Jon Favreau Says THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Could Open STAR WARS to a Whole New Generation

It’s been a long stretch since Star Wars fans packed into theaters for a new saga chapter. The last time was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and that feels like a different era at this point.

Now, after seven years, the franchise is finally heading back to the big screen with The Mandalorian and Grogu, a project that feels both familiar and surprisingly fresh.

At the center of it all is Jon Favreau, the filmmaker who helped launch Disney+ into hyperspace with The Mandalorian. Now he’s steering these characters into theaters, which is really cool, even if the reasoning behind it isn’t entirely clear-cut.

When asked why Din Djarin and Grogu were chosen to lead Star Wars back to cinemas, Favreau admitted even he doesn’t have a definitive answer:

"I'm not sure what, exactly, why we were asked to do this," Favreau told GamesRadar+. "I suspect it was because these are characters that people, even who hadn't seen Star Wars, may be aware of, especially Grogu. Baby Yoda was everywhere.

“And these are two characters that were used to launch Disney+, and we made no assumptions when the Mandalorian TV show came on that anybody had seen any Star Wars before. But we also wanted to make it feel authentic to Star Wars, and so the world that we created as the backdrop and the way the characters present themselves were embraced by Star Wars fans, which I really appreciate.

“But it also was an inroad for people who may not have ever watched Star Wars on television, and here we are now, seven years after the last film. I think there's an opportunity to present Star Wars to a new audience using these characters as well."

As you know, Grogu became a global pop culture icon almost overnight, and Din Djarin gave longtime fans something that felt rooted in classic Star Wars storytelling while still being easy for newcomers to jump into. This movie looks like it’s doubling down on that balance.

Favreau is no stranger to launching massive franchises. He kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, and now he’s in a similar position with Star Wars. But instead of getting overwhelmed by expectations, he’s focusing on something more grounded.

"I felt definitely responsibility, but more so to tell as good of a story as I could," he reflects. "I find that, as a Star Wars fan myself, and across multiple genres that have strong fan bases, they really are invested in the story being good, and they want a great experience.

“And if you could deliver that to them, they reward you, but they want to make sure that you care as much as they do. And so, we put all of our effort into really anticipating what people would see, what we're implying through – because, especially with a story like this, where you're trying to tell a complete story that plays well to a group that this may be their first Star Wars experience, though Star Wars fans are very perceptive, and so you can be very subtle in the messages that you send.

"And, part of the Star Wars community is that they communicate among one another. There's a lot of speculation. There's a lot of filling in the blanks for one another," he continues.

"So, you don't have to lay everything out deliberately in a way that's overly [obvious], you don't have to define everything to the level of specificity that you might in another environment. But here, if you lay the clues, sometimes it's things that relate to the story, sometimes it's references to other things that came before, sometimes it's even techniques that we use in the filmmaking.

“All of it is a way for us to show the community that we share that same passion, and we're doing the things that we enjoy. And I find when we do things that we enjoy, like engaging with Phil Tippett for stop motion animation or John Goodson for miniature work, we're doing that because we're excited by it, it's fun for us, and I think the story that surrounds the making of it is as much a part of the story as what you see on the screen."

Favreau isn’t just thinking about what shows up on screen, he’s thinking about how it’s made and how fans connect with that process. Practical effects, classic techniques, and deep-cut references all play into how this world feels alive.

With The Mandalorian and Grogu hitting theaters on May 22, this isn’t just another Star Wars release. It’s a reset of sorts. A chance to remind longtime fans why they fell in love with the galaxy far, far away, while opening the door for a whole new crowd to step in for the first time.

If Favreau is right, Din Djarin and Grogu might be the perfect guides for that journey.