Published Feb 25, 2026, 3:24 PM EST
Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.
The Star Wars franchise may be preparing to weather another flop.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is coming to theaters Memorial Day weekend 2026, picking up where the three-season Disney+ series left off. This will be the first theatrically released Star Wars movie since 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, which was generally disliked by fans. Worringly, a new report suggests that Disney executives fear a repeat.
According to Variety, "there are concerns that an unconventional 36-second Super Bowl spot for The Mandalorian & Grogu that featured the title characters riding a wagon pulled by Tauntauns failed to generate the kind of excitement the marketing team was hoping to spark." The Mandalorian and Grogu's Super Bowl trailer annoyed fans when it revealed nothing about the movie, riffing off Budweiser's commercials.
Now, there has been a full trailer that revealed Martin Scorsese's cameo in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but there is still a lot of uncertainty. "The film itself is something of a question mark," continues Variety, "given that it's based on a streaming series and, consequently, may not seem like a big-screen proposition for any but the most die-hard Baby Yoda lovers."
However, another Star Wars movie is on the horizon, slated for release next summer. The outlet concludes: "There's a sense that Star Wars: Starfighter, a spinoff from Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, is more likely to satisfy fans when it hits theaters next spring, with sources who have seen footage praising Ryan Gosling's performance and suggesting Levy has recaptured the franchise's spirit of fun."
Star Wars: Starfighter will focus on original characters a few years after the events of the Skywalker Saga, with Gosling being just one member of a star-studded cast. The Mandalorian and Grogu failing to enthuse fans about the franchise's theatrical return wouldn't exactly bode well for Starfighter, but the latter could still make a splash if it simply has more to offer story-wise.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is continuing the story of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his apprentice Grogu, a child of the same species as Master Yoda, after the heavily criticized third season of the TV show. The Mandalorian kicked off the Disney+ era of Star Wars in 2019, the first of several live-action original shows further expanding the historical franchise added to the platform.
2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first Star Wars movie ever to be a commercial flop, grossing $393 million against a massive reported budget of $275 million to $300 million. The Mandalorian and Grogu reportedly has a more reasonable budget of $166 million, making it less likely it will result in major financial losses, but it is certainly still possible for a Star Wars film to be a box office disappointment.
The Mandalorian and Grogu will release in theaters on May 22, 2026.
Release Date May 22, 2026
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