(Image credit: Lucasfilm)
Seven years. That’s how long it’s been since Star Wars last released a movie in theaters. Seven long years since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” and I still don’t know how to erase that misfire from my brain. The franchise flew too close to the sun after “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One.” “The Last Jedi” was profitable but polarizing, “Solo” was dead on arrival, and “The Rise of Skywalker” quite literally forced Disney to pause future movies and go back to the drawing board.Instead of movies, Lucasfilm pivoted to television, and their most successful effort was “The Mandalorian.” Jon Favreau’s space Western follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), the titular Mandalorian working as a bounty hunter after the fall of the Empire. In the first episode, the bounty that Din retrieves is a tiny green creature named Grogu, or “Baby Yoda,” depending on what you prefer. The two form an unlikely bond as Din becomes a father figure to Grogu as they embark on riveting adventures throughout the galaxy.With Lucasfilm in desperate need of a “Star Wars” movie, the powers that be decided its most popular television property should move to the big screen. The result is “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which opened May 22. Am I happy “Star Wars” is back in theaters? Yes. Would I have liked another story to take center stage instead of a TV show? Absolutely.My excitement for “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is lukewarm at best. I’m already looking past Mando and preparing for May 2027, when Mr. “Project Hail Mary” himself, Ryan Gosling, enters the galaxy far, far away in “Star Wars: Starfighter.” I like, but do not love, ‘The Mandalorian’The first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” recaptured the magic and wonder of “Star Wars.” The show perfectly balanced the “adventure of the week” model with the show’s overarching mission to reunite Grogu with his family. That model is television at its finest. Anyone can hop into a random episode and still enjoy the journeys of a cool bounty hunter and his cute sidekick. If you didn’t get emotional for Din and Grogu in the season 2 finale, then you don’t have a heart.I’m a firm believer in the idea that too much of a good thing can be bad. Lucasfilm got over its skis by launching the spinoff “The Book of Boba Fett." Instead of making an awesome show about Boba Fett, Disney shoehorned their cash cows — Mando and Grogu — into the final three episodes. For better or worse, “The Book of Boba Fett” became “The Mandalorian” season 2.5.
