It's been seven years since Star Wars was last on the big screen, with Lucasfilm dedicating much of the 2020s to broadening the universe in its Disney Plus shows. Now the studio is looking to those heroes to usher in a new era of the galaxy far, far away as The Mandalorian and Grogu step into the limelight. Coming off the back of a long absence and in the wake of The Rise of Skywalker's contentious legacy, it's a lot of pressure on those little green shoulders – and Jon Favreau's standalone film can't quite stay upright under the weight of it all.
Set three years after the events of season 3, the new movie picks up with Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu working as guns for hire for the New Republic. We're introduced back into their story with a pacy, exciting cold open that neatly recontextualizes Mando and his cheeky sidekick as the pair descend on an Imperial target. It's a great opener that brings back the Western vibe of the original show's early seasons while also dispelling doubts that this story would feel cinematic enough. Indeed, AT-ATs trawling through snowy outposts feels enough to squash any qualms that Star Wars is back.
