The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theatres, and the movie has proven to be just as divisive among Star Wars fans as it was with critics.
One of the biggest complaints seems to be that the first big-screen Star Wars adventure since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker simply doesn't feel like enough of an "event," and plays out more like a few episodes of The Mandalorian Disney+ series stitched together.
The hope was that Din Djarin and The Child's feature debut would serve as a culmination of the stories set up in the streaming shows, featuring characters such as Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
The first trailer made it pretty clear that TMAG was going to be a standalone story for these characters, and writer/director Jon Favreau has now explained why he felt it was important to make this movie just as accessible for audiences who might not be familiar with The Mandalorian series.
"When we were discussing doing a fourth season of [The Mandalorian], which was put on hold, and then the idea of doing a theatrical presentation… It changed the way we approached how interconnected things should be,” Favreau tells EW. “A fourth season of a show would have assumed that you saw three seasons previously and, frankly, everything else on Disney+. That's the nature of a serialized long-form TV story."
The movie does feature a few connections to the wider Star Wars universe, as Mando and Grogu are joined by Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum), who made his debut in the Star Wars Rebels animated series.
"We did put some characters in that people know about and want to see more of, and I think Zeb is a really good example of that,” Favreau adds. “We had the time to build out really complicated action sequences [and] make him a lead character, which we never could have done in the time frame or budget of streaming.”
“Everybody who knows Zeb, because of all of the great character work that was put in over many seasons of animation, we get all of that excitement. Honestly, the biggest reaction we get in the film at the beginning is when we reveal him, and then when people realize that, ‘Oh, he's not just a cameo. He's actually a main player.’ They love watching him.”
Do you plan on seeing The Mandalorian and Grogu on the big screen this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
Jon Favreau directs and produces the feature spin-off, with Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni also serving as producers.
"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau said of directing his first Star Wars movie in a previous statement. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."
Kennedy added, "Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen."
Alien icon Sigourney Weaver is also on board as Ward, a colonel and leader of the New Republic's Adelphi Rangers who previously served as a pilot for the Rebel Alliance. The Clone Wars bounty hunter, Embo, is believed to be the main villain.
Favreau was asked why these characters were chosen to be the focus of the next Star Wars movie during an interview with Total Film.
"I'm not sure what, exactly, why we were asked to do this. I suspect it was because these are characters that people, even who hadn't seen Star Wars, may be aware of, especially Grogu. Baby Yoda was everywhere. And these are two characters that were used to launch Disney Plus, and we made no assumptions when the Mandalorian TV show came on that anybody had seen any Star Wars before. But we also wanted to make it feel authentic to Star Wars, and so the world that we created as the backdrop and the way the characters present themselves were embraced by Star Wars fans, which I really appreciate.
But it also was an inroad for people who may not have ever watched Star Wars on television, and here we are now, seven years after the last film. I think there's an opportunity to present Star Wars to a new audience using these characters as well."