A new rumor details that the recently announced The Mandalorian & Grogu film from director Jon Favreau will be part of a planned trilogy that will also include Dave Filoni’s Mandoverse that was announced back in Star Wars Celebration last year.
The Mandalorian & Grogu (TBA), Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm announced The Mandalorian & Grogu earlier this week and revealed it will be directed by Jon Favreau with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni and Favreau producing.
In a blog post on their website, they also stated that the movie would go into production sometime later this year. They did not reveal any details about this film, but did state that the three films announced at Star Wars Celebration from directors Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, James Mangold, and Dave Filoni were still on their development slate.
As noted above the Dave Filoni Mandoverse was announced at Star Wars Celebration in April, with Lucasfilm revealing in a press release that the film would see Dave Filoni “orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic. Alongside producer Jon Favreau, they will bring together many of the threads of the Star Wars original series in a cinematic event.”
(L-R): Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Now, a new rumor from Jason Ward at Making Star Wars claims these two films are even more connected than one might think and are actually part of a planned trilogy of films.
Ward stated, “My source, the original source who first told me [that season four would be a movie], told me that this is going to be a trilogy.”
He continued, “And I’m going to add a caveat that’s just my additional sense on it, is that it’s a trilogy if the first one connects. If the first one is a big film, they’ll go forward and make two. If the first one is $350 million, if it’s Indiana Jones [and the Dial of Destiny] money, then they’re probably going to just do the two and then wash their hands with it.”
Ward then reiterated, “Those two films are going to happen.”
(L-R): Grogu, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Later in his livestream, Ward shared his own speculation, “This is just speculation on my part, but what I think is going to happen is that they are going to go and they are going to probably have Mando go right up into the big event from the Ahsoka series and that Ahsoka series thing might be what caps this.”
He added, “I don’t know that. That’s not an inside thing.”
(L-R): Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Ward would also address whether this film would adapt scripts completed by Jon Favreau for the fourth season of the show. Favreau previously confirmed he had written the fourth season saying, “Season 4, yeah, I’ve written it already. We have to know where we are going to tell a fully formed story. So, we had mapped it out, Dave and I. And then slowly you write just each episode. So I was writing it during post-production because all of it has to feel like a continuation and one full story.”
“La saison 4 est déjà écrite”
📽️On a croisé @Jon_Favreau avec @clairefleury1.
On a parlé de la saison 3 #TheMandalorian, de la saison 4 aussi, de #Ahsoka, #SkeletonCrew 🔥#StarWars #Grogu @BFMTV_Inside pic.twitter.com/qCrkxVBHeZ— 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫 (@lenicolasbehar) February 20, 2023
Deadline also reported that The Mandalorian & Grogu film was being developed as well as the fourth season of the Disney+ series.
However, Ward detailed that he assumes that the fourth season will indeed be adapted into the film.
(L-R): Din Grogu, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
As for what to expect from the film, it’s likely The Mandalorian and Grogu will be taking on various tasks from the New Republic to hunt down Imperial remnants.
At the end of Season 3, Din Djarin informs Captain Carson Teva, “I’m a bounty hunter by trade. Now that he is with me, I’ll be more selective in my assignment. … You don’t have the resources to protect the Outer Rim, let alone hunt down Imperial remnants. And I need work.”
Teva would approve of the work, and it was made clear that any work that Djarin did for the New Republic would be done off the books.
It’s likely the film will tie in to whatever Dave Filoni is working on with Ahsoka Season 2 and his own Mandoverse film that features Grand Admiral Thrawn.
(L-R): Captain Enoch (Wes Chatham) and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved
Previous rumors indicated Lucasfilm was building up to roughly adapt Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy.
Mikey Sutton at Geekosity Mag noted that The Mandalorian and attached shows would be building up to that storyline. However, he noted it would not be a direct adaptation, “Heir to the Empire won’t be interpreted exactly how it is on the printed page, but it’s shadow will be looming over the show.”
He specifically noted that a “war between Thrawn and the New Republic is gradually being built up.”
Sutton also noted that the adaptation might become a theatrical film, “One insider said he wouldn’t be surprised if the endgame of the Mandalorian putting together his team of galactic, ragtag cosmic Avengers will result in a theatrical film named after Heir to the Empire.”
(L-R, front): Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and Captain Enoch (Wes Chatham) with Night Troopers in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Sutton had previously reported back in 2020 that a Mandalorian film was being discussed, “It’s no surprise that a Mandalorian theatrical movie is being discussed at Disney.”
And he noted, “According to a source, the film will include characters introduced on the Rebels animated show and the Big Bad is going to be Grand Admiral Thrawn.”
Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
What do you make about this latest Star Wars rumor?
This is bad news. Sure Favreau might start strong and I want to give Favreau a chance but the hand off to Filoni smells like more of same mess that happens with the sequel trilogy. After Filoni’s live action debut I don’t find myself interested in his direction. If I knew Favreau will helm the whole trilogy of films without interference that has occurred before I will feel more confident about the success of this project.