Is The Mandalorian and Grogu the end of Jon Favreau’s journey in the galaxy far, far away? After years of building the Star Wars brand on Disney+, the man behind The Mandalorian is now taking his story to the big screen. But with Disney and Lucasfilm cancelling plans for a fourth season, fans are wondering if this movie marks Favreau’s final chapter with Star Wars.
Directed by Favreau himself, The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the first Star Wars theatrical release since The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters back in 2019. In an interview with Polygon, Favreau reflected on what this moment means. “I’ve been working on Star Wars now for seven years, and to be able to step up to doing it as a film feels like a culmination of what I’m working on,” he said. That word — “culmination” — sounds a lot like closure. Is Favreau preparing to walk away while he’s still on top?
He also described the challenge of moving from the small screen to the big one. “With Star Wars, we have to execute at that tech level,” he explained. “We presented a cinematic experience on the small screen. We have to up our game now to the movie theater.” Favreau said that means shooting on larger formats like IMAX and building sets that give audiences a reason to leave home. He added that the storytelling “has to fill up the screen” and be strong enough to make moviegoers say, “This is worth my time. Let’s go again.”
It’s been a long road to this point. The Mandalorian first streamed on Disney+ in 2019, but Favreau and Dave Filoni actually pitched the project back in 2017 to then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Between that pitch and the series premiere, Favreau voiced Rio Durant in Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. Over the next several years, he created The Book of Boba Fett, produced Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, and even voiced Pre Vizsla in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He wrote most episodes of The Mandalorian and directed its second-season opener, building what fans now call “The Mandoverse.”
After more than seven years of building new corners of the Star Wars universe, Favreau might be ready for a break. Even so, insiders say he probably won’t vanish entirely. He might take a step back from writing and directing but continue as a producer, much like he did with the Marvel Cinematic Universe after directing Iron Man and Iron Man 2. He also continues to work with Disney, directing a new short series for Disney+ about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first animated character.
Still, fans of Din Djarin and Grogu shouldn’t see The Mandalorian and Grogu as an ending just yet. The story Favreau started continues to grow. Ahsoka Season 2 is expected to stream later this year, and Lucasfilm’s new co-president Dave Filoni is preparing his own team-up movie that will unite characters from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. If Favreau’s time as the guiding hand is ending, his influence on the galaxy far, far away will be felt for years to come.
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