A long time ago, in a galaxy that's actually pretty close but feels far away, Star Wars movies used to be a pop culture spectacle, a treat we'd get in theaters every few years or sometimes longer.

Although critic and fan sentiment often varied, there was a general excitement that these movies would introduce new stories and ideas to a franchise we all knew and loved. The Mandalorian and Grogu feels like the absence of this spectacle. It's just, sort of, there.

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The Mandalorian and Grogu spawned as a result of the 2023 Writer's Strike.

Originally, a fourth season of The Mandalorian, the Disney+ series which The Mandalorian and Grogu is a spinoff of, was in the works but had to be shelved due to the strike. It was during this down time that Lucasfilm's pivoted to prioritize Star Wars return to theaters and since the series was a hit creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau were tapped with delivering a full-length movie.

Although the movie is its own entity, it feels like a season of television with all of the fat trimmed off to fit a 2 hour runtime, similar to multiple Mandalorian episodes standing on each other's shoulders, wearing a movie-sized trench coat.

A lesson to take from the collapse of MANDALORIAN AND GROGU—and from Disney's struggle to retain box-office hits with Star Wars and Marvel—is extending franchises across endless streaming series has limited the audience to those keeping up at home, diluting the theatrical brand.

— Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg) June 1, 2026

The movie follows Din Djarin, the Mandalorian in question, and Grogu who are "independent contractors" working for the New Republic by hunting down remaining Imperial officers. Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), tasks the duo with saving Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), returning him to his family, who will then share information pertaining to the whereabouts of an Imperial officer.

Nothing here is unusual for Star Wars, but this is all the movie offers. It's a series of tasks and fighting as Din and Grogu inch towards the end of their mission. This is where the movie starts to feel like television. At the end of each task there is a lull which would align perfectly with the end of an episode. It doesn't help the movie flow, which leaves it feeling like disjointed segments. This wouldn't be such an issue if the movie offered anything else. Character development was left on the cutting room floor. Star Wars' action and spectacle is partially why I'm a lifelong fan, but when there is little emotional attachment tied to the action, it becomes pointless and honestly, boring. 

Between action sequences the movie isn't just boring, but something more than that. There's a lifelessness to these moments. Many of the few onscreen actors have robotic line delivery, which only heightens the emotionlessness of the movie. This isn't to imply the movie was made with it, but it resembles an AI-generated video with its flurry of action sequences, Star Wars creatures that you might recognize from past movies, and emotional core missing. It's all glitz and glam without the substance. 

Despite its shortcomings there are a few redeemable moments. The beginning Imperial base raid felt like classic Mandalorian, before the movie took a turn, and the Grogu rescue sequence felt like a Jim Henson fantasy muppet movie. Both would have made excellent filler episodes in a season. Then after the movie premiered, it was revealed that one fight scene was done with stop-motion animation which is classic Star Wars, and all-around respectable movie crafstmanship. 

Stop-motion work on ‘THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU’

Phil Tippett and his studio returned to the Star Wars universe to work on the sequence. pic.twitter.com/WLaNsEoQFs

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 24, 2026

At some point, I will give The Mandalorian and Grogu another shot, most likely when it hits streaming. As a Star Wars fan, I want to find something redeemable about this movie. Many positive reviews are calling it a "fun" ride. I just wish it had some place to go.