Today in information we weren’t anticipating within the second week of 2024: The Mandalorian is getting a film. Titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, the film, according to Lucasfilm, will start manufacturing this 12 months with Jon Favreau, who created the TV sequence and served as showrunner, set to direct.

This is the best way, and doubtless indicative of what The Mandalorian ought to have been from the start. Even as Disney tried to capitalize on its acquisition of the Star Wars franchise—and bolster Disney+ subscriptions—by churning out a number of street-level sequence, a fantastic lots of them have felt like motion pictures already. With the exception of, maybe, Andor, which is as a lot a political drama as it’s a Star Wars present, most of the Star Wars sequence have misplaced steam mid-season. If a present like, say, Book of Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi had been trimmed right down to a 2.5-hour area opera, they could have struck a greater chord.

Bringing The Mandalorian & Grogu to theaters additionally appears like one thing of a hat tip to the place Lucasfilm desires to take the franchise sooner or later. Last summer season, Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated the corporate is likely to be seeking to spend much less on its mega-franchises. Making a film that includes one in all a Star Wars present’s most beloved characters achieves that with out ramping up a complete galaxy-spanning movie—or trilogy of them—full of massive names. (One word on that: Lucasfilm’s announcement didn’t say whether or not or not Pedro Pascal could be reprising his function as Mando.) Add in the truth that quite a lot of The Mandalorian to this point has been shot on Lucasfilm’s digital set, StageCraft, and it’s a no brainer.

The concentrate on one character’s journey (or one character and his Baby Yoda sidekick) additionally appears of a chunk with the forthcoming Rey-focused feature being directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel).

The motion pictures from Mandalorian author Dave Filoni and James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) appear to be broader in scope, however Filoni’s, a minimum of, is meant to convey the plotlines of Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian collectively. While somebody like Luke or Rey has typically been the hero on a journey in a Star Wars film, they’ve all the time been joined by Hans, Leias, Finns, and Poes. Making a Mando movie, then, is a sign not all of them will likely be ensemble affairs on the identical stage. (It additionally provides this author hope that Shawn Levy’s forthcoming Star Wars movie might simply be a buddy comedy that includes Jabba the Hutt and Salacious B. Crumb.)

According to the movie’s announcement, The Mandalorian & Grogu “will lead Lucasfilm’s feature-development slate,” which incorporates Filoni, Mangold, and Obaid-Chinoy’s motion pictures. No launch date has been set, however, as The Hollywood Reporter points out, the studio does have a Star Wars characteristic on the calendar for December 19, 2025.