Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters May 22, 2026, marking the first Star Wars movie since 2019. The film continues the story of Din Djarin and Grogu as the latter steps into a co-starring role after three seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+. If you haven’t kept up with the series, here’s everything you need to know before heading back to a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu release date, cast and details

• Release date: May 22, 2026
• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White
• Writers: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Noah Kloor
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Running time: 132 minutes
  
  

Who’s The Mandalorian? What’s a Grogu?

The Mandalorian is Din Djarin, a bounty hunter working for the New Republic after the fall of the Empire. (For those familiar only with the original Star Wars movies: the Rebellion became the New Republic after 1983’s Return of the Jedi.) He’s known as ‘The Mandalorian’ because he wears the distinctive armor of the Mandalorian tribe — think Boba Fett from The Empire Strikes Back — and strives to live by their code of honor as closely as possible, despite a job that requires flexibility in that regard.

Grogu is the actual name of the character known online as ‘Baby Yoda.’ He’s a child of the same alien race as the Jedi Master introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, although ‘child’ is a relative term in this case; he’s actually around 50 years old, per dialogue. (It’s simply that his race ages very slowly.) He’s the adoptive son of Din Djarin, who rescued him from former Imperial scientists in the first season of The Mandalorian series on Disney+.

What’s The Mandalorian on Disney+ about?

The Mandalorian TV series, which ran from three seasons from 2019 to 2023, centers around Din Djarin’s journey from being an isolated, immoral bounty hunter to rediscovering and reclaiming his connection with the Mandalorian creed and culture — and, in the process, discovering and connecting with Grogu and making the decision to work exclusively for the New Republic.

What happened at the end of The Mandalorian Season 3?

After reuniting different factions of Mandalorians, Din Djarin and Mandalorian leader Bo-Katan Kryze lead a final assault to reclaim the planet of Mandalore from the control of former Imperial leader Moff Gideon. Their fight was successful, and Djarin ends the season with the Mandalorians once again in control of their home planet, and settling down into a life of working for the New Republic alongside his newly-adopted child, Grogu. (While Gideon may be referenced in The Mandalorian & Grogu, don’t expect him to be a significant presence; he dies in the final episode of the third season.)

Do I need to watch The Mandalorian to understand Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu?

No. According to writer and director Jon Favreau, newcomers should be able to come to the big screen return of Star Wars relatively fresh.

“This is like season one, episode one,” he told io9 in a recent interview. “Somebody might have seen everything Star Wars, and you gotta make it good for them because those are your people. That’s you. That’s me. But you also want to always have an outstretched hand to somebody new who may not have seen it before. You don’t want to be exclusionary. You want to bring the next generation in, and hopefully you could speak to both.”

If you do decide to catch up with the full story, however, we have a watch order to help with that.

Does The Mandalorian & Grogu tie into Ahsoka Season 2?

It’s unclear as of writing whether or not Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu will connect to the ongoing Thrawn storyline being told in the Ahsoka series on Disney+, which takes place in the same time period. Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni did co-write The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, so a tie-in is certainly possible but not guaranteed.

More will be revealed when the movie is released, but we may not have the final answer until the release of Ahsoka season 2, which is expected in late 2026.

What is the Mandalorian movie actually called?

This might need some clarification. ‘The Mandalorian’ is the title of the Disney+ series. The movie, while initially announced under the title ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu,’ is officially titled Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu. You have to remind people that it’s a Star Wars movie, after all.

As to why Grogu has his name in the title of the movie: as the character has become a viral fan favorite, you let as many people know that he’s front and center in the movie. That’s just good business sense.

When is Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu release date?

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu will be released in theaters May 22, 2026.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.