The Mandalorian and Grogu

1/5

The Mandalorian and Grogu should have been huge. It is the first Star Wars film in theaters in seven years. The start of the new trilogy, The Force Awakens, was a true test of the brand, and it delivered. TFA made almost a billion dollars domestically, and it remains the highest-grossing domestic film of all time. The acquisition by Disney was monumental, and it seemed they could do no wrong. With Marvel becoming a similar phenomenon, Pixar producing hit after hit, and now Star Wars under their belt, this was supposed to be a new era for these enormously important properties.

So, seven years after The Rise of Skywalker, after countless forgettable Disney+ shows (no, I am not including Andor here) after we’ve seen Pixar lose its footing and rely on sequel after sequel, after we’ve seen the height of the Avengers and the lows of… the Avengers, Disney has all but destroyed these beloved brands under their stewardship.

Yet, I held out some hope. I actually enjoyed The Mandalorian TV show (Grogu’s cuteness is maybe a big part of that…. one of my most prized possessions is a Swarovski Grogu, to be fair). Yet, I could sense the lack of excitement all around me for this film, despite the show having plenty of highs. If the film could just capture that, I didn’t think we’d be in terrible shape. Even as first impressions were tepid, I reminded myself that I found a lot to enjoy in the show that others universally panned.

I was delusional. This film, if you can call it that, has almost no redeeming qualities. It feels like four episodes of the TV show squished together. Seriously, you can tell exactly when one episode ends and another begins. Except these are not even good episodes of The Mandalorian. They might just be the worst. I don’t even feel the need to warn about spoilers - nothing happens in this film to warrant it!

I’ve never seen a franchise film feel more inconsequential than this one. It’s the first time I’ve seen Sigourney Weaver completely phone in a performance, though it’s clear she knows exactly the pile of crap she was making. Pedro Pascal gets top billing for… all of five minutes of screen time. Shout-out to his body doubles, who are actually on screen doing the work. Jeremy Allen White gives an absurd performance as Rotta the Hutt, who exists like an action figure with a button that repeats exactly one line (I am NOT my father).

Actually, though, this film is so incredibly stupid that I am ashamed my precious Grogu is even part of it. The film starts with a heist gone wrong, kind of. Basically, instead of capturing the evil bad guy, they end up killing him, which seems to be a big deal, except they manage to capture the bad guy at the end of the film, and it’s completely unclear what the difference is between the two because this film simply has zero stakes. Also, why the hell does the New Republic think the Hutts’ criminal enterprise is not double-crossing them? These are a couple of the egregious issues, but truly nothing makes sense in this movie.

It’s insulting to moviegoers everywhere and feels like the perfect metaphor for Disney’s bungling of this IP. They have completely fumbled the bag in a way that almost feels intentional. When esteemed artists are banging on your door to work on Star Wars, how do you mess it up so badly that the newest film in almost a decade is an outright bomb at the box office? There is no way to spin this, and all eyes are on next year’s Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, though I can tell you right now I will not be lulled into a false sense of excitement. I made that mistake before, and I simply have no goodwill left to extend on behalf of Star Wars.

The one redeeming quality — and I am not kidding; there is only one I can think of — is Ludwig Göransson’s score. His music is impeccable, and I hope Disney has written him a blank check to make whatever the hell he wants.

Even when this slop ends up on Disney+ — maybe in four 30-minute episodes instead of a feature-length film — I would still not recommend watching it. No film has wasted my time more in 2026 than The Mandalorian and Grogu, and that is coming from someone who was, more than most, willing to excuse some of its flaws for the cuteness of my little Grogu.