It’s been seven years since Star Wars was last on the big screen. 2019’s Episode IX – The Rise Of Skywalker marked the end of an era, the end of a saga, bringing a trilogy of trilogies to a close. Ever since then, Star Wars stories have unfolded on the small screen, unspooling the adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Cassian Andor and more. But no characters have exploded on streaming in quite the same way as The Mandalorian and Grogu, an unlikely father-son pairing whose adventures across the galaxy charmed Star Wars diehards and newcomers alike. ‘Baby Yoda’, as fans first dubbed him, was inescapable. Now, the pair are charged with bringing Star Wars back to cinemas: The Mandalorian And Grogu is coming.
It is, says Lucasfilm co-CEO Dave Filoni, a different prospect to the last time the saga made a culture-shaking big-screen comeback. “Episode VII was a completely different entity,” explains Filoni, who also co-wrote The Mandalorian And Grogu, and directed second-unit on the film. “I had dreams of Episode VII since I came out of Return Of The Jedi. You were like, ‘After VI comes VII! Where’s VII?’ We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now.” The Mandalorian And Grogu doesn’t carry the burden of introducing a new trilogy, or establishing a group of unknown heroes. Instead it is, Filoni says, “a big celebration” of its title pair.
So, where were bounty hunter Din Djarin and Grogu – his adoptive son and Mandalorian apprentice – when we left them? The Season 3 finale had a sense of genuine finality to it, as our heroes settled into their homestead on Nevarro, having thwarted Moff Gideon and played their part in reclaiming Mandalore. “It only felt like the ending of a particular chapter,” Pedro Pascal tells Empire. The same finale also saw Mando agree to take on missions solely for the New Republic at Adelphi Base. “They open up the opportunity for him to continue his best work as a bounty hunter, but just working for the good guys,” says Pascal. “Combining skill and morality. Whereas when we meet him first, it’s simply skill, and beskar, and [the Mandalorian] Creed. Through his relationship to Grogu, there is an expansion of his heart and a disarming of his armour, so to speak, that leads him to fight for what he knows is right.”
It’s that sense of heart that Filoni and director Jon Favreau hope to translate to the big screen. Yes, the action will be bigger for cinemas. There will be massive practical sets, puppetry galore, stop-motion courtesy of Phil Tippett’s studio. But at the centre of this is, well, The Mandalorian and Grogu – the duo who captured hearts the world over. “What can’t you do now?” says Filoni, noting that spectacle only goes so far. “It’s a question of, ‘Is the audience going to believe it? Are they going to feel it?’ That comes through the characters. If the characters are connecting, then the adventure plays, the action plays, the tension plays.” The next adventure begins. Mando and Grogu are back. Star Wars enters a new era. Fire up the Razor Crest.
Read Empire’s full cover story on The Mandalorian And Grogu – speaking to Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White about Star Wars’ big-screen comeback – in the May 2026 issue, on sale Thursday March 12. Pre-order a copy online here. The Mandalorian And Grogu comes to UK cinemas on May 22.