The Mandalorian & Grogu Movie: Last Hope For Star Wars Franchise?

Star Wars already fumbled the Mandalorian and Grogu’s perfect ending, so it seems highly unlikely that their upcoming movie — fittingly titled The Mandalorian and Grogu — can save the franchise. Standout gems like Andor and Skeleton Crew have been keeping the Star Wars universe alive, but Lucasfilm needs a long-term solution to its long-term problem.

The Mandalorian already saved Star Wars once. Back in 2019, the series arrived on the heels of The Rise of Skywalker and renewed the fan base’s faith in the Force. But is there any chance that The Mandalorian and Grogu could bring the franchise back from the dark side, or is it too little too late?

The Mandalorian's Season 2 Finale Was The Perfect Ending For Mando & Grogu's Story

The Mandalorian and Grogu promises to be the culmination of Mando and Grogu’s journey — their most epic adventure yet — but the problem is, that already happened over half a decade ago. The Mandalorian’s season 2 finale, “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” not only marked the peak of the series; it was also a perfect ending to the story.

At its core, The Mandalorian is a Lone Wolf and Cub story, and specifically a father-son story, about a single dad trying to protect his adopted son from nefarious forces. Raising this kid made Mando a more compassionate person. He broke the bounty hunter’s code to save Grogu from the Client, and he never looked back.

The season 1 finale set them off on a specific path — to reunite the Child with his Jedi brethren — and, throughout the second season, Mando managed to connect Grogu with a nearby Jedi. In the last couple of episodes, the stakes get higher than ever: Grogu is abducted by the Imperial Remnants, and Mando puts together a crack team to save him.

That all came to a head in “The Rescue,” which is basically one long action set-piece (and a great one at that). Mando and his assorted allies fight their way through Moff Gideon’s forces and successfully retrieve Grogu (and arrest Gideon), but not before a fleet of Dark Troopers arrives. As the Imperial Terminators pound away at the door, there doesn’t seem to be much hope of survival.

And then, a single X-wing glides into the hangar and a mysterious cloaked figure strides confidently through the ship. He ignites a lightsaber and starts slicing and dicing the Dark Troopers with ease. When he arrives on the bridge and removes his hood, we see what most Star Wars fans have already figured out: it’s Luke Skywalker himself.

You can criticize Luke’s cameo for being cheap fan service, but that was a magical TV moment back in 2020 (a time when there wasn’t much magic in the world), and it doesn’t overshadow the real payoff in this finale. As Luke takes Grogu away to be trained, Mando removes his helmet and says a tearful farewell.

Pedro Pascal really sells the emotion, despite the fact that he’s bidding farewell to an adorable prop; it’s like Elliott’s goodbye to E.T. — you really feel the sadness. It stuck the landing beautifully, and it was the perfect ending to Mando and Grogu’s story. But then, that story just kept going.

Star Wars Hastily Reversed Mando & Grogu's Perfect Goodbye In A Completely Different Show

If “The Rescue” had been The Mandalorian’s series finale, it would’ve been a satisfying ending. But, of course, it wasn’t. Disney was making far too much money from streaming subscriptions and Baby Yoda merchandise to let The Mandalorian end after just two seasons. This is the studio that’s already remaking Moana.

I understand the impulse to bring The Mandalorian back for a third season. It makes sense from a business perspective and, as a diehard fan who’d enjoyed every second of seasons 1 and 2, I was excited to see where Favreau was going in season 3. But Favreau didn’t just continue Mando’s story past its perfect stopping point; he continued Mando’s story in a completely different show.

It’s one thing to do a crossover episode, but it’s another thing entirely to put major storylines from one show into the other show’s crossover episode. Could you imagine if Family Guy had killed off Brian in the middle of its Simpsons crossover?

Halfway through The Book of Boba Fett’s run, the spinoff randomly morphed into The Mandalorian season 2.5. We saw Mando visit Grogu at Luke’s Jedi academy, we saw Luke force Grogu to choose between being a Mandalorian and being a Jedi, and we saw Grogu resume his merch-friendly place as Mando’s little green sidekick.

All those plot points could’ve been spread across The Mandalorian’s third season — or, better yet, not happened at all — but instead, Favreau made the baffling decision to cram them all into the back end of The Book of Boba Fett. It will never not astound me how badly they fumbled the follow-up to The Mandalorian’s season 2 finale.

The Upcoming Mandalorian Movie Is Jon Favreau's Last Chance To Salvage The Franchise

The Mandalorian season 3 was pretty underwhelming, so The Mandalorian and Grogu is the franchise’s last hope for survival. The reception to the movie will dictate whether audiences are still interested in The Mandalorian, and whether Disney greenlights more seasons. It’ll have to be really great to win back the goodwill The Mandalorian had at the height of its second season.