Tag: The Mandalorian

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) | REVIEW

Din Djarin, also known as ‘The Mandalorian,’ and Grogu get ready to take off in their spaceship in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Jon Favreau — Screenplay by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor.

Now, don’t get me wrong. For someone who, after the release of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, once (and for a while there) was worried he would never get to see another movie set in that faraway galaxy, getting to see a new Star Wars movie in theaters is probably always going to feel like a treat. But I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to a live-action Star Wars theatrical release less than here with The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is coming from someone who has seen every single episode of the Disney+ show it spun off from, who loved the first two seasons of the series, and who enjoys the titular duo a great deal. But despite that and the seven-year wait between this and the last theatrically released Star Wars film (J. J. Abrams’ critically panned The Rise of Skywalker), and even though last year’s second season of Andor was a miracle of intelligent and political storytelling that rivals the best films in the franchise, something about this next big release just feels off. Maybe it’s just because of the disappointing third season of the show, but it could also be the ill-judged marketing campaign (what with the faux-beer commercial as their Super Bowl ad). I have long sensed that the main problem is that the studio and the storytellers have, through three seasons, trained audiences to expect these stories on a streaming service, and even though this is an expensive Star Wars story that you’re putting the next ‘chapter’ of on the big screen, it doesn’t change the fact that people are going to view this as a TV-movie because of its origin on the streaming service. Nevertheless, I was hopeful that this would still be an enjoyable moviegoing experience. Having now seen it, I can say that, as a fan of this universe and these characters, I enjoyed seeing them on another adventure fine enough, but I was largely underwhelmed by what I was presented with, and I am really concerned about what this film may mean for the future of the franchise.

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Top 26 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026

Original Photo: Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.).

Here are my picks for the most anticipated upcoming movies of 2026, ranked by my own personal anticipation rather than any other metric like box office or hype. Normally, I’d go with 25 selections, but because it’s 2026, I decided to go with just one additional selection. But, frankly, this could’ve easily been a top 40 list. If you’re at all interested in a longer list, then check the honorable mentions at the bottom of the list, or click here for my Letterboxd list that contains quite a few more films. But, yeah, let’s get to it!

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REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Season Three (2023)

Lizzo and Jack Black in THE MANDALORIAN in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+. — PHOTO: Lucasfilm / Disney+.

Series Created by Jon Favreau — All Episodes Available on Disney+ Now.

To a certain extent, The Mandalorian was once the kind of show that united the Star Wars fanbase after the divisive sequel trilogy. However, the show that spun off from the excellent second season of the show — The Book of Boba Fett — was not only uneven, it also undid the very end of The Mandalorian season two through these episodes that were always more episodes of The Mandalorian than The Book of Boba Fett, even though they were sandwiched into the latter show. Since then, live-action Star Wars on Disney+ has featured the very satisfying but safe nostalgic Obi-Wan Kenobi show, as well as the outstanding course-correcting dark and mature Star Wars series Andor. It was always going to be hard for this third season to live up to Andor, but what is really frustrating is that it doesn’t even live up to its own previous seasons. The third season of The Mandalorian is a little bit of a disappointment.

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REVIEW: The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

Boba Fett (Played by Temura Morrison) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. — PHOTO: Lucasfilm / Disney+.

Series Created by Jon Favreau — All Episodes Are On Disney+ Right Now.

Jon Favreau’s The Book of Boba Fett is a spin-off of the extremely popular Disney+ Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett follows the titular character (played by Temura Morrison), who became a fan-favorite character in the Original Trilogy (and who made his in-universe return in The Mandalorian), as he tries to become the new daimyo of Tatooine for the purpose of controlling the territory that once belonged to Jabba the Hutt. But he isn’t the only one who wants to control what can and can’t happen on the desert planet.

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Top Ten TV-Shows of 2020

Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul: Season 5, Episode 10 — Photo: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.

It is kind of incredible just how much streaming services have overtaken the top tier of what we still refer to as ‘television shows.’ Perhaps we need to find another name for these series. Some of them are released all at once, some are released week-by-week, but almost all of the shows on my list were released on streaming services, and, in my case, I watched all ten of my top ten television shows on streaming services. In the 2020-edition, there are plenty of ‘familiar faces,’ as it were, but it’s also the first time that both Apple TV+ and Disney+ have made an appearance on any of my end of the year-lists. But where do the top shows on these relatively new streaming services land on my top ten, and what is the best show of the year? Let’s have a look!

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REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Seasons One and Two (2019/2020)

The Mandalorian Still Image
‘The Mandalorian,’ Still Image — Photo: Disney / Disney Plus / Lucasfilm.

Had it not been for the fact that I think there is a notable jump in quality from the first to the second season of the Disney+ Original series, it would’ve been really difficult for me to separate the two first seasons of the first-ever Star Wars live-action series. You see, while, for Americans, there was an entire year in between the two seasons, Disney+ didn’t arrive in Denmark until September of 2020, and Disney made the decision to release the first season week-by-week. They did this so that when it ended, the second season would be ready to begin, but they also did it in an attempt to keep people on the streaming service for as long as possible. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Mandalorian – Seasons One and Two (2019/2020)” →