Jon Favreau gave an interview to GamesRadar this week ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s May 22 opening and said something that should be setting off alarms inside Lucasfilm.
“I’m not sure what, exactly, why we were asked to do this,” Favreau told GamesRadar. “I suspect it was because these are characters that people, even who hadn’t seen Star Wars, may be aware of, especially Grogu. Baby Yoda was everywhere. And these are two characters that were used to launch Disney Plus, and we made no assumptions when the Mandalorian TV show came on that anybody had seen any Star Wars before. But we also wanted to make it feel authentic to Star Wars, and so the world that we created as the backdrop and the way the characters present themselves were embraced by Star Wars fans, which I really appreciate. But it also was an inroad for people who may not have ever watched Star Wars on television, and here we are now, seven years after the last film. I think there’s an opportunity to present Star Wars to a new audience using these characters as well.”
The director of the first Star Wars theatrical release in seven years does not know why his film was chosen for that role. He has a theory involving Baby Yoda merchandise. That is the creative leadership situation at Lucasfilm in 2026.
The reviews dropped this morning, and they confirm what the first reactions signaled. As of this writing, The Mandalorian and Grogu sits at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes with 77 reviews submitted. That is one of the lowest scores in franchise history, below Solo: A Star Wars Story at 69% and Attack of the Clones at 62%. It is the third consecutive Star Wars film not to achieve Certified Fresh status. The first three Disney-era films all cleared 75% with ease. Rogue One, the lowest of that early run, landed at 84%.
The critical consensus forming around the film is consistent. Empire Magazine’s John Nugent: “The first Star Wars film in nearly a decade doesn’t shake up the formula: instead, it’s a lively if inessential extended episode of the series.” Polygon’s Jake Kleinman: the film “more than rises to the challenge of feeling like a capital M Movie but fails to feel like a Star Wars Movie in anything but branding.” io9’s review: “In the end, The Mandalorian and Grogu is a throwaway adventure in the lives of these characters. A blip. A side quest. It doesn’t add anything of true significance to Star Wars as a whole or, more importantly, to the lore of the Mandalorian and Grogu as characters.” Tessa Smith at Mama’s Geeky: “Underwhelmed is an understatement. The Mandalorian and Grogu feels like a mashed-up TV arc that belonged on Disney+ rather than in IMAX.”
These reviews describe exactly what Favreau’s own quote describes. He made the film for people who had never seen Star Wars, targeting a new audience who knew Grogu from memes. The critics are telling him the result is a film that feels like television — because it was designed as television, repurposed for a multiplex, and justified by merchandising data rather than narrative ambition.
The Favreau quote is not just an awkward moment in an interview. It is a window into how this film was greenlit. The film’s origin story is telling: Favreau had written scripts for The Mandalorian Season 4. Bob Iger returned to Disney as CEO and reduced Disney+ spending. A Moana TV series became Moana 2. Favreau was told to set aside Season 4 and make a movie instead. Favreau didn’t pitch a theatrical Star Wars story. He was handed a mandate and made the best film he could from television scripts he had to restructure. His admission that he doesn’t know exactly why he was chosen reflects the reality: this decision came from a spreadsheet, not a creative vision.
Opening weekend is projected between $80 million and $100 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame. Disney entered crisis mode when Solo opened to $103 million over the same holiday in 2018, ultimately becoming the first Star Wars film to lose money in theatrical release. The bar has not moved. A 61% Rotten Tomatoes score and muted critical word-of-mouth three days before opening will not help.
Star Wars has now produced three consecutive films that failed to achieve Certified Fresh status. The franchise that opened at 93% with The Force Awakens, 84% with Rogue One, and 91% with The Last Jedi is now landing in the low sixties and fighting comparisons to Attack of the Clones. The director of the comeback film suspects Baby Yoda merchandise is why he got the call. The critics are saying the film feels like it belongs on Disney+.
Does a 61% Rotten Tomatoes score change whether you’re going opening weekend? Let us know in the comments.
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