The Mandalorian and Grogu

Credit: Lucasfilm

The first Star Wars movie in seven years blasts into theaters today. Preview showings for The Mandalorian And Grogu, which releases globally on May 22nd, begin this afternoon.

The last time Star Wars was on the big screen was way back in 2019 when Rise Of Skywalker hit theaters. Interestingly, that movie corresponded with a very important episode of The Mandalorian in which we see Baby Yoda, aka Grogu, use the Force to heal.

In many ways, that episode is more important to today’s theatrical Star Wars release than Rise Of Skywalker, a movie which wrapped up the sequel trilogy in remarkably unsatisfying ways. Then again, the sequel trilogy was a hot mess that had no reason being so disjointed and lackluster. Somehow, Star Wars returned and all we got was a lousy live-action trilogy.

That is, until The Mandalorian came along (and later Andor). What a brilliant show that was in its first season, and pretty great in Season 2 also. Then Disney started dropping Star Wars shows left and right, and mostly they were pretty bad. A big chunk of Mando and Grogu’s stories was dropped into The Book Of Boba Fett, which probably should have just been another season of The Mandalorian, and a big chunk of that retconned the end of Season 2, when Grogu heads off with Luke Skywalker to begin his training.

Maybe that all could have been forgiven if Season 3 hadn’t been such a mess. Alas, much of the enthusiasm the series had created up to that point was squandered and there really isn’t that much hype for The Mandalorian And Grogu at this point, a fact not helped by its middling reviews.

What Happened In ‘The Mandalorian’ Up To This Point?

The Mandalorian follows the story of Dinn Djarin, aka Mando, a Mandalorian bounty hunter working in the years following the defeat of the Empire. On a contract for the mysterious Client (Werner Herzog) he discovers that his target is a baby – a little green baby who instantly won not only the hearts of Star Wars fans, but of the silent, always-helmeted hunter.

The two are quickly drawn into a plot by the dastardly Moff Gideon, an Imperial warlord looking to overthrow the fledgling New Republic. He needs Baby Yoda – aka Grogu – to fulfill his nefarious plans, but is thwarted by Mando and, later, by the return of the Jedi himself, Luke Skywalker. The TV show often adopts a “story of the week” style approach, not always focused on the larger plot, with Mando running contracts or getting into various pinches.

The show introduced a bunch of terrific characters like Gina Carano’s Cara Dune, Nick NOlte’s Kuiil and Taika Waititi’s IG-11. Timothy Olyphant joined the cast in Season 2 as Cobb Vanth, a marshal (of course), and Carl Weathers played bounty hunter guild leader, Greef Karga.

In Season 3 of The Mandalorian, Mando (Pedro Pascal) lends his help to Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) in her quest to defeat Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and retake Mandalore. After a season filled with filler that had a hard time remembering who its actual protagonists were, the good guys finally defeat Gideon, armed with the Darksaber, and Grogu protects his allies from a massive explosion using a Force barrier.

After their victory, Mando formally adopts Grogu, and the pair move toa cabin on the outskirts of Nevarro’s capital city. The droid IG-11 is rebuilt by Anzellan mechanics to become Nevarro’s new marshal. Mando starts doing New Republic work for Carson Teva and he and Grogu live happily ever after. I actually enjoyed the Season 3 finale, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of the season.

The Mandalorian And Grogu picks up here, with Mando running contracts for the New Republic, taking down Imperial warlords. One such contract is where the story begins, which will lead the duo into great peril and see a return of the Hutts. (Return of the Hutt would make a great Star Wars title, or maybe Revenge of the Hutts).

For a longer, more in-depth recap, check out this video from Man of Recaps on YouTube:

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

One criticism of the film from early reviews is that it feels more like an extended episode of The Mandalorian rather than an actual film. I’m not sure that’s necessarily a problem, as I mostly just want to be entertained by a fun Star Wars adventure, but I’ll report back with my findings after I see the film this afternoon. Given that it’s a movie built off of a TV show, one big question fans have is whether or not the film will drop any hints at what’s coming next in the extended Star Wars universe – perhaps a glimpse at Ahsoka Season 2, for instance.

Alas, there are no mid or post-credits scenes at the end of the movie. Once the credits roll, you can rush to the bathrooms knowing you won’t miss anything extra. That’s a bit of a shame, as The Mandalorian had a pretty exciting post-credits scene teasing The Book Of Boba Fett, though in retrospect that teaser was actually more entertaining than the show itself ended up being. Oh well! Hopefully the movie is fun even if it’s nothing mind-blowing. May the Force be with you, young padawans!

Let me know what you think of The Mandalorian And Grogu on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I can’t help but feel excited. I’ve been excited to go see every single Star Wars film I’ve ever had the chance to see in theaters, and this is no exception. I just hope it’s good. Rebellions are built on hope.