The new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu is here, and yup, that sure looks like a Jon Favreau Star Wars movie. With lots of recognizable characters, creatures, and droids to go around, it’s easy to see the show’s toy box fantasy world come to life in a way that’s bigger than the Disney+ show. On the other hand, the trailer only hints at the plot and barely sparks any sense of larger emotional complexity. One line in there does give us some new hope, though. A shimmering glimmer of potential that maybe, just maybe, this movie will bring Star Wars movies in a way befitting of the franchise’s legacy.
The line in question is delivered by Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) regarding his new apprentice, Grogu. “The kid will live centuries beyond me,” Din says. “I won’t always be around to protect him.” It’s a simple and seemingly obvious line, but within it flow oceans of possibility.
Now, clearly, this trailer is purposefully not showing a lot of the film’s plot (which is a staple for all Mandalorian marketing over the past decade), and the relationship between the Mandalorian and Grogu will be the heart of the movie. It’s right there in the title. But an adventure solving a bunch of problems for the New Republic is one thing. A sense of legacy and permanence in the Star Wars canon is another, and this line may just acknowledge that.
From the first episode of The Mandalorian, which you can relive in the image above, the existence of another “Yoda”-type creature has been treated as a big deal. It’s very clear these beings, whatever they’re called, are rare and important. So, Grogu has regularly been given that sort of reverence. It’s why the Client wanted him in the first place. Why Luke Skywalker comes to train him. Why Ahsoka connects easily. He’s a being who is very strong with the Force and is slowly beginning to learn more about that.
In recent seasons, however, that concept has often been lost in the show. Once Grogu left Luke and returned to Din, the fact that he could potentially become the most powerful being in the galaxy was pushed to the background. And that’s fine. We want to see that bond between the two of them form. To see Din rise in the ranks just as much as Grogu. He’s gotta ride that Mythosaur, eventually, right? But, eventually, this story—on TV and in movies—needs to shine a light back on Grogu’s potential in a larger way. That is something worthy of a big-screen adventure, and from that one line in the trailer, we get a hint that, maybe, this film will do just that.
The fact of the matter is, unless something very, very evil happens, Grogu will be around long after Din dies. Long after stories of The Mandalorian are told. Long after Rey Skywalker becomes one with the Force, or Ryan Gosling’s new Starfighter passes. After all that and more, Grogu should still be growing within the Force. And, as Star Wars movies begin to move beyond the Skywalker Saga, future Force users potentially having their own “Yoda” could be hugely consequential. That all starts with Grogu beginning to mature and take his place in the galaxy. Does that happen in this movie? Is that what this movie is about in a way? We hope so. Because, if so, then it could truly be something magical.
The first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu, opens May 22.
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