Mandalorian & Grogu

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Starting a new thread for the upcoming movie.

 

Stuff we know so far:

• The movie is instead of a planned Mando series 4, which was delayed by strikes.
• Filming wrapped in December and has been in post-prod ever since.
• Pedro is back, obviously, as is The Baby.
• The Adelphi X-Wing patrol squadron we've seen are back, with the addition of one Sigourney Weaver as Commander Ward.
• The Bear's Jeremy Allen White swaps chef's whites for a CGI slug body as Rotta The Hutt...
• ...and journeyman Brit actor Jonny Coyne (Gotham, OUAT:W) returns as an Imperial remnant warlord from the end of S3.
• And, then of course, there's this karabastin' guy. Steve Blum returns as Zeb, and also provided facial captures.
  Though I'm hoping that's an unfinished render or pre-vis,, badly scaled, or the site I nabbed this "official" shot from has been fooled by AI.
  (And could we please turn down the lens flares, Dave? You're not JJ Abrams.)
• Not yet confirmed as returning: Giancarlo, Katee, Amy Sedaris... or Lizzo. Probably.
  
  

 

Wild speculation:

• Given Rotta's in it and now a wealthy crimelord in his own right, and Dave's fondness for bringing back fan favourites...
• ...a certain no-longer-dead ex-Sith who kidnapped him might make her first live-action appearance too.
• If this ties up threads from Ahsoka S2, as was rumoured for Mando S4, the Rebels crew and Brainy Smurf might show up as well. However, filming only kicked off in April, so there'd be a lot of post-prod and polish to get it out in time.

 

Official drop date is May 22nd 2026 - not the same date, but same weekend as the original's US release in 1977. Because nerd pride.

What do we think?

 

PS: there is a lot of AI garbage out there of varying quality, both from the usual internet Jawas trying to earn clicks and the odd ardent fan.

 

[Techwright]

On 9/2/2025 at 6:48 AM, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

• Not yet confirmed as returning: Giancarlo, Katee, Amy Sedaris... or Lizzo. Probably.

 

Katee returning would make sense.  Djarin is heavily tied to the planet Mandalore now, and that is Katee's turf.   Amy Sedaris...could go either way, but unless Rotta's presence indicates yet another return to the sands of Tattooine, something several fans were reasonably grumbling about, given how big the galaxy is, then the only reason for Amy to appear is to work on the Naboo fighter.   Lizzo...we can hope the galaxy has learned its lesson.  Giancarlo: there's a really, really good reason to say "no" to a return.  That said, if the movie uses flashbacks or is still tapping into Project Necromancer...

 

Also known:  Carl Weathers will not be in it. 😭

 

Long, long shot:  I've read rumors that Disney may finally be willing to put Cara Dune back to work after the results of the court case.  I'd not expect more than a cameo, though, if it happens.

 

I like that they're using Rotta.   It answers a very long-standing question of what happened to the little Stinker after the incident at the Sarlacc pit.   A partial, tacit answer comes when we realize that both Bib Fortuna and the Hutt twins had stronger claim to Jabba's position after Jabba's death than Rotta had.   Do we know for certain that Rotta is "now a wealthy crimelord" given that his parent's empire went to Bib?  I'm asking for confirmation, because I'd speculate Rotta might be trying to secure his own position of power, but possibly doing it by listening to a manipulator.  Someone from Ol' Red Eyes' followers perhaps?

 

On 9/2/2025 at 6:48 AM, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

• ...and journeyman Brit actor Jonny Coyne (Gotham, OUAT:W) returns as an Imperial remnant warlord from the end of S3.

 

 

This is interesting, because of what it doesn't say as much as what it says.  What it says is that they're moving an unnamed, background shot, Imp warlord into a larger role.  What it doesn't say is the name of the one, surviving, important Imp warlord from that conference scene, namely Captain Pellaeon, Brainy Smurf's evil "Watson".    This suggests to me that this movie will be dealing with Ol' Red Eyes at a distance, if even that: the puppet master in the background.   Mando and Grogu will likely be dealing with a lesser, but important, threat group, saving Brainy Smurf and Co.  for an unnamed future project, likely clashing with Ezra and General Syndulla again.  I could see Luke in that as well. There's a lot of story to unwrap in that, including the likely possibility that Spectre 7 will be trained by Ezra. (Let's hope it's not Luke, for Spectre 7's sake).  I'd not be surprised if they didn't slip back into a new animated series to cover that, hopefully with the quality of animation that The Bad Batch season 3 had, rather than a return to Rebels animation.

