It's been an era of change for the Star Wars franchise. The most famous galaxy in the entertainment world has been attempting to figure out its place in the movie and TV landscape beyond the Skywalker Saga, and The Mandalorian has certainly helped it do that on the Disney Plus streaming service. The very first live-action Star Wars show, it was led by Pedro Pascal for three seasons, turning both him and his co-star Grogu into overnight sensations.
Unfortunately, Mando and Grogu couldn't translate their small screen success to the big one. Despite The Mandalorian and Grogu's impressive $346 million haul at the box office, the movie went on to become the lowest-grossing Star Wars film of all time and didn't manage to turn a profit during its theatrical run - once again leaving Star Wars' future on the big screen unclear. While the movie is set to make its presence felt on Disney Plus, it will now be joined by a new special - one that won't feature The Mandalorian himself.
Pedro Pascal recast in new The Mandalorian Disney Plus Special
While you will be able to see Pedro Pascal's iconic version of Din Djarin back on Disney Plus in The Mandalorian and Grogu, another adventure in that galaxy so far, far away won't feature the A-LIst movie star. The streamer is also releasing LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian Special as an accompanying project and it doesn't feature Mando himself, opting to recast Pascal with Gavin Hammon.
The full cast for the Special has been released and it features a who's who of Mando-Verse talent, most of whom are reprising their roles as the characters from various Disney Plus series (including The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, too). That includes David Acord as the sounds of Grogu, Amy Sedaris as the voice of Peli Motto, Bill Burr as Migs Mayfield, David Pasquesi as Majordomo, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Emily Swallow as The Armorer, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, Nick Nolte as Kuiil, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Taika Waititi as IG-11/IG-12, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, and Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth.
While there are some understandable recasts (Carl Lumbly takes over the role of Greef Karga due to Carl Weathers' passing in 2024 and Eric Bauza voices Luke Skywalker as Mark Hamill has retired from the role), the decision to replace Pascal - who is the definitive voice of the Mandalorian is extremely surprising to say the least. But that doesn't mean that there wasn't a good reason for it.
Pascal is the biggest name in that cast, so it's quite possible that Lucasfilm and Disney Plus employed a similar approach to how Marvel Studios' animated series What If...? played out, casting the vast majority of the MCU stars as their animated, alternate counterparts while sidestepping the main Avengers (such as Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson) as they would have been harder to pin down due to their busy schedules (and likely cost a whole lot more, too).
To that point, Pascal's schedule is busy as he too is currently involved with Marvel Studios on a trifecta of movies. Having starred in 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, he is set to reprise the role in this year's Avengers: Doomsday before being expected to reprise the role in next year's Avengers: Secret Wars. As one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood today, it may be hard for him to find time to voice his iconic character for the LEGO Star Wars Special. But that doesn't rule out a return to the live-action franchise.
Despite The Mandalorian and Grogu's underperformance at the box office, the titular duo remain two of the Star Wars franchise's most popular characters. Considering how successful the original Mandalorian series was, it's highly likely that Lucasfilm and Disney will find a way to bring Mando and Grogu back for at least one more adventure so that they can have their story officially wrapped up. The movie would honestly serve as a solid send-off but as we wouldn't have expected that particular adventure to be their final chapter, it's fair to say that one more Mandalorian season, special, or even movie would be welcome.
If - or, more likely, when - that does happen, you can rest assured that it will be Pascal playing the character once again. Just as it should be.
Both The Mandalorian and Grogu and LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian Special arrive on Disney Plus on September 2, 2026. All three seasons of The Mandalorian (and the respective seasons of the other Mando-Verse shows) are also all available and streaming on the service now.
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