Dave Filoni Says THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Signals a"Completely Different Era of STAR WARS" on the Big Screen

After years of expanding across streaming shows, books, comics, and games, Star Wars is finally heading back to theaters.

The next chapter comes with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the upcoming film from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, and according to Filoni, the movie represents something bigger than just another story in the timeline. It marks a different kind of era for Star Wars.

For longtime fans, that phrase carries weight. The franchise has always been organized by distinct periods in its massive timeline. There’s the Old Republic, the High Republic, the fall of the Jedi, and the dark years under the Empire. Each era tells a different chapter of the galaxy far, far away.

So when Filoni recently described The Mandalorian and Grogu as part of “a completely different era of Star Wars now” in an interview with Empire, fans will wonder what that means.

At first glance, the comment seems confusing. The film clearly sits in a very specific part of the established timeline. Like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, the story unfolds during the New Republic era.

That’s the period between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, when the galaxy is trying to rebuild after the fall of the Empire.

So it isn’t a brand-new time period in the lore. But Filoni wasn’t really talking about the in-universe timeline.

Here’s the full quote that clarifies what he meant:

“Episode VII was a completely different entity,” Filoni said. “I had dreams of Episode VII since I came out of Return of the Jedi. You were like, ‘After VI comes VII! Where’s VII?’ We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now.”

Filoni’s point is more about how Star Wars exists in the real world today. When The Phantom Menace arrived in 1999, fans hadn’t seen a live-action Star Wars project in theaters since 1983. The same thing happened when The Force Awakens debuted in 2015. There were long stretches where the franchise simply wasn’t producing live-action stories.

That isn’t the case anymore.

Between The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian and Grogu, Star Wars has exploded with content. Disney+ alone delivered multiple live-action series and animated projects, all while books, comics, and games continued expanding the universe. Even without a theatrical release for nearly a decade, the franchise never disappeared from the cultural conversation.

That’s the real shift Filoni is referring to. Fans haven’t been waiting in the dark for the next movie. Instead, they’ve been living in this galaxy consistently for years.

And that raises an interesting question. Will returning to theaters with Din Djarin and Grogu feel like a huge cinematic event again? Or will it feel like the next chapter in a story fans have already been following closely on streaming?

Part of the magic of Star Wars has always been the ability to surprise audiences and capture that sense of adventure. With so many stories already exploring this era, it’ll be fascinating to see whether The Mandalorian and Grogu can still deliver that same spark on the big screen.

One thing is certain. Din Djarin and Grogu have become two of the most beloved characters introduced in the Disney era of the franchise, and seeing their journey continue in theaters is exciting!

We won’t have to wait too long to see how this new phase of Star Wars plays out. The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to hit theaters on May 22.