Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu - Nerd Alert Movie Review & Recap

When Disney first announced The Mandalorian & Grogu, I was cautiously optimistic. Translating the smaller-scale storytelling style of the Disney+ series into a theatrical experience felt risky. Plus, this would be their first venture from a theaterical standpoint to tell stories beyond the film characters we are very familiar with. It was almost like an uber Nerd's paradise because all the characters are from television shows, animated series, novels, and comic books. They have never been on the big screen before. In my opinion, that's quite a risky move given the reception of the Disney released Star Wars films.

But after finally seeing it, I can honestly say this movie absolutely works, and in some ways, it’s one of the most unique entries we’ve gotten in the entire Star Wars franchise.

What surprised me the most was just how strong the world-building was. This doesn’t feel like a glorified episode of television stretched out for the big screen. The story genuinely unravels into something much deeper, with layers of treachery, danger, and political maneuvering happening underneath what initially seems like a straightforward mission. The trailers did exactly what trailers should do: they gave us enough to get excited without spoiling the major developments. I was genuinely shocked multiple times throughout the movie, and that’s a rare thing these days.

One of the biggest highlights for me was the use of the Hutts. Seeing Rotta the Hutt return was already wild enough, but hearing him voiced by Jeremy Allen White somehow worked way better than I expected. Rotta was genuinely entertaining and added a lot to the story. I also loved seeing the Hutt Twins again after their appearance in The Book of Boba Fett. I’ve always enjoyed how Star Wars can make the criminal underworld feel massive and alive, and this movie leans into that hard.

Another huge win was Zeb Orrelios finally getting a substantial live-action role. Fans got a quick tease before, but here we actually get to spend time with Zeb, voiced once again by Steve Blum, and honestly, it was awesome. I love how Disney has incorporated many of the voice actors from the animations into the live-action world. He felt like a natural fit alongside Din Djarin and the larger galactic conflict happening behind the scenes.

Then there’s the absolutely hilarious and unexpected appearance from Martin Scorsese. Yes, that Martin Scorsese. The irony of him playing a reluctant informant in a Star Wars movie was not lost on me given his track record of mob movies. It was one of those bizarre little moments that somehow fits perfectly into the weirdness Star Wars occasionally thrives on.

And of course, you can’t talk about this movie without mentioning Sigourney Weaver joining the Star Wars universe. She’s a living legend, and she absolutely delivers here. She plays Colonel Ward, who is helping build what becomes the New Republic. She's a fantastic addition to the lore and brings a level of authority and gravitas to every scene. Honestly, it felt like she belonged in Star Wars all along.

As for the bad guys, we rely heavily on Imperials now acting as warlords to drive a the backbone of the story, but really, it's the infamous Hutt twins, and the open to the highest bidder bounty hunter Embo. And they do a marvelous job thwarting our heroes in their endeavor to bring down the last vestiges of the Galactic Empire. Again, we have only seen these characters in tv shows, with the Twins last seen in The Book of Boba Fett, and Embo predominantly in The Clone Wars, so it was pretty cool to see them take center stage on a grander scale. I also hope it encourages new Star Wars fans to revisit some of the older stories in the shows, novels, and comic books.

Speaking of which, I have already seen a lot of flack about how this movie could turn into a huge box office failure for Disney. I know this is me on a soap box again, but I would like to point out that, despite the risk this movie does pose, it's still going to be a success given that the first three seasons of The Mandalorian only ever appeared on Disney+. Each season had an estimated budget of $120 million and only relied on viewership from the streaming service. In other words, theatrical release in order to recoup the budget. This movie has an estimated budget of $166 million. I've seen several estimates, which I don't really agree with, saying that the movie will "only" garner $150 million worldwide in its opening weekend box office. So if these numbers hold true, it is about $16 million short of reclaiming its expenses just from opening weekend. Somehow this alone is seen as a failure. Spoiler alert, the movie will be in theaters longer than one weekend. But more importantly, the movie already made more than any of the three seasons from streaming on Disney+. Not to mention it encourages people to watch a lot of other media that is on the streaming services in order to become more familiar with this new story. It's literally an example of content is king, and Disney has a fantastic pipeline to get people started on their way. So no, as usual, I can't agree with the idiotic references that this movie is poised to be a box office failure. Rant over. For now.

One thing I caught during the credits that made me smile was seeing Anthony Daniels continue his incredible streak of appearing in every Star Wars movie. This time he’s credited as a Droid Flight Dispatcher. The sick humorist in me would’ve loved seeing him wandering around missing an arm to explain C-3PO’s red replacement in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but that’s just me being ridiculous.

What really makes this movie stand apart though is how disconnected it is from the Skywalker Saga. And I mean that in the best possible way. Even Rogue One and Solo still had strong connective tissue to the larger Skywalker storyline. This movie doesn’t rely on that at all. No lightsabers. No forced Skywalker references. No nostalgia bait built around Jedi mythology. This is purely the continuing adventure of Din Djarin and Grogu navigating a dangerous galaxy after the fall of the Empire.

We see Mando now working alongside the New Republic hunting down renegade Imperials who have basically become scattered warlords, and that setup creates some genuinely compelling storytelling opportunities. It feels like a corner of Star Wars we haven’t really spent enough time exploring.

Sure, there were characters I missed. I would’ve loved appearances from The Armorer (Emily Swallow), or Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). I also hoped maybe we’d see Amy Sedaris return as Peli Motto. And obviously longer-shot appearances from Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett or Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand would’ve been fun. And truth be told, I especially missed Greef Karga, played by the late great Carl Weathers. Rest in the Force, Mr. Weathers.

But honestly, none of those absences hurt the movie because the story never needed them. Those characters are focused on other aspects of the gigantic Star Wars universe, like the Mandalorians concerned about the future of Mandalore, while I'm sure Boba Fett and Fennec were knee deep in providing order to Jabba's former territory. This story is focused on something completely different.

One of the biggest surprises for me was how important the Anzellans became. The tiny droidsmiths completely stole multiple scenes and ended up playing a much larger role than I ever expected. They added a lot of humor and charm without becoming overbearing comic relief. It was also nice to see Grogu lead this gang on a critical adventure. Speaking of which, we also see Grogu coming into his own. He definitely earned the title credit with the addition of "and Grogu."

At the end of the day, The Mandalorian & Grogu was just a blast. It reminded me of both the future and past of Star Wars simultaneously. You can feel the seeds of the New Republic forming, while also capturing the adventurous spirit and fun I remember growing up watching The Ewok Adventure movies. There are also a ton of great callbacks and fun easter eggs if you're in the know. Not a spoiler in the least, but one of my favorites was a reference in the gladiator arena to the game Dejarik (holochess) that we see Chewbacca and C-3PO playing in A New Hope. The holochess characters are based on real creatures, and even enact the same body slam from the first movie! It was stupid fun to see that.

I cannot stress this enough: go into this movie with an open mind. If you walk in expecting Jedi, Skywalkers, lightsaber duels, or some giant universe-altering crossover event, you may be disappointed. But if you’re willing to accept this as an original standalone Star Wars adventure centered around Din Djarin and Grogu, there’s a lot here to love.

If you're like me, and it's just one of those days you have no interest in reading, check out video discussion of the movie:

Check out the trailer to Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu: