Last month, Lucasfilm shocked us all by announcing plans for The Mandalorian to make the leap from Disney+ to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu. That was accompanied by a piece of concept art showing Din Djarin and The Child blasting into action, but we were still left with more questions than answers.
For example, will season 4 - which Jon Favreau finished writing before last year's Hollywood strikes - still hit the streaming service as originally planned? We've heard rumblings of a truncated fourth season but Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni was giving nothing away during a recent interview at the 51st Saturn Awards.
Asked about The Mandalorian season 4, he coyly responded, "There's so much spinning in the galaxy right now. You know me better than to commit to any one thing... No mind trick works on me." Take that as you will!
A slightly more concrete update about the franchise's future has been shared by Disney CEO Bob Iger. Talking during an earnings call yesterday afternoon, he confirmed The Mandalorian and Grogu will be released in theaters in 2026, "[leading] Lucasfilm's ongoing feature-development slate."
That now makes it official; this will be the first Star Wars movie to play in multiplexes since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker and, right now, there are two possible release options. Those are May 22, 2026 and December 18, 2026.
It's an undeniably long time to wait and pushes the Daisy Ridley-led "New Jedi Order" movie even further down the calendar. On the plus side, it could mean we get The Mandalorian season 4 next year.
"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau said when The Mandalorian and Grogu was announced. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."
Lucasfilm's Kathleen 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."
The movie's logo has also been released. You can take a closer look at that, and Filoni's comments, in the X posts below.