098: Rabbit Recaps- The Mandalorian and Grogu

After a long delay, here is the next part to my ongoing Mandalorian coverage, a look at the movie continuation. Since this movie continues the story begun in the streaming series, I decided it was fitting to just make this the fifth installment. If you missed the other ones, here they are:

Background

The Mandalorian and Grogu came out in 2026 and continues the story that ran through all three seasons of the Mandalorian and the side season The Book of Boba Fett. It also shares continuity with the larger Star Wars canon and more directly with shows like The Clone Wars and Ahsoka. As for the timeline, it fits snugly between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, in that unexplored period between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy. While I rewatched it on streaming for this post, this was one of those movies that I rushed out to see on the big screen.

Strap in for adventure! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Where did we leave off last time? Doesn’t matter. No, seriously. You could consider this film to be a soft reboot… while it does continue the story of the Mandalorian and his little friend Grogu, it does not rely on much previous knowledge or lore. All you really need to remember is that Mando earned himself a cushy freelancing job with the New Republic so he could retire from the bounty hunter biz. He also scored a little house and a modest plot of land on Planet Nevarro. All the rest of the lore and callbacks are just icing. Since this is the first movie based on this era of the franchise, they wanted to make it easily accessible for those who didn’t want to watch three and a half seasons of a TV show in order to understand what’s going on in the movie. But if you did watch those seasons (and the Clone Wars), you get a bit more context and see some familiar faces.

As always, full spoilers follow for the plot of the movie.

The Mandalorian. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Returning Characters

The Mandalorian is the main character. His real name is Din Djarin, but most refer to him as The Mandalorian or Mando. He follows a strict Mandalorian code, refusing to remove his helmet in front of others. At this point in the series, he has retired from being a bounty hunter and is instead hunting down former Imperials. He is the adoptive father and caretaker of Grogu.

Grogu is a toddler of Yoda’s species that Mando rescued in the first season. (He’s a toddler, but remember that he’s over 50 years old.) He is a powerful Force wielder, and has made great strides in controlling his power. He has found a father figure in Djarin and has been learning the ways of the Mandalorians from him. He has great empathy towards other creatures, especially droids and his friends.

Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios: Zeb is a former Rebel and current pilot for the New Republic. He was featured as a main character in the series Rebels and has finally made the jump to live action. (After a brief cameo in Season 3 of the Mandalorian.) Zeb is a capable pilot and fighter, and seems to be good-natured.

Commander Barro: A former Imperial officer and current member of the Shadow Council. He appeared briefly in the Mandalorian series along with other members of the Council. Barro is a warlord who shakes down ruling figures of planets for money to fund the Empire remnant.

Embo: He is a Kyuzo bounty hunter who was a character in the Clone Wars animated series, appearing here in live action for the first time. Embo seems to be based on the concept of Ronin, or master-less samurai who would sometimes work for hire. Embo fights with his hat and has a pet anooba, which is a messed-up alien doggy.

Anzellan Mechanics: These are little gruff aliens who have been seen in previous Star Wars media, including the Mandalorian. They are good at fixing ships and droids. Grogu loves these little guys and previously harassed them but has since learned to work with them rather than pester them.

The Twins: These are cousins of Jabba the Hutt who (unsuccessfully) attempted to take back his crime cartel from Boba Fett. They have not been given names, but interestingly enough, they have taught themselves to speak Galactic Standard. Which means Jabba likely could have spoken it as well, but chose not to.

Hey, I know this guy. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Rotta: Yes, he’s a returning character. You may remember him better from his childhood nickname, “Stinky”, which was given to him by Ahsoka waaaay back in the Clone Wars miniseries. Rotta the Hutt is Jabba’s son and the true heir of the Hutt cartel, a role he does not want. At the movie’s start, he’s serving as a slave in the gladiator pit trying to earn his freedom. He speaks primarily in Galactic Standard.

Mando’s new boss. Sorta. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

New Characters

Commander Ward: The only new character that I believe may come back is New Republic Commander Ward. Another former Rebel who now works for the New Republic, she has been tasked with hunting down the officers of the Shadow Council. She contracts some of this work to Mando and likely has other freelance agents as well.

Janu Coin: While I don’t think he’ll come back, he was important enough a character to feature here. He is another member of the Empire remnant, consolidating power and funds.

