It's an uneven time to be a fan of some of the biggest franchises in the galaxy. Although Lucasfilm's Star Wars franchise and Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe continue to be among the biggest movie series of all time, their respective studios have struggled with the transition to producing streaming TV content. Most of the Disney Plus shows have been adored, but some have budgets too large (resulting in cancellations) and others produce characters potentially "too popular" for TV (don't worry, we'll get to that!).
Star Wars, in particular, has struggled with some streaming disappointments in recent years. Although The Book of Boba Fett was successful, the Mandalorian spinoff couldn't live up to the heights of its parent series. Meanwhile, The Acolyte proved to be a huge success in terms of viewership for Disney Plus, but its budget was far too high for a TV series and thus it was ultimately cancelled.
With the fate of another Star Wars TV series hanging in the balance, a critically-acclaimed one potentially returning for another season, and the most popular TV character the franchise has ever produced now heading to the big screen, there are plenty of ups and downs in that galaxy so far. far away. But what does it all mean? Well, in terms of that last query, it could unfortunately mean the end of his time on the small screen.
The Mandalorian and Grogu could set up a sequel, ruling out a fourth season of the show
In a recent report, established industry insider Daniel Richtman has now confirmed that the upcoming Star Wars movie The Mandalorian and Grogu could have a sequel greenlit if it is successful at the box office. As a result, no fourth season of The Mandalorian TV series is currently planned. Naturally, fans are feeling bittersweet about this as Richtman also claims that, if the upcoming film flops at the box office, it will serve as the final chapter for The Mandalorian. And that could also put Dave Filoni's planned Mando-verse movie - which is expected to serve as a crossover finale to Disney Plus storyline - in jeopardy.
Fans who were hoping to see The Mandalorian season 4 were dreading an update like this, especially as the writing was on the wall. With Lucasfilm unclear about what the future of the Star Wars franchise would look like on the big screen, they opted to bring their biggest success story from the saga's Disney Plus era to the movies instead. On paper, it makes sense, but there are two potential issues there: TV audiences don't always translate to the movies, and doing this robs audiences of a fourth season of their favorite series.
There were initially rumors that The Mandalorian and Grogu would be a standalone tale and that the show could continue production sometime after it was released, but once reports began claiming that the film would actually be a condensed version of the show's planned fourth season, it became clear that the future of the show might be up in the air. Richtman himself subsequently announced that there would be no fourth season. And that's honestly pretty frustrating for fans of the show who watched season 3 without knowing that it would be the final season.
Of course, Disney and Lucasfilm have yet to confirm whether this is the case or not, but any confirmation like that probably wouldn't come until the release of the film itself. Plot details of that film are still scrace at the moment, but it goes without saying that it's going to be epic to see the titular characters share an even bigger screen than ever before.
Pedro Pascal will reprise his role from the show as the titular bounty hunter and he will once again be joined by his little companion who the internet loves to call "Baby Yoda". The pair have taken the world by storm and made themselves at home in all of our hearts, so they deserve a grand finale - irrespective of whether that is on the big screen or the small one. But the exciting possibilities that await if The Mandalorian and Grogu is a box office success could very easily be their best adventures yet. Here's hoping that is the case.
It just goes without saying that The Mandalorian as a show deserved better. As did its devoted fans.
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