The Mandalorian and Grogu was supposed to be Star Wars’ cleanest route back to theaters.
Early reviews suggest the landing may be bumpier than Lucasfilm hoped.
As reviews began rolling in, the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score hovered around the danger zone — initially circulating around 58%, then moving into the low 60s as more critics were added. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the movie was sitting around 64% positive, just above the “Fresh” cutoff, while Radio Times reported 63% based on 68 reviews at the time of writing.
So no, this is not a critical disaster.
But it is definitely not the triumphant, everyone-agrees Star Wars comeback either.
A Movie Sitting on the Fence
The interesting part is not the exact percentage. Rotten Tomatoes scores move, especially on review day.
The story is the split.
Some critics seem to appreciate The Mandalorian and Grogu as a fun, straightforward Star Wars adventure. The New York Post called it a decent one-off that tries to restart Star Wars without dragging audiences into a giant mythology lecture.
Others are much harsher. The Associated Press describes the film as a clumsy big-screen debut, criticizing it for feeling disjointed and overextended in its move from Disney+ to theaters.
That gap tells us a lot.
For some viewers, “simple Mando adventure, but bigger” may be exactly enough. For others, the first theatrical Star Wars movie since The Rise of Skywalker needed to feel more essential than a supersized episode.
The Streaming-to-Cinema Problem
This was always the big test.
The Mandalorian became a Disney+ phenomenon because it worked in compact chapters: one mission, one planet, one weird problem, one tiny green chaos engine. Turning that into a theatrical movie means raising the scale without losing the clean western-adventure rhythm that made the show work.
That is harder than it sounds.
If the film feels too small, critics call it TV with a bigger screen. If it gets too big, it risks losing the simple charm that made Din Djarin and Grogu popular in the first place.
That tension seems to be sitting right in the reviews.
Not Dead, Not Crowned
The early critic response does not mean The Mandalorian and Grogu is doomed. Star Wars has survived worse review cycles, louder arguments, and several decades of people dramatically declaring the franchise finished before buying another ticket.
But it does change the pre-release mood.
Lucasfilm wanted this movie to prove that Mando and Grogu could carry Star Wars back into cinemas. The reviews so far suggest the answer may be: yes, but not without debate.
Which, honestly, is very Star Wars.
The galaxy is back in theaters.
The discourse arrived early.
