More Bad News for ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’
Pedro Pascal is back, but will audiences care? New survey offers grim prediction
Help me, cute little Grogu, you’re our only hope!
The “Star Wars” saga is in trouble following a dispiriting sequel trilogy and some less than stellar TV spinoffs. The less said about “The Acolyte,” the better.
The one ray of sunshine from the Disney “Star Wars” era? The small-screen “Mandalorian” series. Now, even that story may have worn out its welcome.
The show, created by veteran director Jon Favreau (“Elf,” “Iron Man”) helped make Pedro Pascal a star, introduced us to the cute, Yoda-like Grogu and felt oh, so much like classic “Star Wars” storytelling.
Finally.
It ran for three seasons, the first two drawing near universal acclaim. The series made a star out of Gina Carano, the former MMA fighter cast as Cara Dune. Then, Team Disney fired Carano for daring to think outside the Hollywood box (the matter was later settled in the courts).
The third season lacked the fan intensity that initially greeted the series. Now, Disney hopes a big-screen version of the show will kick start the franchise.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu,” out May 22, is the first “Star Wars” film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Next year, “Star Wars: Starfighter” graces movie screens starring Ryan Gosling.
So far, there’s little overt enthusiasm for the new film. Pascal fatigue is real, and the series ended without a full-throated campaign to keep it alive.
Should Grogu and company fizzle in theaters, it will be another body blow to the franchise. And, if a new Fandango poll is any indication, the anticipation is simply not there.
The poll in question asked more than 5,000 moviegoers what summer 2026 titles they were most eager to see. The winner? “Toy Story 5,” which should be one of the year’s top-grossing films (if not the biggest).
The annual Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study found the following 10 must-see movies coming our way.
- Toy Story 5 (Disney)
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony)
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney/20th Century Studios)
- The Odyssey (Universal)
- Scary Movie (2026) (Paramount)
- Moana (2026) (Disney)
- Minions & Monsters (Universal)
- Mortal Kombat II (Warner)
- Supergirl (Warner)
- Insidious: The Bleeding World (Sony/Blumhouse)
What’s missing? “The Mandalorian & Grogu.”
The survey is a one-off, but the fact that “Star Wars” couldn’t crack the top 10 is alarming. The film has been in discussion for some time, and just weeks ago, Disney purchased expensive Super Bowl Sunday time to spread the news about it.
The official “Star Wars” YouTube channel generated 11 million views in the last month for the latest “Mandalorian” trailer. By comparison, a two-week old teaser for “The End of Oak Street” has 28 million views.
Could “Star Wars” fans be sick of the saga? Or, will interest ramp as the Disney media machine kicks into overdrive?
One possible boost, assuming the two parties were as amicable as we were told? A surprise Carano cameo could be the best PR for a movie in limbo.
Why would anyone PAY to see someone who has made it clear that he HATES THEIR BELIEFS?
I’m not surprised at all. Grogu never had the staying power to carry a series long-term, and certainly not enough to carry a franchise. He is just a novelty character, and the novelty ALWAYS wears off.
Feminists demand Disney Remove Problematic Kiss From Classic, Snow White Movie, She Will Now Remain Dead.
After spending $200 Million on this mess, they went into reshoot costing an additional $200 Million.
With all the negativity around this remake of a classic, not killing this woke film was fiduciary irresponsibility.
I will not watch anything with Pedro Pascal in it. Overexposed, not very talented, and thoroughly annoying. There are a lot of people like me out there.
This “content” for streaming movies is like stuffing pillows.
Charlie Brown has had enough of Lucy. We’re not playing the game anymore. We know that woke will be embedded into the movie. Disney “creators” are in a cult and while they may lift their foot off the gas pedal ever-so-slightly, Pedro’s casting tells us all we need to know. We’re gonna get a casino scene like we did in The Last Jedi. We’re going to get scolded. We’re going to get lectured. We’re going to be told how awful we are (all while Disney expects us to keep buying tickets).
Mmmmmmmmmmmm………………Nope.
The downside of committee story writing and committee directing is everything has a uniform look, feel and story telling beats. When it’s good it works (MCU early) and when it’s not it continues to not work (most Disney Star Wars).
the more Disney suits got involved in the Madalorian the worse it was. The movie trailer looks exactly like movie by committee. It could have any character as the leads and the story and set pieces would not have to be changed.
If they told us we had the action pieces and wrote the story around that I wouldn’t be surprised. – Typical modern blockbuster
If they said the action pieces grew organically from the story I might have some interest but I know that’s not the way it happened
Sequel. Reboot. Sequel, Reboot. Spinoff. Reboot. Sequel. Prequel.
Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.
The only one on that top 10 list I’m sort of interested in is “Mortal Kombat II”. And that’s only because Karl Urban is in it.
I agree. I actually liked the previous Mortal Kombat movie. It didn’t “wow” me, but it was a decent popcorn action flick. When I saw the second one was announced, I was like, “enh, might be okay.” Then I saw Karl Urban was in it and that made me much more interested in seeing it. That guy always brings his “A” game, even though sometimes he gets stuck with a lame script.
Same here, trailer looked like they put more money into it.
oh for the love of … just stop. bash bash bash
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