This year hasn't been the best for Star Wars. While the animated series Maul: Shadow Lord received rave reviews from critics and fans, many wondered why the Disney+ series The Mandalorian needed to be brought to the big screen, especially given that Star Wars: Starfighter hits theaters less than a year later. Despite the film's box office failure, Lucasfilm has a chance to turn this into a success.
«Star Wars could make a fortune selling merchandise.
On paper, it makes at least some sense. People unfamiliar with Star Wars probably know who Grogu—ahem, Baby Yoda—is. After all, the little green man is everywhere. He's featured on everything from T-shirts to blankets. He's even appeared in Build-A-Bear, where fans can dress him up in a little Grogu onesie or buy him a frog bracelet before he decides to, you know, eat them.
Merchandising has always been the backbone of the Star Wars franchise, so it's no surprise that Lucasfilm wants to capitalize on this opportunity and partner with as many brands as possible to popularize the brand. Republic of Tea now sells at least three different teas in cans. Bath & Body Works sells everything from candles to cologne, featuring scents like "Force Flow" and "Bounty Hunter." And don't even get me started on what's going on at Burger King.
«The Mandalorian and Grogu weren't originally meant to be a big-screen story.
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The problem is that The Mandalorian has always been a TV series. While the first two seasons were well-received, the third became bogged down in mythology and pointless cameos (did Lizzo need и Jack Black in one episode?). The series was already falling apart when they decided to turn it into a movie, and not a very good one at that.
"The Mandalorian and Grogu" felt like three episodes stitched together, and while that wouldn't matter if they were good episodes, it feels like a pointless side quest in their overall story. Both Din Djarin (the titular Mandalorian) and Grogu are essentially back where they started, only now Din has a shiny new ship. There are no hints of a more serious threat on the horizon. There's no significant character development. Overall, the film is fairly insignificant in the long run.
And frankly, it might be fine for kids who just want to watch Din Djarin beat up baddies (there's plenty of that in this movie). But it doesn't add anything new to the franchise. It looks like Star Wars. It sounds like Star Wars. But it lacks the soul and character of the other films that truly make them magical. Trust me—I just watched the Zootopia sequel last night, and it's perfectly possible for a kids' movie to feature a heartwarming, eye-rolling sitcom aimed at five-year-olds.
«Star Wars is what everyone is talking about.
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But if Lucasfilm released The Mandalorian and Grogu simply hoping to bring Star Wars back into the public eye, they certainly succeeded. Press coverage of the film's utter failure at the box office was inevitable. It's probably not the kind of press Disney wanted, but the film still exists.
I can imagine that, given that the film will eventually be on Disney+, most people are simply looking forward to continuing to watch it the same way they've been watching the last three seasons: at home on the couch with a bucket of popcorn that doesn't look like Din Djarin's head. It started on the small screen, and that's where it should have stayed (along with a Thrawn reference to at least whet the appetite for what might happen next in Mando's story, but I digress).
Despite countless headlines about Star Wars being over, the film likely reawakened a new generation of fans who are now watching the remaining films on Disney+. They may have even managed to attract a few new fans to The Mandalorian. If they were aiming to capitalize on Baby Yoda merchandising and attract new Disney+ subscribers with a less-than-spectacular film, they succeeded.
Will The Mandalorian and Grogu attract new Star Wars fans?
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Let's face it: Star Wars needs new fans, and it needs to start with the younger generation. The sequel trilogy was a complete failure, and the fact that there hasn't been a single Star Wars movie in theaters since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker proves it. There are kids who have never seen a Star Wars movie in theaters, and it's entirely possible Lucasfilm wanted to attract fans with The Mandalorian and Grogu before Starfighter comes out next year, which (maybe?) will show fans what the future holds for Rey and other characters.
But Lucasfilm seems to be hurting itself with this film. The more unnecessary material they release—like this film—the harder it is for the "casual" fan to understand what's going on. I can't count the number of times I've been asked how this film connects to the original trilogy ("This guy's like... Boba Fett's brother, right?") or whether Grogu and Baby Yoda are the same character. People genuinely don't know anything about Star Wars.
They know Darth Vader. They know Yoda. They know Luke Skywalker. All of these characters have become pop culture icons, and perhaps they were meant to stay that way. For twenty years, the Skywalker saga had six films, and that was it. Then Disney started releasing one film a year and a few live-action series, which the average viewer stopped following. Andor created a lot of buzz, but in ten or twenty years, I don't think anyone will be talking about it or The Mandalorian.
If the creators of The Mandalorian and Grogu wanted to bring Star Wars back into the public eye, they've certainly succeeded. And while the film didn't receive a theatrical release, many fans will definitely be watching it on Disney+ once it arrives on the streaming platform (which, it seems, will be sooner rather than later). Thanks to merchandising and other partnerships, Star Wars is everywhere again.
One can only hope that Shawn Levy's Starfighter lives up to expectations. Rebellions are built on hope, and it seems so is this franchise.
The article "How 'The Mandalorian' and 'Grogu' Can Save 'Star Wars'" first appeared on The Blast.