Playing It Safe With 'Mandalorian & Grogu' Would Do 'Star Wars' More Harm Than Good

Recent history shows audiences will reward bold storytelling in 'Star Wars' movies and in other established or surefire franchise films like 'Barbie' and 'Black Panther'

Welp, after years of false starts and rumors, we have a firm confirmation of what the next theatrical Star Wars movie will be. And the answer is... the fourth season of a Disney+ TV show seemingly being retrofitted into a theatrical feature film? Jon Favreau is directing The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will be produced sometime this year. Whether this will be the Star Wars flick currently dated for December 18, 2026, or whether they will try to have it done either for an earlier release or in case James Cameron’s Avatar 3 is not ready in time for December 19, 2025, this seems to be... the safest choice for the next Star Wars theatrical, one banking on mainstream awareness of The Mandalorian that may not exist. Moreover, as we saw with the first two Star Wars Story flicks, and kinda-sorta The Rise of Skywalker, safe may actually be dangerous.