For me, a Star Wars movie used to be a major event: a milestone moment, with almost magical properties to it.
That’s definitely over and done with. And it’s not coming back.
I’ve been resigned to that reality for a long while now, so I’m not dispirited about it anymore.
So, unsurprisingly, it’s been difficult for me to work up any real enthusiasm for the Mandalorian and Grogu movie, which hits cinemas on May 22nd.
I’ve tried. But my excitement just isn’t there.
The problem is that Disney era Star Wars has simply diminished my sense of active fandom over a number of years. It’s not the same anymore.
And, equally (and perhaps more pertinent right now), the so-called ‘MandoVerse’ became stale and unengaging to me some time ago. And said MandoVerse seems to be what the franchise is mostly putting its cards on these days.
I’ve liked some of the contemporary Star Wars output. I really liked the Andor series: but that’s pretty much a whole separate thing. I liked the Obi Wan Kenobi show: mostly because of nostalgia, and probably the novelty of seeing Ewan McGregor back in that role and a live-action Darth Vader.
The recent Darth Maul animated show also seems great, from what I’ve seen so far.
So there’s still some good Star Wars being put out. But those things I’ve mentioned all have something in common: none of them are part of this overstuffed, interconnected ‘MandoVerse’.
The last time I thought the MandoVerse was still good(ish) was probably the second season climax of The Mandalorian (the famous Luke Skywalker climax: which was a genuinely potent climax).
Everything since then has been repetitive and uninspired to me.
The Book of Boba Fett was riddled with problems, despite having some cool moments: and somehow managed to render one of Star Wars‘ coolest icons a bore.
The Ahsoka series’ first season was fatally lacklustre and poorly written: somehow managing to take a character I’d always loved in the Clone Wars animated show and rendering her lifeless. Overstuffed with bad plotting and muddle-headed mythology, the Ahsoka season had one or two high points (mostly thanks to Hayden Christensen and the late Ray Stevenson, respectively), but it also failed to evoke anything meaningful and felt flat and lifeless most of the time.
It was just a bad series.
And the third season of The Mandalorian was equally poor, except for a few decent moments with Bo Katan – who isn’t supposed to be the main character.
Aside from the consistently weak storytelling, bad writing and a lack of creative spark, the whole Mando/Grogu shtick had also lost most of its charm.
What was once fresh, cute and even a little iconic, was by now already stale, repetitive and often very silly. That third season really reduced my affection for the little green guy and his antics.
So that’s three consecutive seasons of very weak Star Wars on the Disney streaming service.
And that brings us to Star Wars‘ return to cinema screens after over six years on the naughty step: The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
Given how uninteresting and silly the MandoVerse has been now for three full seasons of storytelling (all mentioned above), why would I be invested in this movie – or in the continuation of this sprawling interconnected universe?
I’m already bored of the two central characters, Mando and Grogu. One of them can’t be hurt because he has *literal* plot armour on, and the other was a cuteness gag that wore itself out.
And I’m not invested in the broader world-building: the ‘Imperial Remnants’ just aren’t that interesting, especially since we know all it’s ultimately leading to is the First Order and Disney’s already botched Sequel Trilogy (which already concluded six years ago in the total shit-show of Rise of Skywalker).
The Ahsoka series did such an abysmal job of introducing Grand Admiral Thrawn (the apparent big villain in this new equation) that all the menace, and all the stakes, are gone already.
You know, they arguably ruined Boba Fett, they ruined Ahsoka Tano, they ruined Thrawn (who was actually a really cool character way back in Timothy Zahn’s novels in the 90s)… there’s a pattern here, isn’t there?
They even managed to ruin their own initial successes: for example, completely undermining the potency and neatness of having Grogu go off with Luke Skywalker at the end of Mandalorian Season 2.
This actually might’ve been the key decision that did more damage to the overall MandoVerse narrative than anything else. That Season 2 ending was such a perfect high point – and then they completely reversed it at as soon as they possibly could by having the child go back to Mando in that Book of Boba Fett finale.
They couldn’t even wait for Mandalorian Season 3 to do that: they literally interrupted the Boba Fett series to devote two full episodes to Mando and Grogu – a decision that undercut the Boba Fett show completely.
