Mandalorian and Grogu

There are very few people left at Disney that feel like actual “event creators.”

Jon Favreau is one of them.

At this point, the man might honestly be one of Disney’s most valuable creative weapons. Between helping launch the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as Happy Hogan and directing Iron Man, then basically resurrecting Star Wars on Disney Plus streaming with The Mandalorian alongside Dave Filoni, Favreau has quietly become one of the biggest reasons modern geek culture still feels fun instead of corporate sludge. I was so excited when I saw the first trailer and sneak peak at Star Wars celebration chicago years ago.

And Mandalorian & Grogu proves that again.

The movie absolutely delivers visually. In IMAX, the scale, sound design, ships, planets, creatures, and combat sequences feel massive. Pedro Pascal continues proving why he deserved this shot on the big screen. He brought Din Djarin to life in a way that somehow made a mostly faceless character feel more human than half of Hollywood’s “prestige” performances. They even gave him a moment where fans could actually feel Pedro in the role instead of just hearing the armor clank around for two hours, and honestly? That mattered.

This movie understands why people fell in love with Mandalorians in the first place:

The creed.

The loneliness.

The loyalty.

The warrior culture.

The space-western vibe.

And Grogu still somehow steals scenes without saying a word.

The cameos throughout the film are great too. Star Wars fans are absolutely going to have those Leonardo DiCaprio pointing-at-the-screen moments. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau clearly understand the deep-cut fan service balance better than almost anyone Disney currently has touching the franchise.

But…

The movie also feels exactly like what it probably is:

Several episodes of a Disney+ series fused together with a bigger budget.

That’s not necessarily bad, but you can feel it.

The pacing has those same peaks and valleys that streaming shows have. One section feels massive and cinematic, then another feels like “setup episode energy.” Then it ramps back up again. You can almost see where commercial breaks would’ve been if this aired weekly on Disney+.

At 2 hours and 12 minutes, it somehow still feels episodic instead of fully cinematic.

Now visually? Amazing.

The effects? Fantastic.

The IMAX experience? Worth it.

But the structure never fully escapes “premium miniseries” territory.

Sigourney Weaver was excellent and brought real gravitas anytime she was on screen. That kind of casting helps elevate Star Wars back toward feeling mythic again instead of just “content.”

One thing that genuinely felt wasted though was Jeremy Allen White.

Having a talent like the star of The Bear play a Hutt should’ve been unforgettable, but the voice was so buried and altered that most people probably wouldn’t even realize it was him. It felt like bringing in a Ferrari to deliver Uber Eats. The performance wasn’t bad, it just never fully used what makes Jeremy Allen White such a phenomenal actor in the first place.

And while we’re talking modern movie theater insanity…

Can we discuss how movies are now basically endurance events?

Thirty minutes of trailers.

Commercials BETWEEN trailers.

$55 helmet popcorn buckets.

Parking.

Driving.

IMAX pricing.

By the time the actual Lucasfilm logo appeared, this was basically a three-hour life commitment before even counting the commute.

The helmet popcorn bucket looked cool.

Did it look fifty-five-dollars cool?

Absolutely not.

Still, despite the pacing issues, this movie reminded me why Favreau and Filoni matter so much to Star Wars.

George Lucas built the galaxy.

Favreau and Filoni figured out how to make fans want to live in it again.

Ironically, as cinematic as Mandalorian & Grogu looked on the big screen, these two somehow still make me feel more connected to Star Wars sitting on my couch watching Disney+.

That might actually be their superpower.

Overall:

Not perfect.

Not the flawless “Star Wars returns to cinema” moment some people expected.

But still a genuinely entertaining, visually beautiful continuation of one of the best things Disney has done with the franchise.

And Pedro Pascal absolutely earned the right to bring Din Djarin to theaters.

This is the way.