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…
The Mandalorian and Grogu
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…
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…
The Mandalorian & Grogu May the 4th IMAX Previews Have Already Sold Out
That did not take long. The special-look IMAX fan events for The Mandalorian & Grogu on May the 4th are now officially sold out, according to Star Wars’ own social posts announcing the sellout. The events were set up as free advance screenings at select IMAX theaters around the world, giving fans an early look at more than 25 minutes of footage from the movie ahead of its full theatrical release. And honestly, that is a pretty strong signal. Fans moved fast on this one Lucasfilm and IMAX only just started pushing the event publicly, with trade coverage confirming that the May 4 screenings would include more than 25 minutes of exclusive footage, special fan giveaways, and a new poster at select locations. Boxoffice Pro reported the event on April 23, framing it as a global May the 4th fan push tied directly to the movie’s theatrical rollout. Now the…
Lucasfilm and IMAX Are Letting Fans Watch the First 30 Minutes of The Mandalorian & Grogu on May the 4th
Lucasfilm and IMAX are doing something very smart with The Mandalorian & Grogu: they are letting fans sample the movie early, on the most Star Wars date imaginable. A special May the 4th IMAX event is giving fans the chance to watch the first 30 minutes of The Mandalorian & Grogu at select theaters before the film’s full release. Fandango’s event listing says the screening will preview more than 25 minutes of never-before-seen footage, and the RSVP sign-up is being handled through a theater registration form for local participating locations. That is not a small teaser. This is Lucasfilm effectively treating the opening half-hour like a theatrical sales pitch, which makes a lot of sense for a movie that has been pushed hard as an IMAX event. The official IMAX movie page lists The Mandalorian and Grogu as a Filmed For IMAX release and confirms the full theatrical release date…
Burger King Is Getting a Mandalorian & Grogu Menu on May the 4th
Fast-food Star Wars promotions are usually a little chaotic by design, but Burger King’s new The Mandalorian & Grogu tie-in actually sounds like it knows exactly what kind of chaos it wants. Burger King has officially announced a limited-time menu launching May 4 at participating U.S. locations to celebrate the upcoming movie, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026. And yes, the menu names are doing a lot. According to Burger King’s official announcement, the lineup includes the BBQ Bounty Whopper, Grogu’s Blue Cookie Shake, Grogu’s Garlic Chicken Fries, and Imperial Cheddar Ranch Tots. The chain is also rolling out four collectible cups, available with select purchases including the Bounty Bundle, the BBQ Bounty Whopper Combo, and the 12-piece Grogu’s Garlic Chicken Fry Combo. The actual menu is very Star Wars-branded in the best possible way The most obvious headliner is the BBQ Bounty Whopper, which Burger King says comes…
Jon Favreau Used Apple Vision Pro to Build Mandalorian & Grogu for IMAX
Jon Favreau has revealed one of the stranger and more interesting bits of tech behind The Mandalorian & Grogu: he used Apple Vision Pro to preview how the movie’s IMAX shots would actually look in a theater-sized frame. In an interview clip highlighted by multiple outlets, Favreau said they built software so he could put on the headset, sit in a virtual IMAX auditorium, and view the full aspect ratio while lining up shots. That is a pretty smart solution to a very real movie problem. Favreau’s explanation was simple: if you are making an IMAX movie, watching footage on a normal monitor is not the same thing as seeing what audiences will actually get on a giant screen. He said the team layered custom software on top of Apple Vision Pro so he could review takes as if he were already in an IMAX theater, then judge framing based…
Martin Scorsese’s Mandalorian & Grogu Cameo Is Very Real
Of all the names you might expect to pop up in a Star Wars movie, Martin Scorsese was probably not near the top of the list. But according to SFX magazine, via comments from director Jon Favreau, the legendary filmmaker really does have a cameo in The Mandalorian & Grogu, where he voices an alien shopkeeper seen in the film’s trailer. And honestly, that is already one of the strangest and best little details attached to this movie so far. Kathleen Kennedy made it happen Favreau says the cameo came together thanks to Kathleen Kennedy, who knew Scorsese personally and was able to reach out directly. According to Favreau, Kennedy “called him up,” Scorsese said yes, and Favreau then got to direct him himself. That alone is a pretty wild sentence in Star Wars terms. It is not every day you get one of cinema’s most famous directors stepping into…
