There's been a lot of speculation surrounding Star Wars movies since the completion of the sequel trilogy. Several films were announced by Lucasfilm before being canceled quietly. So it was a bit of a surprise when news broke that a new movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, based on the Disney+ series that introduced the characters, was going to be going into production “later this year.” However, it turns out that later this year might be even sooner than we thought, and I have some concerns.
The Film and Television Industry Alliance Production List shares a filming start date of June 17 for The Mandalorian & Grogu. The filming location is listed as Los Angeles, which is likely a reference to the Manhatten Beach studio that houses StageCraft. That's the LED-based system that the TV series has used to create its various alien worlds. If the movie is going to use The Volume, as it is otherwise known, that may explain why this production is moving so quickly, as the movie won’t need to film on location, which is a more difficult and time-consuming process.
There is one reason I'm not too overly hyped about this alleged date, however. First off, since none of the cast has been officially confirmed, it’s impossible to know this for sure. However, it is conceivable that the death of Carl Weathers last week could impact production. If there were plans to include his character Greef Karga (a major character from the show) in the movie, those scenes would need to be rewritten, And depending on how big a presence the character might have had, those rewrites could end up being extensive. While there is still time to do that work and hit a June start date, such changes could also delay the proceedings.
At this point, very little concrete details are known about the Mandalorian & Grogu movie. Even lead actor Pedro Pascal’s involvement hasn’t been officially confirmed. All we know is that the movie is happening and that it will be directed by Jon Favreau. A specific release date hasn’t been confirmed, but the next slot for an “Untitled Star Wars” movie in the list of upcoming Disney movies is May 2026. And a June 2024 start date, coming before any of the other upcoming Star Wars movies are going into production, would certainly indicate that’s when the movie is shooting to open.
Of course, nearly two full years for both filming and post-production would seem to be more than such a production probably needs. It’s more than most blockbuster tentpoles get. This could indicate plans to release The Mandalorian & Grogu earlier, or it could simply mean that plans are to give the post-production process as long as possible. There have been reports in recent years of digital effects studios being overworked to finish work on time to hit release dates, and hopefully, the next film set in the galaxy far, far away gets all the time it needs to marinate.
As you wait for more information on the upcoming film, you can grab a Disney+ subscription and stream the show on which its based. Of course, you can also check out the Skywalker Saga as well as other films and TV series set in the Star Wars universe.
