The Mandalorian and Grogu: Star Wars’ Big Screen Gamble That Already Feels Cheap

Lucasfilm released the first official look for the upcoming Star Wars movie, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and well… The first poster is absolutely garbage. I’m not sugarcoating it…it sucks.

It’s trying so hard to be a “retro 40s throwback” like King Kong or Flash Gordon, but it lands closer to a bootleg DVD cover you’d find in a gas station bargain bin. And for some reason, Grogu is on it three separate times. Yes, three. Because apparently once isn’t enough to remind us that Baby Yoda exists.

Oh, and while we’re here, who approved the font? “The Mandalorian and Grogu, Only in Theaters May 26th.” Congratulations, it looks like a middle schooler discovered Microsoft WordArt.

Now, to be fair, there are a few things sprinkled in the background to make nerds squint. A new Razor Crest? Cool, I guess, though it immediately makes you wonder what happened to the new ship he just got 5 minutes ago.

Zeb popping up? Neat. A Hutt cameo? Sure, why not. An AT-something walker (I’ve stopped keeping track of how many “ATs” Lucasfilm has invented)? Fine. And hey, Sigourney Weaver is here now, apparently taking over Greef Karga duties. That’s cool on paper, but it doesn’t save this from looking like cosplay fan art.

Then we get to the official synopsis… Are you Ready for this?

“The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu"

Phew! Riveting stuff, right? Wrong. That’s not a synopsis… that’s a recap of stuff we already know. It tells us literally nothing new about the movie. Zero. Zilch. Nada. It’s basically like Lucasfilm went, “Hey, remember the show you’ve been watching for three seasons? Yeah, it’s still that.”

And then comes the teaser trailer.

Oh boy. It’s bad…. Like, Cheap bad. TV episode level VFX bad.

There’s this one shot of a walker falling off a snow ledge that looks like it was rendered fora Video Game.

Why release something this rough if you’ve still got months of polish ahead? Instead of hyping people up, it just screams: “Yep, this is still just a Disney+ show…. but bigger, louder, and with a ticket price attached.”

And that’s my whole problem here.

From day one, I said this wouldn’t feel like a movie. It would feel like someone took a season of The Mandalorian, chopped it down to two hours, and slapped it on a big screen. And guess what? That’s exactly what the teaser feels like. A glorified highlight reel.

Now, will it make money? Sure. Slap the Star Wars name on anything and you’ll get people showing up. Maybe it clears $600–700 million worldwide, but let’s be honest here… This thing isn’t sniffing a billion. Not when the brand is this battered and the vibes are this stale.

Look, I loved The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2. Genuinely. They were some of the best Star Wars stories in decades. But it should have ended there. The Grogu story was done. Tied up with a neat bow.

Then Disney realized they couldn’t let go of their little green cash machine and BOOM we get season 3, Boba Fett padding, and now this movie nobody really asked for.

Yes, Sigourney Weaver is a fun addition. Still not sure why they got Jeremy Allen White voicing Jabba the Hutt’s child… For some reason they once again brough back Babu Frik… because apparently Lucasfilm thinks we still care.

But none of that fixes the core issue. The Mandalorian and Grogu doesn’t look fun. And that’s the biggest problem with Star Wars right now. It’s not fun.

The poster stinks. The synopsis is empty. The teaser is cheap. And if this is Lucasfilm’s big return to theaters? They’re setting themselves up for disappointment.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this turns out to be the surprise hit that proves me (and the internet) wrong.