It would be both incorrect and unfair to sat that the verdict on whether or not Disney’s decision to take Rupert Murdoch up on his invitation to relieve him of the middle of his media newspaper–a.k.a. 20th Century FOX–hinges on whether or not they are able to reinject life into the STAR WARS franchise this Memorial Day weekend. After all, the Josh D’Amaro era has already gotten off to a pretty damn good start t this month thanks to the outsized performance of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2–now over half a billion U.S. and counting–and that also came along with their $71B flyer on relocating IP from Century City to Burbank.
But it is definitely justified to at least consider one of their stated main goals–to reunite under one roof all of the elements of George Lucas’ most enduring ideas and use it as both a tentpole and a back-and-forth driver between its alleged Netflix killer Disney Plus and the theaters–at best a work in progress, and in some demographic circles am outright flop. This was a point not lost on THE ANKLER’s resident Gen Z skeptic Matthew Frank in the numbers-laden piece he dropped onto their site Wednesday:
(F)or the first time in seven years, a new Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, will hit the big screen. Barring an unforeseen miracle, most industry observers and analysts expect it will open well below the debut of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, and might even challenge 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story for the worst opening of the franchise’s Disney era. If The Mandalorian and Grogu — a theatrical spinoff of the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian that introduced audiences to “Baby Yoda” aka Grogu — earns $250 million in North America by the time it hyperdrives out of theaters, consider that a significant win.
Since The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ in 2019, the Star Wars universe has become a set of shows (in live-action and animation) for the small screen: Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Acolyte, Skeleton Crew, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett. Most, with the exception of the acclaimed Andor, have struggled to break through beyond the base It’s become mostly streaming IP. For the older fans, that’s not really what it is at its core, but a lot of younger fans have mostly experienced Star Wars at home,” Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango, says. “So it raises the question, where is the audience at large now?”
It turns out the audience still favors the film library. Nielsen reported that, of the 33 billion minutes viewers spent watching Star Wars in 2025, 44.2 percent was on live-action movies across linear TV and streaming. Meanwhile, for this weekend’s new entry, the awareness rate for The Mandalorian and Grogu is just over 60 percent (compared to last year’s franchise entries Wicked: For Good and Superman, which clocked in at 82 and 79 percent, respectively), according to Greenlight Analytics. The reviews have been mediocre, ranging from “enjoyable throwback romp” to “neglects to tell a meaningful tale worth anyone’s time,” while the film currently holds a 60 percent Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score. Most tellingly, The Mandalorian and Grogu has been compared to a super-sized TV episode.
And since Disney Plus has been extraordinarily reluctant to release consistent objective data on how anything performs on their streaming platforms, it’s hard to find fault with that level of diminished expectations. That certainly seems how USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt went into it when he authored his review earlier this week. IHO, it did at least provide (excuse the pun) a new hope in the eyes of a slightly older and in theory more forgiving generation that isn’t quite the typical movie-going demo target these days:
It’s been seven years since the last “Star Wars” movie in a theater, “The Rise of Skywalker,” botched the ending of a four-decade, nine-movie saga. (As old Yoda might say, “Low the bar is.”) Fortunately, director Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters May 22) doesn’t embarrass fans or itself bringing (Pedr0) Pascal’s armored gunslinger and his adorable green apprentice from their Disney+ show to the big screen. It’s an enjoyable throwback romp with plenty of action and weird creatures to overcome its weaknesses.
Din Djarin (Pascal), aka the Mando, is a Mandalorian bounty hunter who almost never takes off his helmet and has adopted Grogu, a youngster who’s been trained in the Force by none other than Luke Skywalker. Set after the fall of the Empire in “Return of the Jedi,” the new movie finds them working for the New Republic and going after old Imperial warlords, including a James Bond-esque cold open where the unlikely father/son duo take down a bunch of huge AT-AT walkers and a slew of Snowtroopers.
It’s those sort of references–not to mention the promotional omnipresence of the infectuous Pascal and his eminently merch-driving sidekick–that at least has given Disney food for thought–if one can call a special Burger King menu that–about the fate of the franchise assuming this weekend doesn’t fall completely flat. Not to mention the far more satisfying nuggets POLYGON’s Ryan Epps served up yesterday inm his spoiler-drenched recap:
Favreau leans heavily into blockbuster spectacle, sending Din Djarin and Grogu on a planet-hopping adventure through the galaxy in pursuit of a shady Imperial Remnant warlord. Along the way, the pair cross paths with familiar figures from the animated Clone Wars series, including Jabba’s son Rotta the Hutt and the samurai-inspired assassin Embo, and are accompanied by Rebels star Zeb Orrelios. The climax of The Mandalorian and Grogu reinforces the evolving dynamic between its two main characters. After Mando is captured by the Hutts for refusing to bring Rotta back to them, he’s forced to fight a massive water dragonsnake in the pitts below their fortress. He barely escapes the bout alive, but gets bitten and poisoned, leaving Grogu entirely on his own. The moment shifts the once-protected child to an active protector, serving up 20 minutes of silent screen time with some of the film’s most emotional beats, subtly pushing Grogu closer to becoming a true Mandalorian in his own right.
Although nailbiting, it’s doubtful anyone believed Mando would die in this film, and Favreau plays it safe anyway. After miraculously being cured by Grogu, Din Djarin goes on his all-too-familiar rampage through the Hutts’ droid-filled fortress on Nal Hutta, which culminates in a spectacular New Republic starfighter raid led by Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward. It’s a spectacle that’s best experienced on an IMAX screen.
But while heaping praise on at least why he would be willing (and is apparently more able than moi) to cough up a Hamilton and a Wilson for a ticket and some overly microwaved mac and cheese balls, Epps also sounded a cautionary note that a truly happy ending is anything but a given:
The Mandoverse encompasses the New Republic era and focuses on the 30 years between the original and sequel trilogies. It’s a prime place where Filoni and Favreau have been building the Star Wars lore by blending Legends stories, like Heir to the Empire, into the canon. Unfortunately, The Mandalorian and Grogu doesn’t have a post-credit scene and there aren’t many building blocks to help deduce what Favreau and (Dave) Filoni are cooking for the future of Star Wars — aside from the fact that Rotta is now working with the New Republic. That relative restraint may ultimately reflect the uncertain state of Disney’s theatrical plans for Star Wars. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter in January, Filoni’s Mandoverse crossover film and Favreau’s fourth season of The Mandalorian are currently in carbonite. With Filoni now overseeing the broader creative direction of Star Wars, it’s entirely possible his New Republic movie will still happen, but perhaps in a different (hopefully more expansive) way.
If worse comes to worse, that might mean another crack at a Disney Plus series–Lord knows they could use something resembling a destination and with STAR WARS’ golden anniversary about to be celebrated there will certainly be ample opportunity to draw multiple generations into sampling it based upon Frank’s findings. I’m at least inclined to give this a look-sie there; after all, I do have an affinity for smart, snarky bald guys. And besides, I was honestly surprised by how delish his garlic fries were compared to the most recent theatre mac and cheese balls my stomach endured. May that experience remain a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Until next time…