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The Mandalorian and Grogu has not exactly set the box office alight, but it seems the film’s titular duo still have a Star Wars future – and a sequel remains possible. Coming seven years after the previous Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, ended the Skywalker Saga in a divisive fashion, five years after The Mandalorian‘s peak popularity, and debuting to middling reviews, the film struggled to perform, particularly in its second weekend, which saw a franchise-record 69% drop.
It isn’t easy to sell moviegoing audiences on streaming characters, and as it stands, the movie has earned just under $250 million, on track to be the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time (a record currently held by Solo, with $393m). That’s led to a lot of debate about whether Star Wars is dead as a theatrical franchise, and even more uncertainty regarding The Mandalorian & Grogu 2 or The Mandalorian Season 4 happening. However, speaking at Fan Expo Philadelphia last weekend, Brendan Wayne, one of three actors to play the Mandalorian in the movie, revealed the characters do have a future, saying [via ScreenRant]:
“We also know, or maybe only I do, that there is definitely a place in the world for more of us…I think the audiences have given us the permission to proceed. I don’t know if it’s going to be on the small screen or the big screen, my guess is the big screen, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The Mandalorian & Grogu Deserve A Star Wars Future
Wayne’s comments are obviously not confirmation that another Mandalorian project is moving forward, either in theaters or on Disney+, but he is very confident, and it wouldn’t be a surprise, even with the movie’s underwhelming box office. Theatrical revenue is far from the only thing that Disney will judge The Mandalorian & Grogu‘s performance on, after all. Given it could have been a fourth season released on streaming, then there’s a sense in which the box office haul is just a bonus. Add in things like Disney+ and merchandise, and there’s a good chance they will end up happy with it.
Audiences are also happy with it – or at least, the ones who’ve turned out for it are. The movie has an A- CinemaScore, and a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 88% (contrasted to 62% with critics), which is the best outside of the Original Trilogy. That’s understandable because, while the movie isn’t anything groundbreaking, it is a fun spectacle that takes audiences on an entertaining ride, and it’s easy to have a good time watching it.
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Key to this are the characters of Din Djarin and Grogu, who do deserve more adventures together. There is still more to explore with their bond, especially as Grogu develops further and becomes more powerful, and there’s certainly more fun to be had in them traversing the galaxy and taking out its bad guys. Personally, I can’t get enough of Grogu, so will gladly take another movie or another season of the TV show, depending on how Disney decides to approach things (which will presumably be determined after its streaming performance).
It’d be unusual for a franchise movie to have this kind of box office performance and get a sequel, but the Mouse House might simply decide it’d be another “free” hit if they were going to have a similar production spend on another season anyway. It may also depend on how Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni want to tell the story, since it does arguably lend itself better to TV, though it’s even more unusual to go from streaming television to movie theaters and then reverting back.
There’s still a lot to figure out with Star Wars’ future: right now, there’s only one confirmed movie (2027’s Starfighter), and one confirmed live-action series (Ahsoka Season 2, also coming in 2027). Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are still early in their tenure as Lucasfilm’s co-presidents, so hopefully things will continue to take shape in the next few months and, one way or another, the Mandalorian and Grogu will be part of that future.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently playing in theaters.
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