The Mandalorian & Grogu Score Is Up for Pre-Order — and Yes, Fans Will Want This One
If The Mandalorian & Grogu was already draining enough wallets with tickets, collectibles, and general Star Wars temptation, here comes the soundtrack to finish the job. The film’s original score by Ludwig Göransson is now available to pre-order, with the main 12-inch vinyl release set for June 5, 2026. Official Star Wars coverage says the album features 13 score cues, while the soundtrack also arrives digitally earlier on May 15, 2026 via Walt Disney Records. That alone is enough to make this more than just background merch news. Göransson’s music has been one of the strongest identity markers in this corner of Star Wars from the start, and Lucasfilm has already confirmed he returned to score The Mandalorian & Grogu. So this is not some random tie-in release. It is a big part of how the movie is going to feel. There is also some actual collector appeal here. StarWars.com…
The Mandalorian & Grogu and Ahsoka Season 2 Are Clearly Connecting
Lucasfilm may not have dropped a giant timeline chart on stage, but after Star Wars Celebration Japan, the direction feels pretty obvious: The Mandalorian & Grogu and Ahsoka Season 2 are not living in separate corners of the galaxy anymore. That is not a direct line from StarWars.com, but it is the clear read once you put the official Celebration coverage side by side. On the film side, StarWars.com’s official Celebration write-up confirms that The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters on May 22, 2026, and brings back Din, Grogu, Zeb Orrelios, and a new character played by Sigourney Weaver. The panel footage also included Din storming an AT-AT and mowing through snowtroopers, which makes it sound a lot bigger and more war-shaped than a simple side quest movie. Then came the Ahsoka panel. According to StarWars.com, Season 2 starts filming the following week, and the panel confirmed some very specific…
This New Mandalorian & Grogu Hot Toys Reveal May Be Hiding a Battlefront Surprise
At first glance, the new Hot Toys 1/6th scale AT-RT from The Mandalorian & Grogu looks like straightforward collector bait: big, expensive, and loaded with detail. Fantha Tracks highlighted the new reveal this week, noting a £240.44 price for the walker on its own, a £366.38 bundle with the Imperial Remnant Driver, and an expected delivery window of April to September 2027. The collectible itself sounds pretty stacked. Fantha Tracks notes a steel gray finish, Imperial crest, weathering effects, articulated legs and blaster cannon, plus LED lights and interchangeable hydraulic cylinders for different display poses. The walker is also listed as reaching up to 60 cm high when fully extended. That is the obvious story. The more interesting one may be hiding in the background. The real hook might be the weapon Separate reporting tied to the same product-photo drop points to something Star Wars gaming fans will probably spot…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Tickets Expected to Go on Sale April 17
The Mandalorian and Grogu may be about to hit the next big step in its theatrical rollout. Multiple fan and scoop accounts are now saying tickets are expected to go on sale April 17, with new character posters and popcorn bucket reveals also expected to land the same day. That date has been circulating across Instagram and X, and while Lucasfilm has not officially posted a ticket-on-sale announcement yet, it is clearly the date Star Wars fans are now watching. Why April 17 feels like the real date to watch This is the part that matters most: if the April 17 chatter is right, Disney is about to shift The Mandalorian and Grogu from general promotion into full event-movie mode. The film is officially set to open in theaters on May 22, 2026, according to StarWars.com, so an April 17 ticket-sale launch would fit the usual final-stretch blockbuster rhythm. Lucasfilm…
The Mandalorian and Grogu’s Early Box Office Tracking Looks Soft
The first real box office tracking for The Mandalorian and Grogu is here, and it is not exactly the kind of number Lucasfilm probably wanted people talking about a month before release. According to early forecasting, the film is currently looking at roughly $71 million to $85 million domestic for its three-day opening weekend. That is not a disaster on its own. But it is the comparison point that makes this more interesting: Solo: A Star Wars Story opened to $84.4 million domestically in 2018, which means The Mandalorian and Grogu is currently tracking in a range that could land below it, roughly match it, or just barely edge past it depending on where it comes in. Why this number matters more than usual This is not just another Star Wars movie opening. The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars theatrical release since 2019, and Lucasfilm has clearly…
Grogu Just Took Over The Mandalorian and Grogu Promo Push
Lucasfilm’s latest The Mandalorian and Grogu video is not a trailer, not a TV spot, and not exactly a standard featurette either. Titled “Grogu Joins the Conversation,” the new promo leans hard into the movie’s safest marketing weapon: put Grogu in the room, let everyone else orbit around him, and watch the internet do the rest. Fantha Tracks describes the clip as Grogu sitting down with Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Jon Favreau to discuss the film, while StarWars.com is using the same video as a featured push for the movie. This Is Less About Plot and More About Vibe That is what makes the clip interesting. It is not really trying to reveal major new story details. Instead, it feels like Lucasfilm settling into the tone of the campaign and reminding people that The Mandalorian and Grogu is not just another Disney+ extension anymore. This is the big-screen version…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Just Crashed a Savannah Bananas Game, and Honestly It Makes Weird Sense
The road to The Mandalorian and Grogu is taking some delightfully strange turns. This weekend, Din Djarin and Grogu made a surprise appearance at a Savannah Bananas game in Anaheim, with Fantha Tracks reporting that the duo showed up during the Bananas’ matchup against the Indianapolis Clowns. It is the kind of crossover that sounds made up until you remember modern Star Wars marketing has fully embraced the “put Grogu everywhere” philosophy. And this was not some totally random one-off. Disney had already turned March 26 into “Savannah Bananas Day” at Disneyland Resort, with performances at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, plus a Bananas stop in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge before the baseball festivities rolled into Angel Stadium. In other words, the Mando-and-Grogu cameo looks a lot less like chaos and a lot more like a carefully timed Disney-Star Wars-Banana Ball brand mashup. Wild sentence. Real sentence. A smarter promo…
Jeremy Allen White Says Finding Rotta the Hutt’s Voice Was Freer Than Playing Bruce Springsteen
Jeremy Allen White has now given one of the better descriptions yet of what makes The Mandalorian and Grogu such a strange swing. Speaking in Empire-backed coverage surfaced this month, White said playing Rotta the Hutt gave him “a bit more freedom” than playing Bruce Springsteen, because Springsteen’s voice is so instantly recognizable. Rotta, by contrast, gave him more room to experiment — including, in his words, the fact that “my speaking voice changes [as Rotta].” That is a weird comparison on paper, but it actually tells you a lot about what kind of performance this is. Rotta Is Clearly Not Being Played as a Joke That matters because White is not just voicing some throwaway CGI creature. Lucasfilm has already confirmed that he plays Rotta the Hutt in The Mandalorian and Grogu, the upcoming theatrical Star Wars film opening May 22, 2026. Official material has also made it clear…
Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Grogu Just Turned the Oscars Into a Star Wars Moment
The Oscars got an unexpected Star Wars detour when Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver took the stage with Grogu as part of a presentation tied to The Mandalorian & Grogu. Fantha Tracks highlighted the moment as a standout bit of crossover promotion, while The Hollywood Reporter noted that Weaver even played into her sci-fi legend status by “protecting” Grogu during the segment. Grogu Was the Real Scene-Stealer This probably will not shock anyone, but Grogu once again behaved like a tiny green celebrity with elite attention-stealing instincts. The Oscars appearance was not just Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver showing up as presenters. It was also a reminder that The Mandalorian & Grogu has one of the easiest marketing hooks in Hollywood right now: put Grogu on stage, and people will immediately pay attention. The Hollywood Reporter specifically singled out Grogu’s appearance as one of the memorable beats from the ceremony’s…
Ludwig Göransson Just Won His Third Oscar — Which Is a Pretty Nice Flex Ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu
