Published May 6, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
Zach Moser is a Philadelphia native who writes about film and television news. Zach has been published in Points In Case, Business Insider, Slackjaw, ROCA Travel, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency.
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Star Wars will reach a fork in the road in two weeks, and the success or failure of its gambit will determine the direction it goes in. Of the many major changes that the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm brought, one that seems to have happened slowly but persistently, is Star Wars becoming a television-focused franchise over a movie-focused one.
A new Star Wars movie used to be major news. Even The Revenge of the Sith, the third prequel film that arrived after two of the worst-reviewed films in the franchise, was a major moment in pop culture, with audiences waiting on bated breath to see how Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.
The sequel series, Rogue One, and Solo, followed, but since 2019, we haven't had any movies. Star Wars has been a TV-driven franchise since, with seven live-action shows and seven animated shows coming out on Disney+ since The Rise of Skywalker aired in December 2019.
|
Show |
Years |
|
Resistance (Season 2) |
2019-2020 |
|
The Mandalorian |
2019-2026 |
|
The Clone Wars (Season 7) |
2020 |
|
The Bad Batch |
2021-2024 |
|
Visions |
2021-2025 |
|
The Book of Boba Fett |
2021-2022 |
|
Tales |
2022-2025 |
|
Obi-Wan Kenobi |
2022 |
|
Andor |
2022-2025 |
|
Young Jedi Adventures |
2023-2025 |
|
Ahsoka |
2023-Present |
|
The Acolyte |
2024 |
|
Skeleton Crew |
2024-2025 |
|
Maul - Shadow Lord |
2026-Present |
As much money and time as Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni have spent on the expanded Star Wars TV universe, they have had fewer successes than they would like. For every Mandalorian, there seems to be a The Book of Boba Fett and an Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Every show in the Star Wars universe has its defenders, but overall, the strength of the TV side of Lucasfilm has been wanting. It seems that Disney has noticed, because their next gambit is to move one of their most acclaimed series, The Mandalorian, to the big screen for a movie continuation with The Mandalorian and Grogu, rather than give the show a fourth season. It seems like this film is an either/or test for the future of Star Wars.
The Success Of The Mandalorian And Grogu Will Determine The Direction Of The Star Wars Franchise
The Mandalorian and Grogu serves as a continuation of The Mandalorian, taking place soon after the events of season 3, with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu working for the New Republic. They are tasked with rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, in exchange for information on a critical target for the New Republic.
As the first movie in the Star Wars universe in seven years, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming film, set to premiere on May 22, 2026. However, for those of us who were around for the premieres of the mainline movies, there's noticeably less excitement than those films tend to create.
This feels more like the tone that we saw before the release of Solo. As popular as The Mandalorian is, it was never going to be as popular as any of the films about the Skywalkers, so this more muted reaction isn't entirely unexpected. What will be a surprise is how the movie is going to do in theaters.
It's genuinely hard to tell if The Mandalorian and Grogu will be a box office hit or a bomb, and whichever one it is, will likely decide the next few years of Star Wars. If the movie succeeds, Lucasfilm and Disney could abandon a TV-first universe and bring Star Wars back to the big screen in force.
If The Mandalorian and Grogu fails, then it will be confirmation that audiences will only turn out to the movie theaters for the mainline Star Wars films, and side characters will be relegated to streaming shows. Success or failure, May 22 will be a critical day in the history of the Star Wars franchise.
Movie(s) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
English (US) ·