can, since he is clearly the film’s selling point. The trailer doesn’t feel like Star Wars‘ grand return to the screen, but rather like a new season of television that, for some reason, is being released on IMAX screens. If anything, it has more in common with the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which essentially strung together three episodes of the upcoming animated series into a theatrical release, featuring Rotta the Hutt, who now appears in The Mandalorian & Grogu as a significantly beefed-up Hutt fighter. To quote George Lucas, “It’s like poetry, it rhymes.”
The lack of dialogue in the trailer is also interesting. Part of it could be because Pedro Pascal hasn’t recorded any of his lines (except for the single line “impressive.”) Yet, having no other characters speak, setting up any of the plot, and only using visuals can’t help but give the feeling that this trailer was quickly thrown together. The trailer evokes the vibe of the first teaser for Tim Burton’s Batman, which was quickly cut together and released to theaters to build hype for the film and deter negative criticism about Michael Keaton’s casting. Obviously, Disney wanted the trailer to play before Tron: Ares, but the timing now feels odd, as if it was meant to serve as a distraction from the Jimmy Kimmel Live! controversy. All of this is speculation, of course.
‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Looks Cheap (And That’s Because It Is)
Part of the fun of a television series leaping onto the big screen, whether through adaptation like Mission: Impossible or Transformers or a big-screen continuation like the original Star Trek films, is the cinematic scope that feels larger than what could be accommodated on television. The Simpsons Movie, which aired between Seasons 18 and 19, clearly felt bigger and more expensive than what could be seen on television. Even though HBO is commonly associated with cinematic television, when they brought Sex and the City and Entourage to the big screen, they notably looked grander than their television counterparts. The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t capture that.
Part of it was because Star Wars originated as a feature film franchise, and the major appeal of The Mandalorian when it debuted in November 2019 was its cinematic look for a television series. The trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t look like a big-screen update of The Mandalorian, showcasing set pieces that would not be possible on the limited budget of the Disney+ series. It is more of the same, with either bright, flat lighting or dull, muggy interiors, a far cry from the bold visuals of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, or even The Rise of Skywalker.
The Mandalorian & Grogu is reportedly the cheapest of the Disney-era Star Wars films, but sadly, it is showing on screen based on the first trailer. It doesn’t appear that they took advantage of on-location shooting or employed a new visual language to showcase The Mandalorian. Instead, they opted to replicate the series’ look and feel, which feels disappointing for Star Wars, a franchise that redefined the cinematic experience. The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer isn’t helping dispel the claim that the Disney+ Star Wars series has hurt the brand.
Disney Has Slowly Shifted Streaming Titles to Theaters
It has certainly not been a secret that Disney has shifted many projects originally meant for Disney+ to the big screen, after it became apparent that streaming exclusives were a financial loss. That decision has certainly paid off for Disney, as both the live-action Lilo & Stitch and Moana 2, originally intended for Disney+, have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. Yet, both projects were criticized for being perceived as too cheap and small-scale, which was likely a factor in their greenlighting for Disney+. The Mandalorian & Grogu was not originally supposed to be released; in fact, it seems to have been a last-minute call.
Despite Disney and Lucasfilm announcing a slate of Star Wars films for 2023 at Star Wars Celebration, the announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu came out of nowhere on January 9, 2024, following a disastrous year for Disney, marked by flops such as Wish, The Marvels, The Haunted Mansion, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
In need of a sure thing, likely motivated by the high sales of Grogu merchandise, Lucasfilm quickly moved forward with a feature film adaptation of the Star Wars property that seemed the most universally loved by fans over the past few years. It appears that Disney+ scrapped The Mandalorian Season 4 and reworked it into a feature film, now titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, similar to how Moana 2 was originally going to be a Disney+ series that was later recut into a feature film.
The Mandalorian & Grogu will likely be a fun Star Wars adventure, and hopefully, it will be a step up from The Rise of Skywalker. Jon Favreau’s work on movies like Elf, Iron Man, and The Jungle Book has demonstrated that he knows how to craft a compelling film (although titles like Cowboys & Aliens, Iron Man 2, and The Lion King might raise some concerns). Yet it is disappointing that the first trailer for a new Star Wars movie in nearly seven years arrives with nothing more than a shrug, which is a far cry from how The Force Awakens trailers were received a decade ago, or even how The Rise of Skywalker trailer hit back in 2019. The Mandalorian & Grogu arrives in theaters on May 22, 2026.
- Release Date
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May 22, 2026
- Sequel(s)
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Dave Filoni’s Untitled Mandalorian Movie