Entering with a bang. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Plot Summary

All right, on to the plot of the movie. The film opens with a raid on the compound of one of the Empire’s remnant officers, Commander Barro. Mando strides in, guns blazing, taking out the troops. Barro quickly flees.

Baby versus droid. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Seemingly covering the back entrance, Grogu gets into an altercation with a little mouse droid, accidentally (?) destroying it.

Grogu hiding. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

A storm trooper comes by to investigate the breach and nearly finds Grogu.

This looks like fun. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

But then Mando comes up behind him and takes him out, stealing his robotic walker-thingy. I’m sure it has a name, but I can’t be bothered to look up every scrap of trivia.

Mando and Grogu use this walker-thingy to chase after Barro, who has activated three AT-ATs. (See, I know the name of those things.)

This guy looks like a jerk. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Barro, as charming as any Imperial officer, yells at his pilots.

Barro, who Mando had been tasked with taking in alive, is killed in the struggle, but he does manage to take down all three AT-ATs by himself, which is pretty impressive if you ask me.

Anyway, Mando and Zeb return to the New Republic outpost and report the results of the mission to Commander Ward. She’s upset, since they need a living officer to question. Mando is nonchalant, considering the job completed dead or alive. She has a new mission which he doesn’t want to take…the Twins, two Hutt mob bosses, need help in exchange for information on another officer, Commander Coin. She offers him a new Razor Crest, which looks a lot like him old one that was destroyed in Season Two. He grudgingly decides to take the job, the new ship being too tempting.

Mando, Grogu, and Zeb fly off to Nal Hutta, the home planet of the Hutts. We have previously seen this planet in the Clone Wars, but now we get to see it in live action.

I’m sure this won’t backfire. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The Twins explain that their price for the information is the safe return of their heir, Rotta the Hutt, who is being held prisoner on planet Shakari.

Shouldn’t he be wearing a hair net? (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Planet Shakari looks an awful lot like the Coruscant Underworld we’ve seen in Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars. Mando gets intel from a reluctant fry cook, who informs him that Rotta is a famous gladiator in the fighting pit owned by a crime boss named Janu.

Grogu make s anew friend. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Rotta, however, doesn’t want to be rescued. He thinks he’s his own man now, out from under his father’s shadow. He says his next fight will repay his debt to Janu, earning him his freedom. He also befriends Grogu, giving him some of his food.

After a short investigation, another fry cook harassment, and a bar fight, Mando offers to buy Rotta’s contract. Janu refuses, revealing that Rotta’s last fight is a death match which he will not win. It’s going to make him too much money to give up on.

Mando warns Rotta, who doesn’t believe him and calls the guards. They imprison Mando, put Grogu in a cage, and Janu decides to pit the Mandalorian against Rotta in the death match.

Mando faces Rotta. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The two battle in the pit in a pretty cool fight scene.

That cage is not big enough for him. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Poor Grogu, stuck in a cage and unable to help.

The tables turn. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Mando ends up winning, but refuses to kill Rotta, demanding they both be set free.

And the tables turn again. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Janu refuses, releasing all the monsters he had planned to set against Rotta. Fun trivia fact: these monsters are CGI versions of the holograms on Chewie’s Dejarik table from A New Hope.

Rotta the prisoner. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Rotta and Mando fight side by side, surviving the monster onslaught. Grogu is rescued, the creatures end up getting loose, Janu and Rotta both escape, and there’s an extended chase scene. At the end of it, Janu escapes off planet and Rotta is in Mando’s custody. And presumably many citizens of Shakari died to rampaging monsters.

Rotta begs Mando to let him go free, since the Twins plan to kill him to prevent him from claiming the cartel. After Mando explains his real reason for working with them, Rotta explains that Janu and Commander Coin are the same person. He also tells him where Coin’s secret base is.

I didn’t get any screenshots of the raid. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

We can breeze by this. What follows is an extended battle scene, at the end of which, Coin is taken into custody. Alive, this time.

The bad guy is already caught. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Mando hands Coin off to Ward. She’s happy that Coin is alive and can be interrogated, but upset that Rotta “escaped”. She warns Mando that not handing him over will make enemies of the Twins.

Manda’s homestead. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Basically shrugging it off, Mando and Grogu return to their home on Nevarro. They say goodbye to Rotta, setting him up with a gunrunner who can smuggle him to safety from his cousins.

