From AP News: A new ‘Star Wars’ movie is coming to theaters: ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu.’
It’s been over four years since Star Wars last hit theaters.
There hasn’t been a Star Wars film in theaters since 2019’s “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” which received mixed reviews at best (personally, I thought it wasn’t too bad, despite some issues), which means this announcement of bringing the phenomenally popular Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” to the big screen should be a no-brainer. But is it?
Even this limited press release announcement listed a couple of immediate additions to the plusses column for this project; namely the involvement of series’ co-creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, which is enough to pique my interest. It’s safe to say that series star Pedro Pascal will return as well, with the series co-creators already onboard. Playing Sith Lord’s advocate however, there’s a few potential minuses to this announcement as well.
The “The Mandalorian” series boasts impressive, feature-film quality visuals. And the innovation of creating virtual environments using LED wraparound screens (“How ‘The Mandalorian’ and ILM invisibly reinvented film and TV production”) have led to a revolution in TV production. The lines between TV/streaming and movies have quickly blurred—or have arguably been eliminated. With such technical innovations greatly reducing the need for expensive and unpredictable location shooting, we no longer see embarrassing matte-lines, green-screen spill or other telltale artifacts of moviemaking slight-of-hand.
One might ask what a big screen serving of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” can offer that the streaming series already hasn’t already delivered to date, save for screen size. Even screen size is something of a non-issue these days, since wall-size flatscreen TVs and digital projectors (my personal preference) are more than capable of delivering an immersive experience right at home, and with convenient pauses for bathroom and kitchen breaks.
During the COVID pandemic years, my wife and I became quite comfortable with streaming movies and TV shows at home, including “The Mandalorian,” with our digital projector (we’ve recently upgraded to an Epson laser projector, which features truly amazing image quality). Only in the past year or so have I returned to movie theaters, and sadly, most of what I’ve seen theatrically this past year hasn’t been terribly compelling, save for the recent “Godzilla Minus One” (2023), which was easily the best thing I’d seen in years.
Granted, my wife and I are an aging demographic movie studios don’t cater to much these days, but there might be other Star Wars fans wondering if “The Mandalorian” (something we’ve enjoyed on TV for three seasons now) is worth getting off the couch for, and paying $15 for a single-watch ticket. One can site 1979’s “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” as an automatic yes to that question, but “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” also involved a massive upgrade in production quality from the original TV series that would not be at all necessary for Mando and company.
The true answer will, of course, depend upon the final product, which we won’t see until May of 2026, as production is slated to begin this year. While details aren’t yet forthcoming regarding the story for this new movie, I would assume it will considerably amp up the dramatic fireworks for an audience to pay $15 or more for a seat. They might throw in supporting roles from series recurring characters, such as Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and perhaps some characters from the Skywalker ennealogy, such as Luke, who’s unexpected return at the end of season 2 was certainly a surprise, despite his CG-uncanny valley appearance.
No doubt some Star Wars fans will be skeptical, of course, but the involvement of Filoni, Favreau and star Pedro Pascal makes me cautiously optimistic. I suppose there’s always going to be that 10-year old me inside of my current middle-aged self who’d give almost anything to relive the magical, transformative experience that going to see the original “Star Wars” was for me back in that long ago summer of 1977…
Star Wars current creative engine Dave Filoni (“The Clone Wars,” “Rebels,” “The Mandalorian,” et al) cameoing as a New Republic X-wing pilot. Filoni has long demonstrated that Star Wars can work on the small screen–something my oldster generation used to believe was impossible.
At any rate, I certainly hope the force will be strong with “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and here’s also hoping that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni can deliver a solid movie for another generation of fans hoping to experience some theatrical Star Wars magic.
Was great to hear then new The Mandalorian and Grogu were coming to the big screen. It’s still my favourite of the Star Wars TV shows and it will be brilliant to see their adventures on an even bigger scale.
My favorite Star Wars TV series as well, right up there with Rebels. Glad that Filoni and Favreau are behind it, too.
Star Wars was always more realistic than Star Trek. In TREK, you have the replicator, a device that conjures up everything you want from food to cold-weather sweaters, and that makes all the difference. People have to WORK in Star Wars. They’re always scrounging up old tech, and collecting half-broken-down robots, and more …
Come visit my website, and leave some comments, if you like
http://www.catxman.wordpress.com
The line between science that feels scientific and science that feels magical, certainly for all the wonders of Star Trek’s Replicator (as much as I would appreciate the tech existing in real life), has become all the more discussable in this era for sci-fi and futurism. Since the Star Wars galaxy portrays a futuristically ancient past, long before Earth’s time, perhaps that influenced its sci-fi more profoundly than Star Trek’s in certain ways.