Ludwig Göransson has now won his third Academy Award, taking Best Original Score for Sinners at the 2026 Oscars. That is already a big headline on its own. But for Star Wars fans, the timing makes it even better: Göransson is also the composer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026. So yes, Lucasfilm’s next big-screen Star Wars movie is arriving with a composer who just added even more hardware to the shelf. This Was Not Just Another Nomination According to Pitchfork, the Sinners win was Göransson’s fifth Oscar nomination and third win. The Academy’s own Scientific & Technical Awards page is obviously not relevant here, but multiple awards-night reports and winner lists all line up on the same point: he won Best Original Score for Sinners at the 98th Academy Awards. That puts him in a pretty absurd tier for a composer who still…
Exclusive Mandalorian and Grogu IMAX Footage Is Reportedly Playing in the UK, and It Sounds Like Lucasfilm Is Leaning Hard Into the Big-Screen Upgrade
One of the easiest ways to tell Lucasfilm knows The Mandalorian and Grogu needs to feel like a real movie is this: it apparently is not just pushing trailers anymore. According to Bespin Bulletin, an exclusive behind-the-scenes-style featurette has been playing at Odeon IMAX screenings in the UK over the last few days, giving audiences a little extra look at the film before its May 22, 2026 release. That alone is enough to make Star Wars fans perk up, because once studios start attaching exclusive footage to premium screens, they are not just selling a title — they are selling the idea that this thing belongs in theaters. The Reported Footage Sounds More Cinematic Than Routine Promo Filler Bespin Bulletin says the IMAX-exclusive material includes Din Djarin walking down a dark urban street at night, Din unmasked in a cave with water up to his neck, more shots of the…
The Mandalorian and Grogu May Be 2 Hours and 20 Minutes Long — But Treat That Runtime Carefully for Now
A possible runtime for The Mandalorian and Grogu is now floating around online, and for once it is not coming from some random account with a blurry screenshot and too much confidence. Odeon Cinemas is currently listing the movie at 2h 20m on its film page, which is obviously the sort of detail Star Wars fans will latch onto immediately. Because the second a runtime appears, the entire conversation becomes: is that good, is that too long, is that secretly perfect, and what exactly is Jon Favreau doing with all that time? Odeon Has It Listed at 2 Hours and 20 Minutes As of now, Odeon’s listing for The Mandalorian & Grogu shows a runtime of 2 hours and 20 minutes alongside the film’s May 22, 2026 release date. If that number holds, the movie would land in a very normal modern Star Wars feature range, which makes sense for…
A New Mandalorian and Grogu LEGO Set May Be Bringing Rotta the Hutt Back Into the Spotlight
It looks like Rotta the Hutt might be heading back to LEGO Star Wars shelves later this year, and honestly, that is not a sentence many people probably expected to be reading in 2026. According to a new report from Bespin Bulletin, another wave of The Mandalorian and Grogu LEGO sets is reportedly on the way, and one of the leaked entries is currently labeled “Hutt and Droid.” The reported set is tied to an August 2026 release and is said to include 415 pieces for $49.99 / €49.99. The Big Hook Is Pretty Obvious: Rotta Bespin Bulletin says the current assumption is that this mystery set is connected to Rotta the Hutt, who is already known to be part of The Mandalorian and Grogu. The site notes that the film includes multiple Hutts and droids, but argues Rotta is the most likely fit here, especially given the movie’s trailer…
Sigourney Weaver Says Colonel Ward Goes Way Back With Leia — and That Suddenly Makes The Mandalorian and Grogu More Interesting
For a while, Colonel Ward felt like one of those Star Wars movie characters who exists mostly as a name, a uniform, and a lot of fan speculation. Sigourney Weaver was in, the trailers showed her looking important, and everyone more or less assumed she would be the serious New Republic authority figure who sends Din Djarin off to deal with a mess. Which, to be fair, still sounds true. But Empire’s new coverage adds one much better detail: Ward apparently has history with Princess Leia. And just like that, she stops feeling like generic “new character in a control room” material and starts feeling like someone with real roots in this era of Star Wars. Colonel Ward Is Not Just Some Random New Republic Officer According to the new Empire details relayed by Jedi News, Weaver says Colonel Ward and Leia “go way back.” That is the kind of…