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I’m Still Disappointed The Mandalorian Season 4 Probably Isn’t Happening, Even If I’m Excited For The Movie

July 14, 2025

Although it hasn’t been officially announced, it seems as though Star Wars’ upcoming movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, has taken the place of The Mandalorianseason 4, and while that is exciting, it’s also a bit disappointing. The Mandalorian and Grogu is the next to be released of Star Wars’ upcoming movies, with a May 22, 2026 release date.

While story details about The Mandalorian and Groguhave been kept tightly under wraps so far, there’s still plenty of enthusiasm about this brand-new Star Wars movie—perhaps more than any other upcoming movie in the franchise. Yet, I can’t help but feel a bit of disappointment that we may never get to see The Mandalorian season 4.

It Looks Like The Mandalorian Season 4 Has Been Turned Into The Movie

That Isn’t Yet Official, But It Feels Rather Likely

Image via Disney+

Perhaps to keep the option on the table for the future, Star Wars has not yet confirmed that The Mandalorian and Grogu will be taking the place of The Mandalorian season 4. However, all signs currently point to that being the case. At present, Ahsoka season 2 is the only confirmed live-action project among Star Wars’ upcoming TV shows.

Star Wars - Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ahsoka Tano, and Admiral Ackbar.

Ahsoka Season 2: Story, Updates, Everything We Know

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If The Mandalorian season 4 was indeed still in the works, or was expected to be coming down the line following the movie, surely that would have been confirmed, particularly given there had already been discussions about The Mandalorian season 4 when The Mandalorian and Grogu was announced.

It would also arguably seem redundant to have both The Mandalorian and Grogu and The Mandalorian season 4 be released. Presumably, The Mandalorian and Grogu will pick up where The Mandalorian season 3 ending left off, making it the continuation of the story seen in the show.

Moreover, it would feel particularly odd for The Mandalorian and Grogu to be followed by The Mandalorian season 4, as that would mean a jump to the big screen and then a transition back to the small screen. This may very well mean that The Mandalorian and Grogu movie marks the end of The Mandalorian show.

It would feel particularly odd for The Mandalorian and Grogu to be followed by The Mandalorian season 4.

The Mandalorian Deserved To Follow Through On Its Original Vision

The Mandalorian Season 4 Seemed Like A Sure Thing

There’s no doubt that the upcoming release of The Mandalorian and Grogu is exciting, especially because, by the time the movie is released, it will mark Star Wars’ first movie in nearly seven years. It also suggests The Mandalorian truly is one of Star Wars’ best TV shows, given it earned this jump to the big screen.

Yet, I can’t help but feel as though this movie has also completely altered the plan for The Mandalorian show and has undercut that plan in some ways. After all, we’d already gotten some details about and updates on The Mandalorian season 4, including confirmation that Jon Favreau had already written the script for season 4 of The Mandalorian.

Jon Favreau had already written the script for season 4 of The Mandalorian.

At present, it’s not clear whether that story was absorbed into or adapted for the movie or if those plans were entirely scrapped and replaced with the story to come in The Mandalorian and Grogu. While the former is arguably preferable to the latter, neither feels exactly fair for the show.

I also find myself wondering whether the performance of The Mandalorian season 3 had any bearing on this decision, as that was objectively the show’s worst-performing season in terms of reception. In fact, just based on the ratings, it’s clear this season fell short for many. The Mandalorian’s Rotten Tomatoes scores alone reveal that dip.

Season of The Mandalorian	Critic Rating on Rotten Tomatoes	Audience Score On Rotten Tomatoes
Season 1	93%	93%
Season 2	93%	91%
Season 3	84%	50%

Whether those numbers were a factor or not, I do think it’s a shame to not see how Favreau’s story for The Mandalorian season 4 would have played out. In addition to that disappointment, though, there’s good reason to be concerned about how this shift will turn out for The Mandalorian and Grogu.

I’m Not Sure How I Feel About A TV Show Season Becoming A Movie

There’s Recent Evidence That This Can Go Badly

While I am genuinely excited to see The Mandalorian and Grogu and believe Star Wars is long overdue for a new movie, I do worry that this plan to turn The Mandalorian into a movie could backfire. Some recent examples suggest this could end up being the case, as the TV show-turned-movie Moana 2 was considered a disappointment.

Disney will almost always pull big numbers at the box office, and audiences certainly came out to see Moana 2, but the general sentiment following the movie’s release was that it did not live up to its predecessor, Moana. This drew heavy speculation that Moana 2 should have remained a Disney+ series, which was the original plan for the story.

This drew heavy speculation that Moana 2 should have remained a Disney+ series, which was the original plan for the story.

The same could end up being true of The Mandalorian and Grogu—particularly because we know The Mandalorian season 4 was already written—although that remains to be seen. The Mandalorian and Grogu does at least have something Moana 2 didn’t, which may help its chances.

As mentioned, The Mandalorian season 3, which The Mandalorian and Grogu will follow on the heels of, is considered the weakest season of the show. In addition to that, the last Star Wars movie to be released was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is still considered one of Star Wars’ worst movies, if not the worst overall.

This means that, for better or worse, The Mandalorian and Grogu will be the newest addition to both one of the show’s worst-performing seasons and one of the franchise’s worst-received movies. Therefore, unlike Moana 2, The Mandalorian and Grogu will presumably have a bit of an easier hill to climb.

I remain hopeful that The Mandalorian and Grogu will do well, especially because I believe the characters, Din Djarin and Grogu (and actor Pedro Pascal), deserve that. Even so, I can’t help but wonder if we are missing out on The Mandalorian season 4 because The Mandalorian and Grogu is coming.