 

Speculation:  Speaking of The Bad Batch season 3,  I think it entirely possible that a certain pilot who flew off to join the Rebellion at the last scene of The Bad Batch, could make an appearance in this movie, likely tied to the Adelphi squadron.  That would satisfy a lot of fans.  Might even get a few old clones putting a call through to the pilot, which would bring in Tem Morrison to fill one of those roles (the one with the face tattoo).  This pilot would be similar in age to Boba Fett, so around 40 years, perhaps a bit more. (Boba was "born" in 32 BBY.  Tem Morrison is playing a much younger role.  They're hand waving that by suggestion all the agony Boba has been put through has left him looking a lot older.) 

 

Regarding Zeb:  I'd love it if Zeb had a substantial role, but given that they've gone on record as saying it was costly to create his character in live action, I have my doubts as to how substantial he could be.  Perhaps the movie is building off the original costs of design, and therefore he'll be less expensive.

 

Speculation: Carson Teva will be in the movie.  He's another fan favorite, and Aldephi is his home base, after all.  Unknown will be what's happened to him after the kangaroo court they tried to pull on General Hera Syndulla, since he was following her orders.  I suspect there's no fallout, though.

 

Speculation:  We may see IG-11 again.  The assassin droid's story was a nice tight wrap-up in Mando season 3, so while there's really no reason to show it, The Mandalorians have been gifted a large tract of land on Nevarro, which IG-11 guards, so it would be natural to stop over there and see the progress with that outpost.  It would also allow Filoni an opportunity to address the sudden passing of Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), with IG-11 being the natural "face" to discuss this with.

 

 

 

 

 

[Voltor]

If the movie doesn't do this story idea, then I hope a new TV season will:

 

Carl Weathers is dead and so is his character.  He was one of the few people Mando would call friend. 

 

So Mando and Grogu return after a boutny and find the colony was attacked by the pirates from the previous season. IG-11 and Greef Karga led the fight. IG-11 was damaged but subsequently repaired. Karga died in battle. 

 

Mando IS NOT HAPPY that his friend is dead. 

 

So, Mando begins to hunt the pirates for revenge.  However Grogu is young and impressionable and is susceptible to the darkside.  This quest may give Grogu a few wrong ideas about power and how to use it. 

[Techwright]

On 9/9/2025 at 9:57 AM, Voltor said:

If the movie doesn't do this story idea, then I hope a new TV season will:

 

Carl Weathers is dead and so is his character.  He was one of the few people Mando would call friend. 

 

So Mando and Grogu return after a boutny and find the colony was attacked by the pirates from the previous season. IG-11 and Greef Karga led the fight. IG-11 was damaged but subsequently repaired. Karga died in battle. 

 

Mando IS NOT HAPPY that his friend is dead. 

 

So, Mando begins to hunt the pirates for revenge.  However Grogu is young and impressionable and is susceptible to the darkside.  This quest may give Grogu a few wrong ideas about power and how to use it. 

 

What I discuss next is from material that's been out for a couple of years, but may still be spoilers to some.   Use caution.

 

Your concept is an interesting spin, and Mando would certainly act in at least an avenger's role were Greef to die in conflict.  That said, I think the movie is intended to end the Mando & Grogu storyline, although I strongly suspect Grogu will be a major character in Star Wars lore going forward.  They've explained how Grogu is not in Luke's academy, thereby likely sparing him from destruction.  They've hinted that his dual upbringing of Jedi and Mandalorian is both incredibly rare and incredibly important, and with a projected lifespan of another 850 years, he's got a lot of time to influence the Star Wars universe.    That said, it does leave a question of where Grogo is during the Sequel Trilogy (something I hate, but it is canon for now.)

