May 19 is not just The Phantom Menace day. Yes, Episode I arrived in theaters on this date in 1999 and kicked off a strange, messy, wonderfully experimental era of Star Wars games. But six years later, on May 19, 2005, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith arrived and gave that same prequel era its darker, louder, lava-soaked finale. This was the movie that finally did the thing everyone knew was coming: it broke Anakin Skywalker. The film was heavier, angrier, and far less interested in being cheerful than parts of the prequel trilogy had been before it. Jedi died. The Republic collapsed. Padmé cried. Obi-Wan developed the look of a man who had just watched twenty years of institutional failure catch fire on Mustafar. But Revenge of the Sith did not just land as a movie. It hit Star Wars gaming at exactly the right moment….
Star Wars Movies
The Mandalorian and Grogu Reviews Are Already Split
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…
How The Phantom Menace Launched the Weirdest Era of Star Wars Games
On May 19, 1999, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace arrived in theaters and detonated like a merchandised thermal bomb. The film itself is still debated, memed, defended, roasted, rewatched, and quoted with suspicious enthusiasm. But for Star Wars gaming, The Phantom Menace did something far more important than introduce midi-chlorians and senate procedure to a confused generation. It opened the floodgates. The prequel era gave LucasArts a new toybox: podracers, Naboo starfighters, battle droids, Gungan battlefields, Sith assassins, Republic cruisers, bounty hunters, clone armies, Jedi starfighters, and planets that did not look like the same three Original Trilogy backdrops wearing different hats. And the games got weird. Gloriously weird. The Movie Was Only the Beginning The gaming push started immediately. Star Wars: Episode I – Racer launched for Nintendo 64 and Windows right as the film hit theaters, turning the podrace into one of the fastest and…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Team Is Already Hoping for a Sequel
The first Mandalorian and Grogu movie is not even safely through the airlock yet, and Sigourney Weaver is already talking like someone who would happily book another trip to the Outer Rim. In a new Total Film interview, reported by GamesRadar, Weaver says she would love to do more work with Pedro Pascal and Grogu after The Mandalorian and Grogu. She also suggests the team is “secretly” hoping the movie could lead to another adventure, potentially pushing the story deeper into the Outer Rim. That is not an official sequel announcement. But it is absolutely the kind of comment Lucasfilm watchers will put under glass and examine with tiny tweezers. The Outer Rim Is the Right Playground The Outer Rim has always been where The Mandalorian feels most comfortable. Dusty settlements, broken Imperial leftovers, desperate locals, criminals pretending they have a code, and one armored dad trying to solve problems…
Jon Favreau Has Big Plans for Grogu After The Mandalorian and Grogu
Grogu is not just getting a movie. He may be getting a future. Jon Favreau has revealed that he has “a lot of plans” for Grogu creatively after The Mandalorian and Grogu, and the reason is very simple: this little green chaos child is not built for a one-movie arc. His species lives for centuries. His training is weird. His identity is split between two of Star Wars’ most myth-heavy traditions. In a new GamesRadar / Total Film interview, Favreau said Grogu is “on a path to be both a Jedi and a Mandalorian,” while also making choices and growing under a strong teacher. That is a very small sentence carrying a very large amount of future merchandise. And story. Mostly story. Grogu Is Built for the Long Game The most interesting part of Favreau’s comments is not just that he wants more Grogu stories. Of course he does. Lucasfilm…
Fortnite Is About to Become a Mando and Grogu Screening Room
Star Wars marketing has officially entered its “meet me in Fortnite for the movie preview” era. On May 19 at 10 a.m. ET, Fortnite players will be able to enter The Mandalorian and Grogu Watch Party Island, a Nevarro-inspired experience created by Fairview Portals and Beyond Creative. According to StarWars.com, the island will feature a special message from director Jon Favreau and an exclusive look at a 10-minute sneak peek of The Mandalorian and Grogu ahead of the film’s theatrical release on May 22, 2026. That is not just another skin drop. That is Star Wars using Fortnite as a digital lobby before the cinema doors open. Nevarro, Grogu, and a Very Modern Movie Preview The Watch Party Island is set on Nevarro, which makes sense. If The Mandalorian has a home base beyond “somewhere dangerous,” Nevarro is probably it. Players will be able to explore the location, step into…
