Seven years after The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars returns. The Mandalorian and Grogu hits the biggest screen possible on May 22, 2026.

Seven years is a long time for a galaxy to go quiet. The last time Star Wars appeared in cinemas was December 2019, with The Rise of Skywalker. Since then, the franchise moved to streaming, built three seasons of one of Disney+'s most-watched series, and eventually made a decision that fans did not expect to happen this soon: bring it back to the big screen.

The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in theaters on May 22, 2026. And it does not ask you to have watched a single episode of anything before buying your ticket.

 Pedro Pascal with fans at the world premiere on May 14. The man who plays a character that never shows his face, stopping for every person who asked

What the Film Is About and Why It Works for Everyone

The Mandalorian and Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau, co-written with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor, and serves as a continuation of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian which ran from 2019 to 2023. The film marks Star Wars' return to theatrical release after a seven-year absence from cinema screens.

The premise is accessible by design. After the fall of the Galactic Empire, Imperial warlords remain scattered across the galaxy. The fledgling New Republic enlists Din Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu to rescue Rotta the Hutt in exchange for information on a critical target.

But underneath the mission is a quieter story. Pedro Pascal described it as an exploration of Din's awareness that Grogu, as a Force-sensitive being, will outlive him by hundreds of years. That awareness shapes every protective instinct Din carries and every decision he makes about preparing Grogu for a future without him. Dave Filoni described the film as Grogu's coming-of-age story, a chapter where the small green figure the world fell in love with starts to become something larger.

Favreau was direct about the film's accessibility: "We want to make an experience that doesn't require someone to already love Star Wars, but gives them the opportunity to fall in love with it the way we did."

The Cast Nobody Saw Coming

Pedro Pascal returns as Din Djarin, with stunt performers Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder handling the physical suit work. Grogu is brought to life primarily through puppetry.

Jeremy Allen White, known globally for The Bear, voices Rotta the Hutt, son of Jabba. Unlike typical Hutt characters, Rotta is presented as a physical threat who fights in a gladiator style. Favreau compared the character to Adonis Creed from the Creed films, someone living permanently in the shadow of a legendary father.

Sigourney Weaver makes her Star Wars debut as Colonel Ward of the New Republic, adding this franchise to a career that already includes Alien, Ghostbusters, and Avatar. When Favreau called her and suggested she watch The Mandalorian as preparation, Weaver responded honestly: "Oh, there's a series?" She had never seen an episode. She read the script and said yes anyway.

Martin Scorsese voices an Ardennian fry cook in the film, a cameo that qualifies as one of cinema's more unexpected crossovers.

 The cast and crew of The Mandalorian and Grogu at the world premiere on May 14. From a Disney+ series to a Hollywood Boulevard premiere. The journey took seven years.

What Makes This Film Historically Significant for Star Wars

The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars theatrical production to be shot entirely in Los Angeles, supported by a California tax incentive allocation of $21,755,000, one of the largest in the state program's history, generating over $166 million in qualified expenditures and wages.

The film runs 132 minutes and was filmed specifically for IMAX format. The IMAX introduction is set in space and inside a Mandalorian forge, where Grogu forges the countdown numbers. The score was composed by Ludwig Göransson, an Academy Award winner, and was released digitally on May 15, 2026.

At the world premiere on May 14 at TCL Chinese Theatre, Favreau addressed the audience: "I'd like to thank the California Film Commission for allowing us to be the first Star Wars film to be made entirely in Los Angeles." He then described how his father took him to see the original Star Wars at age ten: "That movie changed my life with that first shot. I sat by my dad's side 49 years ago watching Star Wars for the first time and tonight, I'm getting to sit next to my dad and watch this movie."

Box office tracking ahead of the May 22 release projected an $80 million opening over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro and predecessor Bob Iger both attended the premiere alongside studio executives Dana Walden, Asad Ayaz, and Alan Bergman.

Star Wars went quiet in cinemas for seven years. It comes back with a Mandalorian, a small green child, a legendary director watching beside his father, and the first shot of a galaxy far far away on IMAX glass.

For tickets, visit fandango.com and follow @starwars on Instagram.

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Sources of Photos.

Star Wars Official Instagram — @starwars