It’s safe to say now that “Disclosure Day” has finally hit theaters that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has faded from the minds of all but the most devout “Star Wars” fans. The movie followed the show’s third season of “The Mandalorian,” a series that premiered on Disney+ before making the jump to the big screen. However, the standalone story was largely disconnected from the greater galaxy far, far away, and didn’t set up a sequel, a potential fourth season, or tie into the second season of “Ahsoka,” which was delayed until 2027.
Director Steven Spielberg is back in theaters with another movie about aliens and government cover-ups. “Disclosure Day” already has a 80% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes as fans praise Spielberg’s latest sci-fi outing.
By its third week, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” was already eclipsed by “Obsession” and “Backrooms” at the box office. The movie dropped even lower following the release of “Scary Movie” and “Masters of the Universe.” Now that “Disclosure Day” is taking charge of the box office, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has completely dropped out of the top five, with no chance of rebounding.
‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Has A 62% Score On Rotten Tomatoes
Although approximately 300 critic reviews gave “The Mandalorian and Grogu” a 62% fresh rating, it seems that audiences were a little more generous, giving the film a 87% rating. The last standalone “Star Wars” adventure to hit theaters was “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which had a 69% critic rating and a 63% audience score. That film focused on the adventures of a young Han Solo, played by Alden Ehrenreich.
This film featured the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and his sidekick, Grogu, more affectionately known as Baby Yoda, on a mission to free Rotta the Hutt in exchange for information to help them track down the scattered Imperial warlords throughout the Outer Rim. Although Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) is trying to prevent another war, audiences already know how that turns out. The First Order eventually rises to power in 2015’s “The Force Awakens” and is seemingly defeated in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Critics Question Bringing A TV Show To The Big Screen
Fans and critics alike questioned the need to bring a Disney+ show with three seasons to the big screen, especially considering that the third season was not as positively received as the first two. Adam Nayman of the Toronto Star compared the movie to “reheated leftovers,” claiming that they were “mulched so that they go down easy.”
Wendy Ive of UK’s Observer pointed out another fan complaint: the lack of a clear plot. “The story is thin,” Ive wrote. “Mando zaps around the cosmos bringing imperial fugitives to justice and accruing serious enemies along the way. But the execution is impressive.”
David Fear of Rolling Stone asked, “Ironically, words cannot describe how truly awful the dialogue is that’s been forced on White here — maybe he read the script and then had his contract stipulate the voice change, so as to distance himself from this tripe?”
Jeremy Allen White Voiced Rotta the Hutt
“The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White was the voice of Rotta the Hutt, though many wouldn’t know it, as his voice was heavily edited before it made it into the final cut of the film. Many fans also weren’t happy with Rotta’s voice, as the character is heard speaking Basic instead of Huttese.
Other fans were disappointed to see him at all, as this isn’t Rotta’s first appearance in a galaxy far, far away. In the 2008 animated film “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” Rotta – the son of Jabba the Hutt – was kidnapped by the Confederacy and rescued by Anakin Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano.
After Rotta is rescued from the gladiator pits on Shakari, he begins a new start working for the New Republic, which sets up the possibility that he could run into Ahsoka – or even Princess Leia herself – in a future project.
The Movie Was Positively Received By Some Critics
Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times gave a pretty positive review, writing, “One of the movie’s strong points, absent its story deficiencies, is that, across its many wordless scenes, it’s at heart a solidly rousing, delightfully icky creature feature, in the vein of a supercharged Ray Harryhausen-meets-Guillermo del Toro joint.”
William Bibbiani of The Wrap called it a “a deft and enjoyable blockbuster, easily the most purely entertaining ‘Star Wars’ movie since the 1980s, even though it’s hardly the most meaningful or ambitious.
However, many more critics felt like “Star Wars” is just putting out content for the sake of content. As Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter astutely pointed out, “It’s hard to imagine anyone experiencing this as their first Star Wars film and getting hooked for life as those who saw the original trilogy in theaters did. Still, it’s an entertaining, fast-paced space adventure.”
Will ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Get The Franchise Back On Track?
Fans are hopeful that “Star Wars: Starfighter,” the first movie set after the events of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” and the fall of the First Order, will have more promise. Although plot details remain under wraps, it boasts an all-star cast of Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, Amy Adams, Matt Smith, Flynn Gray, Aaron Pierre, and more.
“Star Wars: Starfighter” will hit theaters on May 28, 2027. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has yet to be given a streaming release date on Disney+.