The Mandalorian and Grogu’s box office debut last weekend may not have been groundbreaking for the Star Wars Universe, but the movie is definitely a crowd-pleaser for those who decided they wanted to see the streaming-era duo on the big screen. I know I’m not alone in loving the ways in which the movie felt like a throwback to the original trilogy, but there’s something else many fans are talking about regarding the movie. And, it’s got me thinking about a move I want to see The Walt Disney Company do next.
A Lot Of Fans Of Mandalorian And Grogu Are Loving The Same Thing
It’s no surprise people are talking about all the best Baby Yoda/Grogu moments in the latest of 2026 movie releases, but there was a clear trend when I’ve been looking over my Threads feed in recent days. Check it out:
- “There’s a sequence in The Mandalorian and Grogu where it becomes a full-on puppet show…in the best way. Like, not since The Dark Crystal have I seen a bunch of puppets speaking gibberish and acting off each other with no humans in sight in a mainstream movie. And it was extra cool to see that kind of high-tech puppetry in IMAX.” - @yaytime
- “This movie really feels like ‘what if we made a movie where everyone is a muppet and Pedro Pascal was the only human’” - @_bdazzler_
- “Give me 100 more muppet movies thinly disguised as Star Wars, this was absolute gas” - @lukastarnold
- “The Mandalorian and Grogu was basically a muppet adventure & I loved every single second” - @sadieohbaby
- “As someone who watched the muppets daily as a child, this movie truly fed my inner child.” - @leoslovelytreasures
These are definitely akin to thoughts my partner and I had when we saw The Mandalorian and Grogu. While it’s not the whole movie, there’s a point midway through when the entire movie is being carried by puppet/animatronics, and it’s reminiscent of a Muppets movie. This aspect of the movie is getting a lot of good vibes from audiences who were clear about how much it reminded them of how much they missed seeing these sorts of characters in movie theaters.
It’s Time To Revive The Muppets For The Big Screen
Earlier this year, I was hyped to see Disney+ revive The Muppets Show for a single episode, and I pitched why we need the streaming series to continue. However, after seeing The Mandalorian and Grogu and seeing all this excitement over puppeteering, I actually think the clear move is Walt Disney Studios greenlighting a new The Muppets movie. It’s been over a decade since we’ve had a movie from the franchise hit theaters (in the form of Muppets Most Wanted) – which means an entire generation of kids haven’t seen Kermit the Frog before his own theatrical release.
While Muppets Most Wanted was sort of a flop, it was a lesser sequel to 2011's The Muppets, which made $171.8 million against a $45 million budget. That’s pretty dang good if we're talking green. To me, it feels like we’re in a weird moment where a lot of Disney franchises are getting stale. The Muppets movie revival would be such a great follow-up to The Mandalorian and Grogu, in addition to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows already on the way.
