We’re less than 100 days away from Star Wars’ return to the big screen. And when The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters on May 22, 2026, it won’t just mark another chapter for the franchise – it will be the first time the iconic Clan of Two makes the leap from streaming to cinema.
The Mandalorian was a launch title for Disney+ and quickly became a global sensation. Din Djarin and Grogu (formerly “Baby Yoda”) are now among the most recognizable characters in Star Wars. But moving from the living room to the multiplex is no small jump, and director Jon Favreau knows it.
Speaking during a fireside chat with Disney’s Chief Creative Officer Bobby Kim at an event celebrating newly revealed toys tied to the film, where TechRadar was in attendance, Favreau reflected on what that transition requires.
“So the challenge becomes okay, we presented a cinematic experience on the small screen, we gotta up our game now for the movie theater.”
The Mandalorian on Disney+ already pushed technical boundaries while maintaining big-screen-level visuals. Much of it was shot on a cutting-edge virtual production stage, helping blur the line between television and theatrical filmmaking.
“Well, I was very fortunate that when we started with The Mandalorian and Disney Plus was starting, that medium allowed us to tell a very cinematic story,” Favreau said. “And we innovated some new technologies for it and we drew upon existing workflows around CG that had been developed as we were doing at the same time as the sequels. So we were plugged into this ILM machine that is extremely good at executing work at a high level, and because it’s Star Wars, we had to execute at that same level.”
Industrial Light & Magic helped ensure that The Mandalorian looked and felt cinematic from day one. But for a theatrical release, the bar rises higher.
“We have to up our game now for the movie theater,” Favreau continued. “And that means taller aspect ratios for IMAX, building sets that take full advantage of that, making visual effects of the quality and caliber that – you know – that we have to notch everything up. And then the storytelling as well.”
IMAX screens, larger builds, and elevated VFX are part of the equation, but Favreau also understands the storytelling side.
“We want to take you on an adventure,” he said. “And that adventure has to fill up the screen.”
In an era when streaming dominates and attention is constantly divided, theatrical films must justify the trip.
“At this moment in time when so much is competing for your attention, you’re going to stop what you’re doing and you’re going to go to a movie theater, and you’re not going to be able to pause it, and you’re not going to be able to eat the food out of your refrigerator, and you have to go there and then you have to have such a good experience that you say, ‘this, this was worth my time, let’s go again, I want to bring you, you should go see it.’”
That’s the real shift from streaming to cinema. At home, you can multitask. In a theater, the story has to command the room.
Favreau, who has now spent seven years working in the Star Wars universe, described the move to a theatrical feature as something more personal.
“To be able to step up to doing it as a film feels like a culmination of what I’ve been working on. It’s been such a great time, and I’m so excited for people to see what we’ve got in store.”
While fans are still waiting on the first full trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu, Favreau did offer a few concrete hints about what’s ahead – and it certainly got the room excited.
“There’s some stuff that people may have gotten clues to,” Favreau began, noting that the Razor Crest is back.
“He’s in the Razor Crest now, which is the ship that he originally had… he’s in the same model of ship.”
In other words, Din Djarin is once again piloting the same model ship that defined the early days of The Mandalorian — and the Clan of Two is traveling together again.
Grogu, meanwhile, has evolved.
“Grogu has leveled up a bit,” Favreau said. “We saw that he trained with Luke, time has passed, so he’s got a little bit of Jedi influence, and then he’s also an apprentice Mandalorian. So now it’s time for Dad and his teacher to bring him on adventures with him.”
More clues, Favreau teased, will surface soon.
Even so, the message is clear: the jump from streaming to theaters isn’t just about scale – it’s about delivering an experience worthy of the big screen.
“Pretty soon there’ll be a few more clues out there in the world,” Favreau said.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
