The Star Wars franchise is finally gearing up for its first theatrical release in over six years with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is set to debut in theaters next month. In its absence from movie theaters, Star Wars has focused exclusively on streaming shows for Disney+, with The Mandalorian ironically being the first of these series (and the landmark one).

Much has been made about The Mandalorian’s switch from a show to a movie. Creator Jon Favreau, who co-wrote and directed The Mandalorian and Grogu, noted that scripts for season 4 were already written before Lucasfilm and Disney changed directions creatively in favor of a theatrical release. It seems that star Pedro Pascal, who plays the title character in both the series and the upcoming film, is also on board with the story’s new medium.

While speaking with Fandango, Pascal was asked about the switch to a Mandalorian movie. The actor explained, “We were very happy with it as a series. And I kept it to myself like, ‘It’s gotta be a movie someday.’” With this, Pascal is acknowledging the success of the series while also noting the potential these characters have on the big screen.

Pascal’s observation is spot on: Din Djarin and his adopted son Grogu are hugely popular characters, and have captured the hearts of audiences all over the world since their debut. Given their popularity, switching gears to make a Mandalorian movie feels like the most logical thing to do, especially as Pascal himself continues to grow as one of the most sought after movie stars in the modern era.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Are The Faces Of The Star Wars Franchise

Since they first appeared on the small screen in 2019, the Mandalorian and Grogu have been the faces of the Star Wars franchise. Most merchandise from the series features Grogu in some way, and both characters have entered the cultural zeitgeist in a way that few Star Wars names have since the original trilogy. This sheer popularity can be maximized on the big screen, which is a major reason why a theatrically released film is the right move.

In the 2020s, The Mandalorian has been the flagship Disney+ series, too, with the Jon Favreau-created show linking back to a number of other projects, including Star Wars: Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew. Those were all successful shows to varying degrees (at least viewership wise), but The Mandalorian was the linchpin of the overarching story. At a certain point though, it felt as if The Mandalorian had outgrown the other shows, destined to become something more than just another streaming series.

Their Story Continues To Grow In Scale

Another major reason why a Mandalorian movie makes sense after season 3 is the way in which the overarching story continues to grow in size and scale. In season 1, the plot centered firmly on Din Djarin and Grogu as they went on bounty-hunter-related adventures across the galaxy, with the Empire arriving only at the end of the season as the big threat.

In season 2, the story grew even more, tying back to the Skywalker Saga and the broader Star Wars galaxy. Famous characters appeared like Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker, who were both tied into the story of Djarin and Grogu in a way that made it feel as if the focus was still firmly on them as opposed to anyone else. The Ahsoka series was also set up in this season, paving the way for Anakin’s former padawan to get her own show.

The story of Luke and Grogu continued in The Book of Boba Fett, prompting fan theories and plenty of discussion. The latter was shown being trained in the ways of the Jedi and the presence of Luke Skywalker in any story makes it a candidate for a theatrical release, but this especially felt as if it deserved a bigger space to operate in than a Boba Fett series.

This is Luke Skywalker in his prime, which audiences never really got to see. In Return of the Jedi, he was finishing his Jedi training, and in The Last Jedi, he was a beaten-down hero who had given up. This was an opportunity to show Luke at his strongest and most powerful, and as one of the main characters (if not the main character) in the entire franchise, this story deserved a place on the big screen.

Season 3 shifted gears slightly, focusing not on Luke but instead on Mandalorian politics and the fight for the future of the culture. It wasn’t as well received, but the story still grew in scale, just in a different way. This time, the attention was on Mandalore as opposed to the Jedi, but the scale still became bigger than before. As it continues to ramp up more and more, it becomes evident that Din Djarin and Grogu are now ready for their own movie.

A Movie Allows For Course Correction After Season 3

A movie also allows for some course correction regarding season 3. As stated, season 3 of The Mandalorian wasn’t as well received as the other two seasons, with a lot of criticism pointed at the decision to reverse Djarin’s arc from previous episodes. Instead of abandoning the rule of needing to wear a helmet at all times, Djarin doubled down on it and sought to atone for showing Grogu his face. For some, this dampened on the emotional moment in the season 2 finale.

This decision helped keep season 3 on track for its planned release date despite the busy schedule of Pedro Pascal. He was filming The Last of Us at the time, and also in negotiations to star in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. That Pascal wasn’t on set during filming became painfully obvious as the season went on, but a movie has a chance to change all of that.

Clocking in at a little over 2 hours, The Mandalorian and Grogu is smaller in runtime than a season of TV, meaning that Pascal could film some scenes without the project taking too much time in his busy schedule. The limited runtime also means that a lot of the filler episodes of the show are cut out, which was another major flaw of season 3.