This is how bad the storytelling has been: and how dubious the creative decisions.
The MandoVerse has become so bad at times that it’s actually embarrassing: there are parts of the Boba Fett series, the Ahsoka season and Mandalorian Season 3 where I was actually averting my gaze for how bafflingly bad it was getting.
Also, while the strategic and measured use of Luke Skywalker in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian was smart and effective, the subsequent decision to subject us to a robot-like Mark Hamill facsimile for almost an hour in the Boba Fett series was jarring.
I appreciate what they were trying to do: and yes, there was some emotion in seeing a Return of the Jedi era Luke Skywalker on screen again. But a lifeless, uncanny-valley Luke Skywalker with no facial expression speaking dull dialogue in a monotone is what it ended up being. It really comes across as soulless AI slop for content’s sake.
And I was really trying to love it: but I just didn’t.
That in itself is perhaps the same as how I’ve genuinely tried to muster some enthusiasm for this Mandalorian and Grogu film – but just can’t seem to find it.
My point, again, is that the MandoVerse doesn’t hold any real appeal anymore.
Am I coming across as too critical here, too unforgiving?
You know what, I broadly liked the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. I never thought they were amazing like some people did: but I liked them, especially the first few chapters of the first season. It was fresh, new and endearing.
To me, they felt on a par with some good Star Wars comic books: but rendered to the small screen. And that was fine.
And honestly there are elements of Book of Boba Fett that I enjoyed, despite the overall weakness of that series.
But it’s all gone downhill since then. Star Wars has become exactly what I predicted it would in this article the *day after* Disney acquired the property all the way back in 2012: commonplace and pedestrian. Devoid of the magic it once held.
So, what am I supposed to be interested in at this point?
At this point, the only reason I would rush to see this film is just out of nostalgia for my fandom. Because, again, seeing a Star Wars movie in the cinema used to be a major event. Something that was exciting.
But it doesn’t feel that way anymore. The Rise of Skywalker was the final nail in that coffin.
And I can’t imagine The Mandalorian and Grogu getting anywhere near the kind of box office numbers that the Sequel Trilogy films did. At best, it might be on a par with the Solo movie from 2018: which itself was the first Star Wars movie I was actually bored by (and was generally considered a flop).
I didn’t even understand how Solo got released.
The Mandalorian and Grogu similarly has been a strange choice to me for full cinematic release: but I guess they’re just keen to get a Star Wars product back in the cinema.
And the Mandalorian makes sense, because it’s the closest thing they currently have to something popular and recognisable. And because Mando and Grogu are very merchandisable.
Though whether it’s as popular or as ubiquitous as it was four or five years ago is unclear to me – the box office will tell, I guess.
I’m not trying to be a curmudgeon here. I hope the film is good. I hope people have fun with it.
Am I just too jaded for this stuff now? Is it me that’s the problem? Maybe.
You know, I am – or was – the biggest Star Wars enthusiast around for so long. My bedroom is still riddled with old toys, novels and other merch. So the fact that I’m this uninterested in new Star Wars at this point really demonstrates how poorly the property has been handled since George Lucas relinquished control.
But sure, maybe I am the problem. Maybe I am too jaded.
Or maybe it’s reasonable for me to want something more than this conveyor belt style of pedestrian content for contents’ sake.
I actually do think most of this stuff would work a lot better as Saturday morning style cartoon shows instead of live action.
And, in fairness, the Saturday morning matinée vibe is a big part of what Star Wars was always meant to be: so maybe this stuff fits appropriately into that category, after all.
Maybe that’s how I should view this Mandalorian and Grogu movie: as an old Flash Gordon style Saturday morning serial meant chiefly for kids.
You know what, just thinking about that, I’m starting to soften a bit towards this movie.
I have to admit, I’ve been tempted to go to Burger King just to pick up some of the Mandalorian and Grogu tie-in merch. But that’s the nostalgist in me, who remembers how exciting a Star Wars release used to be – along with everything that came with it.
They’re trying to recapture some of that vibe with the way they’ve been promoting this movie. And I get it.
But I’ve thought more about picking up those Burger King tie-ins than I have about actually seeing the movie.
And that’s a weird commentary in itself on the state of things.
