The Mandalorian and Grogu reviews are middling to brutal

Full reviews for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu are piling in, and they’re ranging anywhere from middling to brutal.

The latest Star Wars adventure serves Din Djarin and Grogu up on the silver screen for the first time (in place of – or perhaps as a stopgap before – a fourth season on Disney+), and lands in cinemas this Friday (May 22). Early reviews are now dropping, and they paint a picture of a movie absent much narrative drive.

“There have been some exciting new stories told in this universe since the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, but watching this latest installment of Lone Wolf and Cub in space just confirms the degree to which Star Wars feels like it’s spinning its wheels,” said Liz Shannon Miller for Consequence.

“Without any new developments, what we’re left with is a collection of side quests largely connected by cameos, without any of the narrative momentum that has made past Star Wars projects into must-see events.”

Empire’s John Nugent shared a similar sentiment: “What it does slightly forget to do… is move the story forward in any meaningful way. Oddly, it feels like the least consequential Mandalorian chapter yet, with previous episodes from the TV incarnation – or even segments of the much-maligned Book Of Boba Fett – having more impact on the narrative.”

The kindest reviews (which generally score it three out of five) call the film ‘watchable’, ‘a placeholder’ and ‘[not] the Star Wars cinematic rebirth that Lucasfilm may have been hoping for’. The Mandalorian and Grogu is sitting at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, and 55/100 on Metacritic, though both scores are fluctuating so may have changed by the time you read this.

And as for those brutal reviews? Slash Film’s Jeremy Mathai pulls no punches: “There have been worse movies before and there will inevitably be worse ones to come. This sure feels like the most boring, though – one whose philosophy seems to be that you can't swing and miss if you never bother taking the bat off your shoulders. That might be its greatest sin of all.”

Benjamin Miller, meanwhile, wrote for InSession Film that ‘never before has Star Wars felt so pointless and skippable’. Not what you’d hope for from the first new cinematic Star Wars experience since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Which, by the way, sits at 53/100 on Metacritic. That’s only two points lower than The Mandalorian and Grogu as things stand.

What does this all mean for the future of Star Wars? It’s tough to say right now. New and original adventures are right around the corner with Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027, but beyond that the cinematic slate is a little fuzzy. As is the future of Din Djarin and Grogu – we don’t yet know when or where these characters might show up again.

What we do know is that they are currently plastered all over your local LEGO Store, because the LEGO Star Wars team has gone all-in on The Mandalorian and Grogu for 2026. The line-up so far is a mix of familiar ships (an X-wing, Razor Crest and AT-RT) and new oddities (a Sentry Droid, the Anzellan Starship), so nostalgia will play its part in selling some of those sets even if the movie doesn’t.

But contrast these reviews with the audience reaction to Maul: Shadow Lord. The animated series is sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 75/100 on Metacritic, is anchored to an obviously-popular character… and has no LEGO Star Wars sets at all. Hindsight is 20/20, but if the LEGO Group and Lucasfilm didn’t learn any lessons from Andor, it’s maybe not surprising to see Maul passed up in favour of more Baby Yoda merch.

It’ll be interesting to look back on the LEGO Star Wars 2026 slate a year or even a decade from now and see whether the LEGO Group correctly judged the mood and interests of the wider audience. One telling factor may be how well The Mandalorian and Grogu performs at the box office, so keep an eye out for those numbers soon.

The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in cinemas on May 22. The first wave of tie-in LEGO Star Wars sets is out now.

LEGO The Mandalorian and Grogu sets

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