Grogu loves these little guys. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Mando hires four Anzellan mechanics to fix up his new Razor Crest. A couple of interesting notes here… in their previous appearances, Grogu would practically attack the little creatures, getting so excited at seeing them and wanting to cuddle with them. Here we got to see him be more mature and reserved, instead contenting himself with just watching their work. Also, the Anzellans were a lot easier to understand here than in their previous appearances. This was likely done to make them a bit more movie-friendly and to interact better with Grogu.

I love this shot. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

That night the homestead is attacked by famed bounty hunter Embo, who captures Mando and carts him off to Nal Hutta. One of the Anzellans is snatched up by his pet anooba. The little guy is rescued by Mando, so is only chewed on a little bit.

This cracked me up. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The other Anzellans rush off with Grogu to save their friend and employer. They had overheard the bounty hunter’s destination from their hiding place as the Twins contacted him by holo.

You KNEW they had to find an excuse to take his helmet off. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Back in the Twins palace, they have Mando stripped of his helmet to shame him. He says he won’t be disgraced if they all die. They show him that they captured Rotta and are currently torturing him. They also threaten Grogu saying that once Mando is dead, no one will be able to protect the little guy from suffering the same fate.

Mando is dropped into a watery pit where he has to fight Amanin, which are amphibious aliens. (Once again, these were shown in the Clone Wars series.)

This is where a big chunk of the budget went. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Next he’s attacked by a Dragonsnake, a big aquatic dragon. While he’s fighting, Grogu and his crew find a vent that leads into the pit. Mando is able to recover his helmet and escape, but not before getting poisoned by the Dragonsnake.

He found a Yoda cane! (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The Anzellans leave in their ship, which is much too small for Mando. They say they’ll be back. Mando told Grogu to leave and he fights off their pursuers before collapsing from the poison. Grogu, of course, stayed behind.

He learned this from Luke. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

What follows is a pretty fun sequence where the little guy protect Mando, building him shelter, keeping him hydrated, and watching over him. He meditates, finds the abandoned gunrunner ship that was carrying Rotta, and steals fish from a fisherman. The fisherman learns from Embo that there was a poisoned man hiding in the swamp. Putting two and two together, he gives Grogu an antidote for the poison, telling him it may already be too late.

Some sorta amphibian guy. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The antidote works and Mando recovers quickly. They go to fix up the gunrunner ship and use it to invade the palace of the Twins. He knows if they run they’ll just have to keep running forever.

Big ol’ robots. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The pair fight their way through the palace, taking out the droid guards. They have to fight two giant security droids. Grogu crawls into one of them and sabotages it.

They confront the Twins and Grogu rushes over to free Rotta. Rotta goes to fight the Twins. At one point Embo’s dog attacks Grogu, but Grogu manages to use a Jedi mind trick to put him to sleep.

Mando vs Embo. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

While all this is going on, Mando faces off against Embo.

The three Hutts and Embo fall into the pit. Grogu uses force levitation to save Rotta and Embo escapes through the tunnel. The Twins are swiftly eaten by their pet.

With the Twins gone, no one can turn off the droid security forces. Luckily this is the moment the Anzellans return with the New Republic. The squad of X-Wings is led by Commander Ward, who orders Mando to get out of there, quick. He tells them to open fire on his location and leaps to safety with Grogu and Rotta. The palace is destroyed.

Back at the outpost, Ward explains that they learned Coin and the Twins were in cahoots and the whole thing was a big double cross, so they rushed over to take out the trash. Rotta joins the New Republic, and Zeb tells him he might get his own uniform.

Heading home. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

The Djarins head off for home, with Mando finally teaching his son how to pilot the ship. Roll credits!

I wouldn’t wanna fight this guy. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Thoughts

The Mandalorian and Grogu was a fun ride. It didn’t really tie into the larger story, but it was still an action-packed adventure building on what came before. It showed Mando’s strengthening ties to the New Republic and a lot of development for Grogu’s character. Rather than just being a cute mascot and prop, Grogu had a big role to play in the movie, justifying his shared billing. He tracked Mando down, saved his life, and assisted him in battle more than once. He showed a bit more maturity, which is something that continues from the series, able to reign himself in with the Anzellans. He still steals food, so he’s got a ways to go. Also, his Jedi powers are growing. He was able to lift Rotta with his powers and showed no lasting strain from it. (He used to lose consciousness exerting too much power.) He also used a Jedi mind trick on Embo’s dog.

