After decades of trying to recreate the magic of the original “Star Wars,” Disney’s latest entry, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, succeeds largely because it stops trying to be something grander than it is.
The film, adapted from the hit Disney+ series created by Jon Favreau, leans into what made “The Mandalorian” popular in the first place: smaller stakes, familiar nostalgia and straightforward adventure. As one review notes, “The small screen was arguably the perfect home for repackaged ‘Star Wars’ nostalgia that didn’t pretend to be anything else.”
Set after the original trilogy, the movie follows Din Djarin, played by Pedro Pascal, and Grogu as they embark on a rescue mission involving Rotta the Hutt, voiced by Jeremy Allen White. Along the way are gangsters, gladiator fights and giant creatures, all wrapped in the franchise’s trademark spectacle.
The review argues that previous sequels and prequels struggled because they were “all trying oh, were they trying to be true ‘Star Wars’ movies,” while fans endlessly debated whether “‘The Phantom Menace’ sucked!” or “‘The Last Jedi’ was great!”
By contrast, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is described as “fun in a slightly flat way,” offering “nothing more (or less) than a couple of likeable, diverting, semi-forgettable episodes jammed together.” Still, that may be enough for modern audiences. “Maybe that’s what ‘Star Wars’ now is.”
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