Critics reviews for ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ are out, and it’s yet another bad sign for Disney, Star Wars
There is debate as to which film franchise would be considered the most “successful” in Hollywood history. But almost everyone agrees that the “Star Wars” property is in the top few spots on this list. The last movie of the series, “The Mandalorian and Grogu”, is released in theaters this weekend.
Some of the entertainment industry’s most legendary films have come from Star Wars. Stories from George Lucas that organically create iconic characters. They are still extremely popular and respected characters, nearly 50 years after their inception. And as the box office returns for “The Force Awakens” indicate, widespread public interest in the “Star Wars” universe remains or continues.
To this day, nearly 11 years after its theatrical release, “The Force Awakens” remains the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States, not adjusted for inflation. This movie brought home a whopping $936 million in domestic gross alone. For perspective, this is more of a combination of 2015’s “Furious 7” and 2019’s U.S.-produced “Frozen II.” In fact, that’s more than $100 million more than those two franchise movies combined.
People love Star Wars. Or loved. And therein lies the problem.
DISNEY’S BIG MISTAKE WITH “STAR WARS” WAS TURNING LUKE SKYWALKER INTO MARK HAMILL: Wretched, Poor and Sad
Jon Favreau, director of the upcoming movie “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” speaks during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 16, 2026. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Each successive film in the latest Star Wars trilogy has grossed less at the box office than its predecessor. Interest in Lucasfilm and Disney’s releases of programs set in the Star Wars universe has also waned. “Andor” was popular and respected, yes, but the Obi-Wan show was widely criticized and “The Acolyte” was so hilariously “woke” that every episode became a running joke.
Outgoing Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had no coherent plan for the franchise and no vision of where it was headed. Rather than thoughtful stories for legacy characters that emphasized heroism or gave their stories a fitting ending, Kennedy focused on ticking the right boxes. Years later, most casual Star Wars fans, or movie fans in general, greet “The Mandalorian and Grogu” with the most dangerous emotion possible: apathy.
If the next release were to finally undo some of the damage, inject energy and life into the franchise, and show that Disney and Lucasfilm had learned their lesson, it would have to show a bare minimum of quality.
Pedro Pascal attended the Los Angeles world premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
The first critic reviews for “The Mandalorian” have hit the internet, and it looks like they haven’t learned anything.
Independent they summarized their review this way: “Put a fork into Star Wars. It’s over.” Their subheading reads: “With just five minutes of Pedro Pascal and Jeremy Allen White’s utterly dispirited voice performance as Jabba the Hutt’s son, this is the dullest and most inconsequential ‘Star Wars’ ever made.”
Several reviews frame the film as a collection of television series thrown together. And Independent‘s review asks, “how many nails can we realistically put in Star Wars’ coffin before it’s time to give up hope of a revival?” he wonders.
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The Rotten Tomatoes score is a mediocre 60% among all critics, but these are critics who are generally highly encouraged to celebrate major studio releases and expand their reach.
Lucasfilm president and chief creative officer Sigourney Weaver, Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni attend the Los Angeles world premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 14, 2026. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
Diversity they did what they could to save him and wrote, “‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Review: An Efficient Adventure That Just Pretends to be a Real ‘Star Wars’ Movie. Maybe That’s a Good Thing.”
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And of course they found a way to embed the preferred political ideology into the film. Right-leaning film critic Christian Toto said in a post about the film: “One of the final scenes is a highlight of DEI.” Full review of Toto I even wondered why the movie was being made other than to provide content for Disney+.
These critics and audiences may or may not find the film more interesting and entertaining. But that’s the bed Disney and Kennedy’s Lucasfilm have made for the franchise. They undermined the characters’ legacies, had no plan or goals for the stories they wanted to tell, and put politics ahead of creativity. Now they’re looking at the least successful entry in the franchise’s history. Both commercially and, in the minds of some critics, creatively too.
