For the first time in decades, a Star Wars movie is arriving in theaters without the Skywalker Saga looming over it.
A New Era for Star Wars Movies Begins
Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian & Grogu, set to release May 22, 2026, will mark the franchise’s return to the big screen after a six-year-plus hiatus following The Rise of Skywalker (2019). But unlike earlier Star Wars spinoffs released while the Skywalker Saga was still unfolding, the film arrives after that nine-episode story has concluded.
Instead, the movie continues the story of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which ran for three seasons between 2019 and 2023.
Dave Filoni — Lucasfilm’s newly appointed co-president who co-wrote the film with director Jon Favreau — recently spoke to Empire about what that shift means for the franchise. Filoni compared the moment to when The Force Awakens launched the sequel trilogy in 2015, but said the upcoming film represents a different kind of reset.
Speaking to Empire, Filoni discussed how the film fits into the franchise’s future, noting that Star Wars is now entering “a completely different era”, noting that The Mandalorian & Grogu arrives without the narrative weight of continuing the Skywalker storyline. “We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now.”
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Future Standalone Movies Also Confirmed
That new direction is becoming clearer as Lucasfilm’s upcoming film slate takes shape. In addition to The Mandalorian & Grogu, Shawn Levy is developing Star Wars: Starfighter, a standalone feature scheduled for 2027 that stars Ryan Gosling. The story reportedly takes place several years after The Rise of Skywalker but is not connected to the Skywalker saga.
Another project still in development is the Rey-focused film announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, which would see Daisy Ridley reprise the role roughly 15 years after the events of the sequel trilogy as Rey works to rebuild the Jedi Order.
Lucasfilm is also planning an untitled crossover film tied to the so-called “Mando-verse,” which is expected to bring together characters and storylines from Disney+ series such as The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett.
For now, though, The Mandalorian & Grogu carries the responsibility of launching the next theatrical phase of Star Wars — one no longer defined by the Skywalker saga.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Cast and Synopsis
“The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy,” the film’s official synopsis on StarWars.com reads. “As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.”
The Mandalorian & Grogu stars Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/The Mandalorian), Sigourney Weaver (Ward), Jeremy Allen White (Rotta the Hutt), and Grogu.
Characters from the Disney+ series such as The Armorer (Emily Swallow), Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), IG-11 (Taika Waititi), Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) are not expected to return.
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