I loved all three seasons of The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is by far my favorite thing that Disney has done with Star Wars since they acquired it. Not only did I love that series, but I also really enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett (even more so on my rewatch) and Ahsoka as well. I knew going into The Mandalorian and Grogu that I was going to like it, and let me tell you right off the bat, I was not disappointed; it was actually even better than I thought it would be.
Where to Watch The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu was released on May 22, 2026. You can stream the film from Disney+.
The Movie Review
There was more than a little negativity about the movie floating around. Most of the negativity made zero sense to me and came from people who said that they were not keen on the show or that they only liked the first season…. So why the heck would you make the effort to go and see the movie if you did not like the show? Thankfully, from what I have experienced, most “normal” people have had a great time going to watch this in the theatre, and I have heard it is doing really well with families, which is great to hear.
An Extended Mandalorian Adventure
When I saw the trailer for the movie, I had a good idea of what I was in for. I went into The Mandalorian and Grogu expecting something like an extended episode of the show, and that was exactly what I got. If you went into this expecting some kind of Earth-shattering lore expansion, that is 100 percent on you; this, in a million years, was never going to be that! This to me delivered exactly what I expected and what I wanted from a Mandalorian movie.
Mando and Grogu Work for The New Republic
Set after the events of season three of the show. Mando and Grogu are working for The New Republic, and they are taking on bounties for criminals from The Empire. This is a great premise for the movie, and yes, it is just like an extension of what the pair were doing in the show, and I am more than ok with that.
Rotta the Hutt and the Main Story
They are given a job that Mando has some real reservations about. The New Republic is hired by the Hutt twins, and they want them to find Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta, who they claim has been kidnapped. I am not going into spoiler territory here, but the huge jacked-up Rotta the Hutt is not what we initially think he is. Actually, Rotta the Hutt is one of my favorite new Star Wars characters we have met in a long time. He is just so damn likable that I thought he was awesome pretty much right away.
Grogu Gets His Own Hero Moments
Well, as you would expect, something goes wrong, and Mando and Grogu end up on the hit list of the Hutt twins. Many people will tell you that there is no character growth in the movie and that nothing here mattered, but that is not the case. Grogu actually gets to do things on his own, and seeing Grogu and the Anzellans work together to try and help the Mandalorian was priceless. Speaking of priceless, there is a scene where Grogu is trying to hide Mando, which had my entire theatre cracking up.
Star Wars Action, CGI, and Music
The Mandalorian and Grogu is just like an extended episode of the show. I had a feeling that is what it was going to be, and I was not disappointed with it at all. One thing that the movie deserves a ton of credit for is the CGI. This movie looks great! It is not all done in darkness like many other Disney live-action things are these days, and the CGI character of Zeb looks fantastic, plus, Zeb being in this surely means we are one step closer to my live-action Star Wars Rebels TV show! Oh, also, the music in this movie was great; it had a bit of an 80s synth thing going on, and I loved it.
The Mandalorian Movie Theatre Merch
Before I bring this to a close, we have to talk about the movie theatre merch that was available. I must admit, I was kind of hopeful that my theatre would skip this one, but they did not! They had the full arsenal of popcorn buckets and cups, but I was strong. I only got two things: I ended up getting the Grogu in his little buggy popcorn bucket and the standard popcorn bucket that has the movie poster on it. Where I am going to put all this stuff, I have no idea, but at the moment, the Grogu one is serving as a great place to keep apples and oranges.
Final Thoughts on The Mandalorian and Grogu
I absolutely adored this movie! It had a lot of awesome Star Wars-style action, Mando looked like a badass, Grogu got to be more independent, and above all else, it was fun. I so hope that this is not the end of this story and that we get more Mandalorian and Grogu, as I need to know what adventures these two go on next. I will 100000 percent go to see this again, perhaps even more than once… if I end up with that huge AT-AT popcorn bucket, though, remains to be seen! Although, in my defense, it would make a great display piece, and it is cheaper than an actual toy AT-AT!