 

Also, the pirates, save one, were wiped out in the battle with the Mandalorians.  That one showed up in the Jude Law series, which I've not seen the latter half of, so I cannot comment on what happens to that one and the pirates he gravitated to.

 

We've a few variables that could influence the Grogu storyline.  One of these is Ezra Bridger.  As he's a field-trained Jedi, and has experienced the Dark Side, without falling to it, Ezra may be in a position to at least coach Grogu further in his training, especially in resisting the Dark Side.  Ezra has also developed a force-driven melee "fighting monk" style which may be more appropriate for a Mandalorian than wielding a light saber.  The big question is whether Ezra will survive further clashes with Thrawn, and if so, why is Ezra not in the Sequel Trilogy?  

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

20 hours ago, Techwright said:

Ezra will survive further clashes with Thrawn, and if so, why is Ezra not in the Sequel Trilogy?  

…because Dave didn’t write it and have an excuse to give his favourites an outing?

 

Then again…

 

…pretty sure they’d have all shown up when the call came in.
 

Suppose that’d make just us wistful for what might have been. Imagine the Sequel Trilogy, minus whoever the unmemorable-and-badly-in-need-of-moisturiser dude was that Andy Serkis played for about five minutes. 

 

Now swap Brainy Smurf in. A master tactician, paired up with that powerful but petulant brat of a wannabe Sith. Between them, no need of an Even Bigger Damn Death Star to make their point and cripple the Republic - as long as the rabble that they’ve welded back into a First Order can handle it.
 

Then have Rey and Ezra teaming up (and since I’m the type to kill my darlings, I can see him going out the same way Kanan or Luke did.)

 

Ah well. Maybe we’ll find out later.

 

[Techwright]

5 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

…because Dave didn’t write it and have an excuse to give his favourites an outing?

 

Then again…

 

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…pretty sure they’d have all shown up when the call came in.
 

Suppose that’d make just us wistful for what might have been. Imagine the Sequel Trilogy, minus whoever the unmemorable-and-badly-in-need-of-moisturiser dude was that Andy Serkis played for about five minutes. 

 

Now swap Brainy Smurf in. A master tactician, paired up with that powerful but petulant brat of a wannabe Sith. Between them, no need of an Even Bigger Damn Death Star to make their point and cripple the Republic - as long as the rabble that they’ve welded back into a First Order can handle it.
 
 

 

 

 

First:  you're right.  Filoni would have turned in a greatly improved Sequel Trilogy, and probably much more closely aligned to Lucas' vision, likely incorporating many parts of the legacy books.   I'll say no more as the Sequel Trilogy gets my dander up easily.

 

Regarding the Specter crew and the last battle:  That's a thought I'd not previously had, and I searched for a list of Jedi voices heard by Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.   Ezra was not among them.  That strongly suggests to me that he's not dead at that point, as every other Jedi in that voice list is, apparently including...

Spoiler

Ahsoka.  She'd be 71 years old if she lived during the events of The Rise of Skywalker.  Last we knew, she was trapped in a galaxy far, far away at age 48, so she's got about 23 years to initiate a Jedi branch order in the other galaxy before she becomes a force ghost.  That is, assuming she's dead like the others, and not doing the longest astral projection phone call in Jedi history.

 

Regarding Brainy Smurf:  the idea of swapping Grand Admiral Brainy Smurf for Sith Lord Snoke is interesting.  We've now confirmed in Star Wars that force breakthroughs are possible, even in beings with the most underwhelming potential.  Considering how utterly loyal Old Red Eyes is to Old Yellow Eyes, I could have seen Palpatine taking the unusual step of seeking a force breakthrough in the Grand Admiral to forge a brilliant Sith Apprentice that is completely loyal, save for the necessity of testing his master periodically by trying to kill him.    Well, in my opinion, that is what the World Between Worlds was created for.  One day, we may go all Thanos on the Sequel Trilogy, and begin again.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

First teaser is up, and…

…well, it’s fun, but not a whole amount to guess the plot from. We know 
Rotta’s in it from the cast list, and seems a bit fitter than his dad was. Someone’s got hold of a secondhand Razor Crest too… that may or may not be Mando’s as the N1 is still in it. Western bar fights. Arena fight of some kind. Imps fall down, go BOOM.
 

