Last month, Lucasfilm formally announced The Mandalorian and Grogu, a feature film that follows the hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. At the time Lucasfilm only shared that production on the movie would start later this year, but earlier this month, Production Weekly and the FTIA shared that filming on the Jon Favreau directed flick is due to begin on June 17th, 2024. When covering the reports, I shared that I too had heard the month of June being the start window. I can also now add when filming is currently slated to finish.
According to my sources, filming on The Mandalorian and Grogu will run from June until October, making it a four month long shoot. For comparison, the last season of The Mandalorian, season three, filmed from late September 2021 until March 2022, a six month shoot – and that’s just for principal photography and reshoots/pick-ups did happen later on. If all goes to plan, Lucasfilm will have plenty of time to get The Mandalorian and Grogu ready for a 2026 release.
The last season of The Mandalorian spent a year in post-production and we assume that the same would happen for The Mandalorian and Grogu, meaning the film could be complete well in advance of the next Star Wars release date on Disney’s calendar – May 22nd, 2026. Disney have confirmed that The Mandalorian and Grogu will release in 2026, but didn’t specify when, even with two untitled Star Wars movies listed on their 2026 calendar. Given that Lucasfilm and Disney have both stated that The Mandalorian and Grogu will lead their theatrical slate, you’d assume the film takes the May 2026 window, but at this moment, Disney and Lucasfilm are being non-committal publicly. It was also reported by The InSneider earlier this year that The Mandalorian and Grogu would release in May 2026, the untitled Rey Skywalker movie would release in December 2026 and James Mangold’s origins of the Jedi movie would release in December 2027.
One thing Jeff Sneider (The InSneider) has repeatedly mentioned on his podcast, The Hot Mic, is that Disney is looking to spend less on their films – for example, Sneider has shared that Disney didn’t want to pay high fee’s for The Fantastic Four cast and that Blade would be made for under $100M. This leads me to this minor tidbit, I’d heard from a singular source, that the budget on The Mandalorian and Grogu isn’t as high as what a season of The Mandalorian would cost.
The first season of The Mandalorian was reported to cost $15M an episode, this brings the budget to $120M for the first season. We don’t know if the series became more expensive with each season, you’d assume it would’ve, especially with season three in particular. It’s also been reported that Skeleton Crew, the upcoming live-action series from Jon Watts, is the most expensive LA based Star Wars series (The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Ahsoka) at $136M. So with that in mind, I’d expect The Mandalorian and Grogu to cost $120M or less.
Personally, I’m happy that Disney are seemingly making their films for a more reasonable price, especially following a turbulent year at the box office. It’s likely going to become the new normal in Hollywood that these blockbusters would cost less than what they did in previous years. It’s been reported that Universal’s Fast and Furious 11 would cost less than $200M, that might seem like an incredibly high number and it is, but the last film in the franchise cost over $300M. It’s not 2019 anymore, when it seemed a new film was crossing a billion dollars every few weeks, movies and movie theatres in general are making less money than they did pre-pandemic. With a budget of $120M or less, it means that it’s easier for The Mandalorian and Grogu to become profitable, even if it made Solo: A Star Wars Story money at the box office, it would stand to make money. The Mandalorian had $120M spread across eight episodes and looked pretty good with all things considered, $120M on a two hour long film (obviously this is just an estimate) is more than enough in my opinion.
As for the fourth season of The Mandalorian, I have no idea what’s happening with that. There’s been conflicting reports regarding its status, whether The Mandalorian and Grogu is releasing in place of it as more of a streamlined season four, or if it stands as a follow up to a fourth season. I don’t have the answers, but at this time, all signs currently point towards it just being The Mandalorian and Grogu entering production in just four months time. I don’t see the fourth season being filmed and completed ahead of the start of The Mandalorian and Grogu, even if it were less episodes and I think we would’ve heard rumblings in regards to filming on a fourth season from reputable reporters.
Personally, I’m happy that we’re only getting The Mandalorian and Grogu. If the feature film is a streamlined version of a planned fourth season, then I’m all for it. I don’t dislike the third season of The Mandalorian, but I feel as if that season could’ve benefited from a more streamlined approach and I take that feeling with me when thinking about the possibilities regarding a fourth season and The Mandalorian and Grogu. Anyway, if there’s any more updates on The Mandalorian and Grogu, I’ll be sure to share them with readers.
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