The interplay between Mando and Grogu is the heart of the movie, although not enough time is given over to it. There are little scenes of father-son lessons and the film ends with Mando finally starting Grogu’s flying lessons. An interesting aspect of the film that I think also should have been further underlined was the parallel between Rotta and Grogu. Grogu is force-sensitive but rather than follow the path to becoming a Jedi, he has chosen to follow his father’s path as a bounty hunter and mercenary. Similarly, Rotta was meant to inherit his father’s crime syndicate. And if the non-canon material is to be believed, he was meant to have eaten his father in order to get that power… ick. Not wanting to be a monster like his father, Rotta has forged his own path, becoming first a gladiator, and then a member of the New Republic.

Incidentally, Rotta is not the first heroic Hutt. In the High Republic comics, a diplomat Hutt named Skarabda assisted the Jedi Order in their fight against the Nihil. There was also one named Churo, which is a funny name for a chubby slug.

So, yeah, bottom line is that I really liked this movie but feel like some of the less focused aspects could have been given more screen time. It didn’t differentiate itself enough from the series to stand out, but it was a good continuation nonetheless and worth watching.

I especially liked all of the callbacks to previous Star Wars media. You don’t need to pack decades of Star Wars lore into your brain to appreciate the movie, but if you happen to have that, then you get an extra layer of enjoyment. Getting to see Embo and Nal Hutta in live action, the repurposed Separatist droids in the Twin’s arsenal, the chess aliens… these were all great Easter eggs for fans. I especially liked seeing that Mando is now raising two Blurrg on Navarro. If you recall, way back on Season 1, he befriended Kuiil, an Ugnaught who raised Blurrg. It was a little moment, and no attention was called to it, but I feel that’s a nice way to acknowledge his fallen friend.

At first I really wondered why this had to be a movie. For the most part it felt like a direct continuation of the series. It even felt like an extended episode. With a secondary plot line and some padding episodes, I could easily see this being Season 4 of the Mandalorian. But after thinking about it, I decided all the special effects likely would have cost as much as two entire seasons, so it makes sense that this was a movie. I’m sure the Dragonsnake alone cost a small fortune.

Imperial plans. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Future

So what’s next for my Star Wars coverage? Well, I still need to wrap up the Clone Wars, speed through Rebels, and check out Resistance, The Bad Batch, the side cartoons like Darth Maul and Tales of the Jedi, and finally Ahsoka. So there is still a lot more for me to cover.

The Razor Crest 2. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

I’ve read that Season 4 of the Mandalorian has been written for years now, but there is no word that it will ever be filmed. From what I understand, there will be no more seasons of the Mandalorian and it remains to be seen if there will be more movies following this one. I could see there being more films in this series, but nothing has been announced yet. A season 2 of Ahsoka is in the works for release in 2027, but that seems to be leading to the ending. Back in 2020 there was a (still-untitled) movie announced that will serve as the conclusion to the Mandalorian era of Star Wars. It will be a massive crossover between the Mandalorian, the Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and the cancelled New Republic series. This movie will most likely involve the return of Admiral Thrawn.

So, yes, there are still lots of Star Wars posts to keep me busy for the next few years, but our journey with the Mandalorian and Grogu may be reaching its end.

Now that’s the Stinky I remember. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Lingering Questions

Season 3 of the Mandalorian left me with many questions. They’re all still here, as none of them were answered in the movie. Moff Gideon is still out there. Admiral Thrawn is still out there. The pieces are still being moved about the board for a big final conflict. (Which will likely finally end the Empire and sow the seeds for the First Order.) Will Mandalore and Boba Fett play roles in it? Will Grogu ever talk? Where, exactly, did the 50 year old baby come from? Is he really the child of Yoda and Yaddle? (Jedi normally can’t have kids, but for endangered races, exceptions have been made.) We may never know his true origins, but I still can’t get the picture out of my head of a grown-up Grogu with his own armor and Mandalorian helmet, following in his father’s footsteps far in the future. We’ll see if that is ever shown or if it will just remain as head-canon.

Walking off into the sunset. (Credit: Lucasfilm, Disney)

Thank you all for joining me for the next chapter in the adventures of the Mandalorian. Next up in my coverage will likely be the rest of Clone Wars so I can finally get to Ahsoka and all the rest. Until then, I leave you with my undying appreciation for reading my little posts. I’ll be back soon!

Hi.

Sep 27 098: Rabbit Recaps- The Mandalorian and Grogu

Hi.

Sep 27 098: Rabbit Recaps- The Mandalorian and Grogu

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