It’s the battle of the Star Wars spinoffs as reports suggest Disney is more optimistic about 2027’s standalone film Star Wars: Starfighter than the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu, out in just a few weeks.
According to sources who spoke to Variety for the publication’s recent editorial exploring the challenges facing Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro, some staff members at the House of Mouse are concerned about the apparent lack of excitement surrounding their The Mandalorian spinoff movie, directed by Jon Favreau, in the wake of the lackluster fan response to the film’s Super Bowl LX spot.
While many fans online anticipated a full trailer, the “unconventional” 36-second ad simply featured the titular pair trekking through the snow while riding on a hover-wagon pulled by tauntauns. Though a proper full trailer has since been released, the vague, vibes-based Big Game spot reportedly failed to “generate the kind of excitement the marketing team was hoping to spark,” Variety reports.
On the other hand, sources at Disney who have already seen footage from Starfighter, scheduled to hit theaters in spring 2027, are more optimistic that film will appeal to longtime fans of the franchise, suggesting it more authentically captures the playful, adventurous energy of missing from previous Star Wars films.
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“There’s a sense that Star Wars: Starfighter, a spinoff from Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, is more likely to satisfy fans when it hits theaters next spring, with sources who have seen footage praising Ryan Gosling’s performance and suggesting Levy has recaptured the franchise’s spirit of fun,” Variety reports.
Other than its stellar cast (Gosling, Amy Adams, Mia Goth, Matt Smith), little is known about the plot of Starfighter at this point. According to Lucasfilm, the movie is neither a prequel nor sequel, but rather “an entirely original story set in a period of time never before explored in Star Wars,” believed to be roughly five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
The Mandalorian & Grogu releases in theaters on May 22, 2026. Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for theatrical release on May 28, 2027.
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