Pedro Pascal Just Joined a Very Small Star Wars Movie Club
Pedro Pascal has worn the helmet, carried the show, protected the galaxy’s most powerful toddler, and somehow made “this is the Way” sound both cool and emotionally exhausted. Now he appears to have joined a much smaller Star Wars club: actors who receive top billing in a theatrical Star Wars movie. With The Mandalorian and Grogu heading to theaters, current promotional and cast listings place Pascal front and center as Din Djarin, alongside Grogu, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, and the rest of the film’s new big-screen lineup. That may sound like a tiny credit-order detail, but in Star Wars history, top billing is not exactly handed out like blue milk at a cantina. A Short List With Big Names The list of actors most commonly associated with top billing in theatrical Star Wars films is small and very heavy: Mark Hamill, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Harrison Ford, Felicity Jones,…
Jon Favreau Almost Gave The Mandalorian Its Own Holiday Special
Somewhere in a better, weirder timeline, The Mandalorian got its own holiday special and Peli Motto was apparently essential to the operation. In a new ComicBook interview promoting The Mandalorian and Grogu, Jon Favreau revealed that he once kicked around the idea of doing a new Star Wars Holiday Special built around Din Djarin’s corner of the galaxy. And yes, he even dropped one beautifully specific detail: “I don’t know how you would do it without Peli Moto,” referring to Amy Sedaris’ gloriously chaotic Tatooine mechanic. Honestly? He may be right. This Was Apparently a Real Early Idea Favreau said the idea came up back in the first season, before The Mandalorian had even aired. He was also careful to cool expectations immediately, saying there are no plans for a live-action holiday special and that it was something they “jokingly talked about.” But this does not sound like a random…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Premiere Makes Star Wars Feel Like a Movie Again
For the last several years, live-action Star Wars has mostly felt like something you watched at home while wondering if you still had time to squeeze in one more episode before bed. Now the red carpet is back. The Mandalorian and Grogu has held its Los Angeles premiere, with Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Ming-Na Wen, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and more turning up for the kind of glossy Hollywood rollout Star Wars has not had in a very long time. Page Six and Just Jared both covered the L.A. event, which turned the film’s final marketing stretch into something that looked less like another Disney+ chapter and more like a proper theatrical moment. And honestly, that matters. Star Wars Has Been Living on the Couch Since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, live-action Star Wars has mostly belonged to Disney+. That era gave us plenty: The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan…
Grogu’s Jedi Path Is Getting Weirder, and That’s Good
Grogu is not becoming a normal Jedi. Thank the Force for that. The little green chaos goblin at the heart of The Mandalorian and Grogu may still meditate, use the Force, and make everyone in a ten-mile radius emotionally vulnerable. But Jon Favreau is making it increasingly clear that Grogu’s future is not simply “tiny Luke Skywalker, but with better ears.” In a new Total Film interview, reported by GamesRadar, Favreau says Grogu is “not on the typical Jedi path of a youngling,” even though he has trained with some remarkable teachers. That includes Luke Skywalker, his time at the Jedi Temple, and possibly Yoda before everything in the galaxy became Order 66-shaped misery. That matters because The Mandalorian and Grogu is not just about a kid with powers anymore. It is about what happens when a Force-sensitive child is raised outside the usual Jedi system — by a Mandalorian…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Trying Not to Be Homework
