As Hollywood grinds to a halt, and strikes push on, Disney and Lucasfilm are reportedly weighing up their options when it comes to making The Mandalorian’s fourth season.
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According to a new report from MakingStarWars, Disney and Lucasfilm are considering turning the fourth season of The Mandalorian, which was written ahead of the Writers Guild of America strike, into a film, if production is set back by a significant amount of time. The Mandalorian season four was originally set to film from late September and into the Spring of 2024, but due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, production has been delayed to an unknown time.
Turning Mando season four into a film is just an option Disney and Lucasfilm are reportedly considering and is reportedly an option that Disney and Lucasfilm are fans of. Despite executives supposedly liking the idea, there’s no word on what the creatives involved think such as the series creator Jon Favreau and executive producer, Dave Filoni. The plan at this time is to still move ahead with The Mandalorian season four as a series and turning Mando 4 into a movie is just an idea being considered if production on the fourth season is delayed significantly as Lucasfilm and Disney reportedly fear that if the aforementioned strikes go on long enough, Disney and Lucasfilm may not be able to produce and release the series prerequisites for their highly anticipated MandoVerse crossover event.
Dave Filoni’s MandoVerse crossover event film was rumoured to be aiming for a December 2026 release date, and a past report from THR indicated that the release was dependent on when a fourth season of The Mandalorian and a possible second season of Ahsoka would enter production and release. According to MSW, a significant delay in The Mandalorian’s production and release, could impact the release date of Filoni’s MandoVerse film and could see the project delayed by up to two years. The MandoVerse crossover event film would see characters from various series produced by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni feature in the fight between the New Republic and the Imperial remnant, likely being spearheaded by Grand Admiral Thrawn, though that’s just speculation, as is what MandoVerse characters would star, but many expect to see Din Djarin, Din Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett and more.
The report claims that The Mandalorian movie would release in the December 2026 slot which is expected to be held for the MandoVerse crossover and that crossover flick could not release until 2028. I personally find it really quite odd that a project that would likely shoot next year, whether as a series or movie, would be held for two years before releasing. The report claims that turning The Mandalorian season four into a film is to essentially to save time to get to Filoni’s MandoVerse flick, but in this scenario, the crossover event gets delayed by two years anyway. I’d always heard that the fourth season of The Mandalorian would likely release in 2025, even when production was set to begin this Fall and my personal expectation is that if The Mandalorian season four gets to film next year, it would still be aiming for a 2025 release. I’m not criticising the report, MakingStarWars is one of, if not the the most reputable sources of Star Wars news, I’m just sceptical of the supposed plan.
There’s currently no end insight for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, with the AMPTP representing the Hollywood studios reportedly refusing to come back to the negotiating table. SAG-AFTRA had asked for negotiations to resume last week, but the AMPTP refused. However it’s now being reported that the AMPTP are looking to meet with SAG-AFTRA this coming Friday. Unfortunately there seems to be no desire to negotiate with the WGA, with past reports claiming that the Hollywood studios were willing to allow the WGA strike to go on for so long that union members to start losing their homes. You can support the actors and writers currently on strike in various ways including donating to the DSA-LA who have been providing those on the picket lines with food and water along with the Entertainment Community Fund which supports those in the industry that are in need of emergency financial assistance.
Personally I’m not against the idea of The Mandalorian season four becoming a film, but only if the story is strong enough, as I feel as if it takes away from the prestige, excitement and build up of the crossover event film set to be directed by Dave Filoni. I’d rather the fourth season of The Mandalorian remain a series, but I sincerely hope the quality of what’s written is greater than that of Jon Favreau last two efforts (The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian season three) and perhaps a film could streamline the story being told which could benefit the fourth season turned possible film.
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