My feeling is that they’re throwing stuff out and seeing what sticks. They have such enormous economic resources to draw from that they can afford some losses – Dr Rebecca Harrison
As Star Wars tries now to reclaim its cinematic standing, it’s clear The Mandalorian & Grogu may not have been the best title to come out of the blocks with. The first trailer was released last September, with further footage shown to fans and influencers after May 4th, the unofficial “Star Wars day”, which has generally inspired positive reactions.
But Lucasfilm hasn’t quite convinced early viewers that, as a spin-off from a TV show, the film qualifies as the kind of “event cinema” that is expected from summer blockbusters. “The 25 minutes felt like a first episode of a new season,” wrote one fan, while another commented: “I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but something felt off when the opening credits rolled, it didn’t quite feel like a Star Wars movie. It came across more like a streaming TV film than a big-screen experience.”
In today’s increasingly challenged cinema landscape, Loughrey believes you need a “hook” more than ever to make a film seem essential for people to leave the house to see it. Yet with The Mandalorian & Grogu, she says, “there doesn’t appear to be an epic battle happening or tons of characters teaming up, so it seems like a very low-stakes adventure.”
What does the future hold?
Loughrey instead points to the next planned Star Wars film, Starfighter, due for release in May 2027 and starring Ryan Gosling, as the great new hope for the franchise. Its director, Shawn Levy, has confirmed that it will explore an untouched “period of time in the galaxy” where they are “inventing everything in the movie” and not relying on legacy characters to tap into fan nostalgia. “Starfighter is coming out of the gate with an original story and a major A-lister attached to it,” Loughrey says. “It feels like the first chapter [of something new]; I don’t know what they’ll do with it afterwards, but that feels like a confident first step.”
Certainly, despite the knocks the Star Wars Universe has taken, Lucasfilm isn’t showing any signs of slowing down its growth. Among other things, Filoni will be directing his first live-action film, which will conclude the interconnected storylines of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett. Screenwriter and filmmaker Simon Kinberg is developing a new trilogy, and Daisy Ridley will return as Rey in a post-Rise of Skywalker outing directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – the first woman and person of colour to direct a Star Wars film. Interestingly, though, while Aksoka season two is currently in production, no other live-action series has been confirmed.
Under the creative leadership of Filoni, Lucasfilm will be looking to return Star Wars to its cinematic greatness, and The Mandalorian & Grogu will be its first test – but is this new trajectory going to instil new hope in its fans and moviegoers alike?
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