Jon Favreau will direct the feature “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” based on the hit “Star Wars” Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” Lucasfilm announced on Tuesday.
“I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created,” Favreau said in an official statement. “The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting.”
Directed by Favreau, and produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, and Dave Filoni, “The Mandalorian & Grogu” will go into production in 2024.
“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,” Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, added in the official statement.
As part of the announcement, Lucasfilm has said that “The Mandalorian & Grogu” will lead the upcoming slate of “Star Wars” feature films, which is also set to include Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey film (with Daisy Ridley set to return), James Mangold’s “biblical” origin-of-The Force movie, and Dave Filoni’s feature, which was meant to be a culmination of all of the “Star Wars” streaming series in his pocket of the universe (which include “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Ahsoka” and more).
“The Mandalorian & Grogu” will be the first “Star Wars” feature film to hit theaters since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the conclusion of the so-called “sequel trilogy.” That film was seen as both a critical and commercial disappointment and led to a reevaluation of priorities within Lucasfilm and the larger Walt Disney Company.
Elsewhere in the vast “Star Wars” universe, Christopher Ford and Jon Watts’ series “Skeleton Crew” (starring Jude Law), Leslye Headland’s “The Acolyte” (with Amandla Stenberg) and a second season of the critically acclaimed “Andor” are all in the works and on the way. As part of the announcement today, it was also mentioned that Filoni is currently developing a second season of his popular “Star Wars” Disney+ series “Ahsoka.” (Thank the maker; they really left the first season on a cliffhanger.) We haven’t heard much about “Rangers of the New Republic,” a “Mandalorian” spin-off announced in 2020, but that could also be cooking somewhere in the depths of the Death Star trench.
A third and final season of animated series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” also created by Filoni, is also set to stream in 2024.
It’s unclear if there will even be an additional season of “The Mandalorian,” or if the movie will take its place. Also unclear: if Pedro Pascal will come back to don the armor (or at least provide the voice for the titular warrior) and if there will be any other characters from the series making their way to the big screen. This is the way.
