Although Disney+ subscribers have been kept well supplied with Star Wars TV shows to accompany the Star Wars movies in order on the streaming service, the galaxy far, far away hasn’t delivered a theatrical movie since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. However, there are a number of upcoming Star Wars movies in the works, and from what we know about The Mandalorian and Grogu, it’s looking it will mark the franchise’s return to the big screen. Production is reportedly set to begin this summer, and Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer, explained why Jon Favreau is the perfect director to helm the movie.
Of course, neither of these men are strangers to The Mandalorian corner of the Star Wars universe. They created it together, Favreau has written nearly every episode either on his own or with someone else, and Filoni has not only written and directed some episodes of his own, he’s played the X-Wing pilot Trapper Wolf. Now that Din Djarin and his adorable ward are making the jump to cinematic territory, Filoni gave the following rationale to Entertainment Tonight why it’s good that Favreau will be the one seated in the director’s chair:
I'm excited about what we're doing right now, but the movie, I think, is gonna be great. With Jon at the helm, it's gonna be fantastic, and he's so well-studied in Star Wars now, so he's got a great shorthand and I love collaborating with him. Just excited to share the future of what we're doing.
With the exception of the Season 2 premiere, titled “The Gunslinger,” Jon Favreau has left directing duties on The Mandalorian to others, but the man has proven himself to be a notable filmmaker several times over thanks to movies like Elf, Iron Man and Chef. Even if he wasn’t already tied to Star Wars, I imagine the powers-that-be at Lucasfilm would have him on a shortlist of directors to consider for a movie. Fortunately, he’s been part of the franchise for many years now, stretching back to when he voiced Pre Vizsla in The Clone Wars.
So Jon Favreau’s filmmaking talents combined with this “shorthand” he and Dave Filoni share made him the perfect man to tackle The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will be the first movie he’s directed since 2019’s The Lion King. Alas, as with most in-development Star Wars projects, details about what we can expect from this movie are being kept closely guarded. One thing that’s probably safe to assume, though, is that Pedro Pascal will continue voicing Din Djarin for the movie, though that’s no guarantee we’ll see the character take off his helmet again.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to be released sometime in 2026, and while unclear now if The Mandalorian Season 4 will still happen, let’s not forget that Dave Filoni is also directing a Star Wars movie that will serve as a “climactic story event” for that and the other New Republic-set shows, like The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and the forthcoming Skeleton Crew. Other Star Wars movies on the way include Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie following Daisy Ridley’s Rey 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, and James Mangold’s movie exploring the origins of The Force.