Star Wars is heading back to theaters, and Jon Favreau seems very aware of one dangerous trap: making the audience feel like they need to revise for an exam first. The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in cinemas on May 22, 2026, marking the franchise’s first big-screen release since The Rise of Skywalker. But while the movie grew out of plans for The Mandalorian Season 4, Favreau is now framing it as something more self-contained — a film that still fits the wider Mando-era story, but does not require every viewer to arrive carrying a Disney+ viewing spreadsheet. In a new Total Film interview, reported by GamesRadar, Favreau says Dave Filoni remains “closely in step” with the movie, even though the shift from streaming season to theatrical release changed the shape of the story. That distinction matters. A Movie Cannot Feel Like Episode 25 Television can be dense. It can reward…
The Mandalorian & Grogu Had to Stop Being Season 4
Jon Favreau may have just explained the most important creative choice behind The Mandalorian and Grogu. The upcoming Star Wars movie did not simply become “Season 4, but longer.” According to Favreau, the story originally tied more directly into what had come before — and what was still coming next — but the film had to become more self-contained so new viewers could actually walk into a theater without needing a Disney+ homework binder. Speaking with GamesRadar, Favreau said the movie still connects to the larger Mando-era story, but in a way that is more approachable for audiences who may not have followed every thread from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. That is not just smart. It is probably necessary. Star Wars Cannot Return to Theaters With Homework The Mandalorian and Grogu is not a normal Star Wars release. It is the franchise’s big theatrical return…
Starfighter’s New Synopsis Makes the Future of the Force Sound Weirdly Huge
Star Wars: Starfighter may have just dropped its smallest big clue yet. A new synopsis has appeared on the film’s IMDb listing, and while that does not carry the same weight as an official Lucasfilm press release, the wording is spicy enough to deserve a closer look. According to the listing, the film follows “a solitary pilot” in a rebuilding galaxy who becomes tangled in a crucial mission as new threats emerge — a journey that “may alter the future of the Force itself.” That is either standard movie-synopsis thunder… or Star Wars quietly loading a thermal detonator under the post-sequel era. The Post-Sequel Galaxy Finally Has a Shape Officially, StarWars.com has confirmed that Starfighter is set roughly five years after The Rise of Skywalker, with Ryan Gosling playing a brand-new character in a standalone adventure from director Shawn Levy. That timeline is the interesting part. The sequel trilogy ended…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Already Climbing Disney+ Before Theaters
The Mandalorian and Grogu is still weeks away from theaters, but Disney is already using its most powerful Star Wars machine to warm up the crowd: Disney+. A new streaming push around Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — A Special Look is already showing traction on the platform. According to FlixPatrol’s Disney+ chart for May 8, the special ranked among the top TV titles globally, sitting behind only The Testaments and Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord that day. Both ScreenRant and Collider have also noted the special’s early Disney+ momentum ahead of the movie’s theatrical release. That is exactly what Disney wants. Disney+ Is the Hype Engine Now If you are not sleeping under a rock, you already know that The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters on May 22, 2026. That is what makes Disney+ pushing the Special Look so interesting: the platform that turned Din Djarin and…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Getting a Prequel Comic — After the Movie
Din Djarin and Grogu are heading to comics, because apparently one tiny green merchandising empire was not enough. Mad Cave Studios and Papercutz, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Publishing, have announced Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — Danger in the Dark, a new all-ages comic one-shot set just before the events of The Mandalorian and Grogu. The twist? The comic arrives on July 22, 2026 — roughly two months after the movie hits theaters. So yes, it is technically a prequel. It is also arriving after the thing it leads into. Star Wars timelines remain undefeated. Din, Grogu, and the Anzellans Go Underground According to Mad Cave’s official announcement, Danger in the Dark sends Din Djarin and Grogu beneath the surface of Nevarro, where a crashed pirate ship is causing trouble in the lava tubes under the city. They are joined by a group of Anzellan allies, which means the…
Pedro Pascal Wants to Keep Playing Din Djarin After The Mandalorian and Grogu
