The Star Wars franchise has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the past year. Its struggles are not specific to the most recent 365 days: Like all franchises, there have been highs and lows throughout its entire existence (from the highs of The Empire Strikes Back to the underperformance of Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018), but 2024 wasn't particularly the kindest year to the Star Wars saga.
New series The Acolyte launched to impressive viewing figures and offered up something entirely different to the decades-old lore, presenting itself as something of a murder mystery in the classic shared universe. Unfortunately, it was cancelled after just one season due to its huge budget, which would have been virtually impossible for it to overcome regardless of viewing figures.
With rumors of upcoming Star Wars films suffering delays to the apparent premature end of another beloved TV series, 2024 was a rough time to be a fan of the classic franchise. But 2025 might bring better news. As spotlighted by The Direct, a new insider report states that the most popular Star Wars show of all may not be as done as originally thought.
The Mandalorian season 4 not dead after all, according to report
It sounds like more adventures could await The Mandalorian and Grogu after their self-titled cinematic adventure, as a report from The InSneider suggests that The Mandalorian season 4 may not be dead after all. The report states that the project remains "in development" but adds that The Mandalorian and Grogu will arrive in movie theaters before any potential fourth season would make its presence felt on Disney Plus.
Star Wars fans had been worried about the fate of The Mandalorian as a number of reports last year claimed that Disney and Lucasfilm had opted to evolve the show's planned fourth season into The Mandalorian and Grogu film instead. The Hollywood Reporter appeared to confirm these reports when it revealed that, during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the decision was made to proceed with a movie instead, perhaps due to the uncertainty surrounding Star Wars' silver screen future.
This created an issue as the scripts and storyline for season 4 had been prepared, meaning that a shift needed to take place in order to evolve it for a movie instead. It also resulted in panic about the fate of The Mandalorian TV series which has been one of Disney Plus' most successful shows since the platform's launch in 2019 (it was, in fact, the first original series to stream on the platform).
The Star Wars franchise is easily one of the biggest movie franchise of all time, but it hasn't quite managed to figure out what it wants its future to look like without the Skywalker Saga movies. That could explain why the decision was made to bring its most popular Disney Plus characters to the big screen. The film will likely be a major success and give the franchise a cinematic rebound, but could that prevent a fourth season from happening or ensure that it's more likely?
Although it's not an outright confirmation, this is a glimmer of hope for fans that were upset about the show's potential cancellation. Granted, the characters of Mando and Yoda are set to return to screens regardless, but given the legacy of The Mandalorian and the fact that nobody knew season 3 could have been its final season when they were watching it, it deserves a fourth season irrespective of how many movies the title character and his little buddy are involved in.
The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in movie theaters on May 22, 2026.