Oh, and Sigourney doesn’t share.

 

 

[Techwright]

11 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

First teaser is up, and…

…well, it’s fun, but not a whole amount to guess the plot from. We know 
Rotta’s in it from the cast list, and seems a bit fitter than his dad was. Someone’s got hold of a secondhand Razor Crest too… that may or may not be Mando’s as the N1 is still in it. Western bar fights. Arena fight of some kind. Imps fall down, go BOOM.
 

Oh, and Sigourney doesn’t share.

 

 

 

Going to do a bit of break-down here:

 

0:47 - Everyone's favorite "hairless Wookie" Rebel in glorious combat action!  He's even using his species' traditional multi-function weapon, the bo-rifle, though the live-action version looks thinner than the animated version.

 

Rotta seems to have taken a different path than every other Hutt.  It actually kind of makes sense.  I'd been wondering for years how George thought that giant, fat slugs would ever rise to dominate species that could so quickly attack and kill them.  Seeing what appears to be a physically powerful Hutt, seems to close that plot hole a bit.  If he's shown to move with serpent-like speed as well, then the plot hole closes, and Hutts rose to power on their physical prowess, but grew soft, fat, and indulgent when they gained enough power for others to do their fighting for them.  Also, is Rotta a slave gladiator, or a ruler gladiator?  Is he Maximus or Commodus?  

 

I'm very curious as to what merits the Anzellans having such a prominent place in the teaser.  As robot techs, they really had a very narrow role in the series.

 

Second Razorcrest.  I've been expecting this for some time.  The Naboo Starfighter has no room for hauling bounties.  It's great for anything not requiring hauling.  I'd imagine Mando is parking whatever craft is not in action, probably at either Mandalore or Boba's Palace.

 

0:54 - Grogu is eating Mantel Mix, the treat some of the Bad Batch enjoyed after each successful mission.  As the name implies, it was sold on the planet Ord Mantel, where Cid was based, so, is the arena and Rotta on Ord Mantel, or did some clever entrepreneur bring it to another world?  And...if they're on Ord Mantel, is Cid going to be tied into this movie?  I've been waiting for that shady Trandoshan to get her just comeuppance, warm or cold.

 

I don't recognize the two giant droids nor the symbol on the door they guard.  I feel like I should, though.  Perhaps they're a reference to some of the Star Wars I've not seen this past year and a half.    Guess I may need to go see Eric Voss' explanation on New Rockstars channel.

 

Nor do I recognize the giant reptilian gladiator, though it's design, especially the elongated neck, reminds me of one of the many reworkings Star Trek did on the Gorn species to make them truly terrifying.  EDIT:  Ah, the gladiator is a Mantellian Savrip which answers questions.  First off, the species is represented by one of the pieces in Dejarik, that is, Star Wars holo-chess.  We first saw a game of that on the Millenium Falcon in that funny "let the Wookie win" moment.  Secondly, its species is from Ord Mantel, which, with the Mantel Mix, seems to cement that the gladiatorial fights are on Ord Mantel.

 

I also didn't recognize the cobra-hooded nasty with the metallic grin.  I've since learned that it is likely an Amani, and species that I should have remembered from an episode of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  They were the aggressors in one of the many Star Wars reinterpretations of the Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven movies.

 

AT-ATs in the mountain pass - first thought was "Dude! Why you be putting the heavies in the narrow, snap-rock pass?  It should be the chicken walkers (AT-STs)."  That obvious mistake aside, I'd note that, although we're several years into the 30 year gap between Original Trilogy and Sequel Trilogy, the Imps are still using the AT-ATs, and not the "gorilla" version, the AT-M6 that shows up in the Sequel Trilogy.  This suggests in the over-arching story of Star Wars, that the Imp warlords are using up whatever scraps and surplus they can find at this time.  They've yet to create a serious, new engineering and manufacturing center that will fuel their return to form as the First and Last Orders.

 

The creature attacking Grogu and the Anzellan at the teaser's end appears to be a womp rat, the rodent species native to Tatooine that Luke used to "bullseye" as a younger teen.  If it is a womp rat, we may have just seen evidence of yet another visit to Tatooine.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23 by Techwright
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