Pedro Pascal is not ready to hang up the helmet. Or, more accurately, he is not ready for everyone involved in wearing the helmet to hang it up. Speaking during a London Q&A attended by GamesRadar+, Pascal said he hopes to continue playing Din Djarin beyond The Mandalorian and Grogu, calling the role the longest creative relationship of his career. As he put it, he would like to keep going “for as long as my body, or as many bodies as we put into the suit, can take it,” according to GamesRadar+. That is a very Pedro Pascal way of saying: yes, the Mandalorian business may continue. Din Djarin Is No Short-Term Gig Anymore Pascal first stepped into the role when The Mandalorian premiered in 2019. Seven years later, Din Djarin has become one of modern Star Wars’ most recognizable characters — even though the show’s central joke remains that…
Grogu Café Is Opening in London, Because Star Wars Has Finally Weaponized Matcha
Grogu has already conquered toys, memes, Disney+ thumbnails, lunchboxes, plush shelves, and the emotional stability of anyone with functioning eyes. Now he is coming for London’s café scene. Disney UK has announced a limited-time Grogu Café pop-up in Shoreditch, opening from Friday, May 15 to Sunday, May 17, ahead of the cinema release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22, 2026. According to the official Disney UK press release, the pop-up will feature Grogu-inspired food, drinks, themed décor, photo moments, and merchandise. So yes, Star Wars has reached the “adorable alien matcha activation” phase. Honestly, it was only a matter of time. The Cutest Outpost in the Galaxy The café will be located at 1 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London, E2 8AA, with DisneyTickets describing it as a “matcha-fuelled experience” built around Grogu’s charm. Entry is free but ticketed, with food, drink, and products available to purchase on-site…
Nielsen Says Star Wars Viewing Is Still Movie-First — Even in the Disney+ Era
or all the talk about Star Wars becoming a streaming-first franchise, the numbers are doing something very old-fashioned: pointing back at the movies. According to new Nielsen data on Star Wars viewing in 2025, live-action movies accounted for the biggest share of total Star Wars viewing, with 44.2% of watch time. Live-action series followed closely at 38.9%, while animation made up 16.8% and documentaries barely registered at 0.2%. In other words: Disney+ may have turned Star Wars into a year-round TV machine, but the films are still the franchise’s gravitational center. The Movies Still Run the Galaxy Nielsen reports that U.S. viewers spent more than 33 billion minutes watching Star Wars content across linear TV and streaming in 2025, with streaming accounting for most of that total. That is not exactly a franchise quietly fading into the twin suns. The most-watched Star Wars film of the year was not a…
Guillermo del Toro Quietly Helped Shape the Hutts in The Mandalorian & Grogu
Guillermo del Toro did not direct a Star Wars movie. He did not get to make his long-rumored Jabba the Hutt film. But somehow, beautifully, he still ended up near the Hutts. Jon Favreau has revealed that del Toro receives an acknowledgment credit in The Mandalorian & Grogu after giving creative suggestions about the Hutts featured in the film. In an interview with Vandal, Favreau explained that del Toro had spent a lot of time thinking about Hutts because of his own abandoned Jabba project, and that he shared ideas with the Mandalorian & Grogu team. The Hutt Expert Star Wars Almost Used This is one of those behind-the-scenes details that feels small at first, then immediately gets more interesting the longer you stare at it. Del Toro has history with Hutt material. Back in 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the filmmaker confirmed he had worked on a now-scrapped…
Hamleys Just Opened a Permanent Star Wars Fan Zone in London
Hamleys has just given Star Wars shoppers one more reason to “accidentally” end up on Regent Street. The famous London toy store has opened a new permanent Marvel and Star Wars Fan Zone on the fourth floor of its flagship store, timed neatly ahead of Star Wars Day. According to Toy World’s report on the new Fan Zone, the space opened on April 27 and is designed as an immersive retail area for Marvel and Star Wars fans. Mando, Grogu, and Retail Danger The Star Wars section includes a Mandalorian-inspired hideout with a layered archway backdrop and an existing LEGO sculpture of Mando and Grogu. In other words, Hamleys has discovered the oldest trick in modern Star Wars retail: put Grogu somewhere photogenic and watch wallets start sweating. The range includes LEGO sets, Hasbro figures, premium lightsabers and helmets, Jazwares figures and vehicles, Ravensburger games, Lexibook electronics, collectibles, and more….
