The latest “Star Wars” adventure opens May 22.

What critics are saying about Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

The latest "Star Wars" adventure opens May 22.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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May 20, 2026 1:46 a.m. ET

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opens May 22. Credit:

courtesy of Lucasfilm

- *Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu *arrives in theaters May 22.

- The movie stars Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver.

- It's the first *Star Wars* movie in seven years.

*The Mandalorian and Grogu*, the first *Star Wars** *movie in seven years, lands in theaters this weekend. While there are some diehards that will see anything from the franchise, is this one that everyone should see?

Starring Pedro Pascal and Grogu — adorable as always — the story the Disney+'s series *The Mandalorian *has extended to the big screen. This adventure features Sigourney Weaver, along with the voices of famed director Martin Scorsese and *The Bear*'s Jeremy Allen White.

A star-studded cast, yes, but critics have found it lacking in other areas.

Here's what critics are saying:

"There's no reason for anything in this movie except the wish to make even more money," Matt Zoller Seitz wrote on RogerEbert.com, in a harsh one.

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In The Verge’s review, Charles Pulliam-Moore said the movie belongs on TV.

"Between its by-the-numbers story and lackluster action sequences," Pulliam-Moore wrote, "*The Mandalorian and Grogu* feels like a phoned-in film that would have been better off as a new season of *The Mandalorian* instead of a standalone project."

For CNET, Aaron Pruner gave the movie only a two out of five: "Writing-wise, each scene predictably pushed the story forward, but without any real character development or plot work to establish the emotional connection you need to fully engage with a story."

Pedro Pascal shocks fans in costume as the Mandalorian inside Disneyland ride

'The Mandalorian and Grogu' trailer brings Sigourney Weaver into 'Star Wars'

David Crow, of Den of Geek, compared the main characters to cast members at Disneyland.

"Mando and his companion suggest all the depth and personality of theme park meet and greet characters," Crow wrote. "They will charm the youngest of attendees, and tickle the fancy of some devoted adults, but everyone else will just be waiting around for the next ride."

Overall, as of Tuesday, 114 critics on Rotten Tomatoes had rated the movie 61 percent fresh.

So *some *of those reviews *were* enthusiastic. Often, Grogu won them over. Robert Abele of *The Los Angeles Times*, for instance, praised the film as an echo of the best of the *Star Wars *universe.

'The Mandalorian and Grogu' stars Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin.

"We can all agree that [Din Djardin's] charge Grogu — green, wrinkled, big-eyed Baby You-Know-Who — is *still* adorable. Of the many 'Star Wars' offshoots, this seems to be the sturdiest," he wrote.

Praise from Kate Erbland of IndieWire may have been slight — "inessential and inoffensive" — but she conceded the characters' enduring appeal.

"Frequently adorable and fun for the whole family, Jon Favreau’s film feels like three good-enough TV episodes smushed together," Erland wrote. "If that sounds pleasing to you as a movie-goer and a 'Star Wars' fan, 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' will satisfy. But if you’re hoping for something a bit more ambitious, the film’s generic soul will likely just keep chipping away at the franchise’s up-and-down goodwill."

*Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu* arrives in theaters May 22.

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