This was my ninth consecutive Star Wars film seen in theaters—a streak that started with Episode I: The Phantom Menace in the Summer of 1999 and, somehow, is still going. Hell, some traditions are worth keeping.
Culturally, this Mandalorian series has mattered more than Episodes VIII, The Last Jedi, and IX The Rise of the Skywalker combined. You can feel it in every frame that the people making these stories genuinely care about Star Wars. They simply want to tell fun adventures in a universe they clearly love.
This also marks the first Star Wars theatrical release in seven years. And it wisely doesn’t overcomplicate things. It opens exactly the way it should. Mando (Pedro Pascal) doing bounty hunter shit. Collecting bounties. Blasting bad guys. Solving problems with a flamethrower, a jetpack, and tons of firepower. Pedro Pascal’s weary gunslinger still feels like one of the best additions Star Wars has introduced in decades.
The action is slick, fast-moving, and constantly throwing new obstacles in Mando’s path. There’s no single, overarching villain driving the story, but it doesn’t really need one. This is less about defeating some galaxy-ending threat and more about surviving the next job.
The film doesn’t reinvent the mythology or reveal earth-shattering secrets about the Force. It’s simply a larger-scale version of what made the television series work in the first place. And I’m perfectly fine with that. Sometimes you don’t need every story to reinvent the wheel. All we want is two hours of blasters, bounty hunters, weird creatures, and Grogu doing adorable—and insanely dangerous things. Plus, the Anzalleans are always an entertaining watch.
One of the biggest surprises is Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White). The last time we saw Jabba’s son, he was just a baby in The Clone Wars. Seeing him return as an adult creates a nice bridge back to Return of the Jedi and expands the Hutt family in ways I wasn’t expecting.
Watching a Hutt actually move, fight, and become an action character was strangely glorious. Jabba was an immovable force of nature—slimy, intimidating, always speaking Huttese through layers of translators and intimidation. And Rotta is something entirely different. A new generation, more mobile, and expressive. Even speaking English instead of Huttese. Which is a small detail, but it quietly shows that this criminal dynasty has evolved with the galaxy around it.
Sigourney Weaver is another welcome addition. There’s something undeniably satisfying about watching Ripley flying an X-Wing and officially entering the Star Wars universe. Also, Martin Scorcese makes a cameo voicing a street food vendor.
Could this story have simply been Season 4 of The Mandalorian instead of a movie? Probably — but do I care? Not even a little. I’m just happy to know that Jon Favreu and Dave Filoni continue to deliver highly enjoyable Star Wars content.
For me, The Mandalorian & Grogu has already done something the entire sequel trilogy never managed to accomplish. It reminded me why I enjoy spending time in this galaxy. And for the first time in a long time, I walked out of a Star Wars movie smiling. Not frustrated, or confused, and not wondering what the hell they just did to the legacy characters—Just happy to have spent another couple of hours in a galaxy far, far away.
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026). Three out of Five Popcorn Bags 🍿🍿🍿
Rod Rioja 