The Mandalorian & Grogu Finally Lets Pedro Pascal Fight Helmet-Off
Din Djarin taking his helmet off is not exactly a casual Tuesday in The Mandalorian. It usually means vows, trauma, emotional breakthroughs, or Grogu looking at him with those enormous “please ruin the internet” eyes. But in The Mandalorian & Grogu, it sounds like Pedro Pascal is not just getting helmet-off drama. He is getting helmet-off action. During recent press for the movie, Jon Favreau revealed that Pascal filmed “great set-pieces” with his helmet off, adding that the team leaned into Pascal’s physicality for some very specific reasons. As Favreau put it, Pascal was a competitive swimmer, so they got him in the water — and after seeing his combat work in Gladiator II, they also had him fighting without the helmet. Vis dette opslag på Instagram Et opslag delt af Omelete (@omelete) Din Djarin, But More Pedro This Time That is a pretty big shift for a character built…
Star Wars: Starfighter Finds Its Mandalorian Editor
Star Wars: Starfighter has quietly added another important piece behind the scenes — and this one comes with some very familiar Star Wars mileage. According to Adam Gerstel’s résumé at Independent Artist Group, Gerstel is listed as the editor of Star Wars: Starfighter, the upcoming Lucasfilm movie directed by Shawn Levy. Not the loudest piece of casting news in the galaxy, sure. But editing is where a Star Wars movie either flies like an X-wing or crashes into a committee meeting with expensive lighting. A Familiar Name From The Mandalorian Gerstel is not new to Star Wars. As noted by Bespin Bulletin’s report on Gerstel joining Starfighter, he previously edited The Mandalorian Season 2 episodes “Chapter 9: The Marshal” and “Chapter 16: The Rescue.” That is a pretty interesting pair of credits. “The Marshal” helped launch Season 2 with Cobb Vanth, Tusken Raiders, a krayt dragon, and the kind of…
Shakari Gives The Mandalorian & Grogu a Gangster Planet
Star Wars has always loved stealing from the best genres, giving them a blaster, and pretending everything was invented somewhere near the Outer Rim. Western? That became The Mandalorian. Samurai cinema? That has been in Star Wars’ bones since 1977. World War II dogfights? Just add X-wings. Now The Mandalorian & Grogu appears to be reaching for another very tasty influence: Prohibition-era gangster cinema. According to Polygon’s report on the new Star Wars planet Shakari, the upcoming movie will introduce a new world inspired by 1920s Chicago. Yes, Star Wars is getting a mobster planet. Somewhere, a Hutt is absolutely considering a pinstripe suit. Welcome to Shakari The new planet is called Shakari, and production designer Andrew L. Jones reportedly described it as being influenced by Prohibition-era Chicago. That is a wonderfully odd direction for a Star Wars location — and exactly the kind of thing the galaxy could use…
The Mandalorian & Grogu Is Now Tracking for a Potential $100M Opening
The box office story around The Mandalorian & Grogu just got a little more interesting. After some earlier softer-looking chatter around the film’s commercial prospects, Boxoffice Pro’s latest long-range forecast now says the movie could open in the $90 million to $100 million range domestically when it hits theaters on May 22, 2026. That would be a meaningful shift in tone around the film’s launch outlook, even if the upper end still would not put it near the biggest modern Star Wars openings. That is the key thing here: this is better, but it is not suddenly a “Star Wars is back to automatic $150M openings” story. Better than the gloomier narrative According to Boxoffice Pro’s long-range forecast, a $100 million opening would still rank as the lowest Star Wars debut since Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opened to $84.4 million in 2018. The same report notes that The…