Roses are red, Grogu is green, and The Mandalorian movie is officially a go. Buried amidst the zillion announcements that have come from London’s Star Wars Celebration—including the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey—is that Dave Feloni (the mastermind behind many of the Star Wars animated series) will direct Mando and Grogu’s big-screen debuts.
According to Variety‘s dispatch from Star Wars Celebration, Filoni’s film “will focus on the New Republic, and ‘close out’ the interconnected stories that are told in series including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ shows.” Interesting! It sounds like a very Avengers-esque way to say goodbye to the first wave of Star Wars on Disney+. You have to imagine that—whatever story will be told in this film—it’ll truly launch Grogu’s arc in the greater Star Wars universe. (Blaster to my head, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy sees The Mandalorian as the kid’s origin story. Especially if Rey’s new film will see her rebuilding the Jedi order.)
Here’s what Feloni had to say at Star Wars Celebration about taking the reins:
[Lucasfilm President] Kathleen Kennedy and I talked from the very beginning of her coming into Lucasfilm about whether there would be opportunities for me to experiment with live-action or try it. And she really worked at coming up with a plan to educate me and get me involved. I visited J.J. [Abrams] on The Force Awakens, I visited Gareth Edwards [on Rogue One] and I visited Rian on [The Last Jedi]. Rian was the one who shoved me up front, sticking lenses in my hand and really getting me immersed in it. And so I still talk with him to this day. He’s obviously a very talented filmmaker, and I was just very fortunate to be in such an environment where I could sit and listen and learn.
No shade to Dave Feloni—and as nice as the news is—I’m bummed that Bryce Dallas Howard won’t direct The Mandalorian movie. Her take on this week’s episode rocked. Maybe the inevitable sequel.