The Mandalorian & Grogu officially releases on May 22, 2026 – meaning it will have been a staggering seven years since Star Wars was last on the big screen. Star Wars has always been a transmedia franchise – the first tie-in novel, Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, came out just a year after the first movie – but it’s mostly known for big screen blockbusters. That was where the Skywalker saga began, and there’s just something special about hearing that iconic John William anthem trumpet in the darkened auditorium.
Lucasfilm has finally confirmed the release date of The Mandalorian & Grogu, the next Star Wars movie. Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and his delightful ward Grogu will be heading to the big screen on May 22, 2026, blazing the trail for a range of upcoming Star Wars movies – films as diverse as a New Jedi Order project and another project about the dawn of the Jedi. But, staggeringly, it will have been seven years since Star Wars had a new release in theaters. What’s gone wrong?
This wasn’t the plan, of course. When Disney bought Lucasfilm (and Star Wars) back in 2012, the plan was to build a conveyor belt of movies – with bosses dreaming of at least an annual release. Lucasfilm initially signed up to alternating films in the sequel trilogy and anthology movies set at different parts in the timeline. There were huge teething problems, but the first few movies were successes. And then came Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars‘ first box office bomb. It grossed just $393 million, even worse given expensive reshoots.
There’s a sense in which Solo‘s failure was inevitable. There was never a convincing idea behind it; Disney actually greenlit the entire movie just because of a pitch about how Han got his name. The movie was beset with behind-the-scenes drama, with Ron Howard brought in for Solo‘s reshoots after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller left under a cloud. Worst of all, Disney assumed a Star Wars film was a guaranteed success, and prioritized the marketing of Avengers: Infinity War. Solo‘s trailer dropped in February 2018, just three months before the movie’s release. Disney paid a price for such poor marketing.
This was where the problems began. Lucasfilm seemed to lose confidence in their plans after Solo‘s failure, and the entire anthologies project was shelved (several film pitches evolved into Disney+ TV shows). Suddenly, Disney realized it was actually possible for a Star Wars movie to fail, and the shock had an almost paralyzing effect.
The collapse of the Star Wars anthologies project would have been bad enough, but the sequel trilogy hit problems too. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a box office success – it grossed an impressive $1.33 billion worldwide – but it divided the fanbase. Lucasfilm pivoted hard with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, ultimately bringing back J.J. Abrams to wrap up the sequels. But even this didn’t work, because he overplayed the nostalgia card, and the sequels ended on what is almost universally seen as a low note.
What to do next? This was the big question, and there was no satisfying answer. The sequels had ended with a whimper, not a bang, while the anthologies were deemed to have failed. The future of Star Wars looked very bleak indeed, and Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Star Wars was “taking a break,” fearing it had become over-saturated. Meanwhile, Disney execs were pressuring Lucasfilm to focus on something else entirely.
Disney execs believed the future of the House of Mouse lay in streaming, not on the big screen. This was actually a major driver behind Disney’s acquisition of Fox, because it ensured Disney+ had a larger catalog for subscribers to enjoy. In 2018 and 2019, Disney ordered every one of their subsidiaries and studios – including Lucasfilm – to focus on new streaming shows and movies. The Mandalorian was the result – the first live-action Star Wars TV show.
The Mandalorian was essentially Disney+’s flagship TV show, with the first episode releasing alongside the streaming service’s launch on November 12, 2019. It became an overnight sensation, in large part because Lucasfilm had somehow managed to keep the existence of Grogu – then known as Baby Yoda – a secret. In the wake of The Mandalorian‘s success, Lucasfilm understandably focused on more TV shows, even repurposing many of their old anthology plans.
It’s impossible to account for Star Wars seven-year absence from the big screen without recognizing the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic brought pretty much every industry in the world screeching to a halt – including studios. Lucasfilm had previously booked three release dates for Star Wars movies (December 16, 2022, December 20, 2024, and December 18, 2026), but in June 2020, the studio pushed these back by a year. Meanwhile, TV shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi struggled as well.
Lucasfilm had never made official announcements about these projects, meaning it’s impossible to know for sure what they were or how far through development they were. It’s likely one of these was Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron movie; although this was only announced in December 2020, there had been rumors before then. These delays would naturally have ripple effects, because writers and directors would be forced to shuffle their schedules or would become unavailable. Rogue Squadron still hasn’t become a reality, as a result.
Things finally began to settle down for Lucasfilm. The studio took advantage of Star Wars Celebration 2023 to announce a slate of three upcoming Star Wars movies, with particular focus on Daisy Ridley’s return in a New Jedi Order movie. Even then, though, there were yet more storm-clouds on the horizon – ones that would cause even more delays.
On May 2, 2023, negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) broke down. The WGA announced a strike, one that would last 148 days in total – one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history. This had a huge impact on Star Wars movies and shows, and film release dates were pushed back like dominoes. In June 2023, Disney announced new release dates for Star Wars, with the first now booked for May 22, 2026.
Back in 2018 and 2019, Disney+ was a corporate priority for the House of Mouse. Priorities have changed, however; streaming hasn’t been as profitable as Disney hoped, with new releases needed simply to maintain subscribers rather than bring in new sources of revenue. Lucasfilm has been instructed to ramp up production of the Star Wars movies, and this change of focus has had a noticeable impact on The Mandalorian.
In January 2024, Lucasfilm shocked and delighted viewers with the news that the next Star Wars movie would be The Mandalorian & Grogu. Just a few years ago, The Mandalorian served as the flagship for Disney+; now it will serve as the flagship for Star Wars‘ latest relaunch as well. It’s currently unclear whether The Mandalorian & Grogu is a substitute for The Mandalorian season 4 – which would neatly symbolize the move back towards the big screen – or whether both are currently planned. Either way, it’s an exciting prospect.
It’s taken Lucasfilm five years to feel confident enough to confirm an actual release date for a given Star Wars movie. The recent announcement is a tremendously positive sign, indicating that the house that George Lucas built has finally gotten itself in order again. Star Wars has flourished on the small screen – in fact, Disney+ is arguably rather too dependent on the MCU and Star Wars – but the franchise is returning to its natural home again. On May 22, 2026, Star Wars will finally be back in theaters – and it’s about time.