First there was the pseudo-beer commercial at the Super Bowl. Then there was all the merchandising reveals. And now, our first big trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu! The first teaser didn’t quite land for me, but it also hit at a bitter time given Disney’s choices with Jimmy Kimmel. Yet this new trailer is ticking all the right boxes by teasing some of the film’s plot, lots of fun action and weird creatures, and a helluva lot more of Pedro Pascal’s face, to the point I’m damn glad I didn’t make bets with some friends over how much we’d see him with his helmet off. Let’s discuss it a little more below, but just know, I was going to be sat ANYWAYS for The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22, this just helped make that trip all the more exciting.
Here’s the official blurb for the film:
The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.
The biggest thing here for me is the stakes and plot. Until now, this has felt more like another episode of the show, and while it may never beat those allegations, what this trailer did was offer some hope it could. Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward has found Din Djarin and Grogu eager and willing to sign up and take out the New Republic’s most wanted deck of cards and it all seems to tie into the appearance of a The Clone Wars character: Embo. Someone hired Embo to mess with Djarin and Grogu’s relaxing, somewhat earned vacation it looks like, and while Ward doesn’t want them doing this for revenge, it certainly seems whatever Embo does to them, it’s enough for Mando to want to lie about it for now. Who is after them? Imperial Remnants given what he helped do to Moff Gideon’s less than memorable plans? The Shadow Council we glimpsed in Season Three? Will this tie into the Ahsoka show in any way? I don’t know all the answers, but at least this trailer gave us some food for thought.
I was very concerned The Mandalorian and Grogu would feel like more of the ‘boys with toys’ attitude Jon Favreau and, now the co-President and Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, Dave Filoni have brought to their most recent works. The first teaser was not helping. And while we see Embo, Rotta the Hutt is somehow back and buff, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios kicking buckethead, and the Razor Crest back, the simple image of Pedro Pascal’s face helps fight the sinking feeling I had at first. It was such a big deal this guy needed to dunk his essence in some special water to cleanse himself for taking off the helmet, something I was worried would be used to ensure we saw him less as more and more seasons of The Mandalorian were made. Yet now the helmet’s flying off left and right, it seems, whether he wants to or not, and them doing away with such a silly conceit, especially when the united Mandalorian clans have those who can walk around with their helmet off whenever the hell they want, signals less adherence to what came before so this can be a movie all on its own.
Otherwise, I like all the creatures we’re seeing. Especially the old little dude talking to Grogu. And the return of the Hutt Twins as seen in The Book of Boba Fett is an interesting but welcomed choice. And more Ardennians (this one voiced by Martin Scorsese)?! And Grogu in a speedy pram? All in all, I left this trailer with a grin on my face, so I think we’ll have some fun come May 22. Expect a review on the Manor sometime shortly after!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.