Star Wars has finally returned to the big screen after a seven-year theatrical drought. The Mandalorian and Grogu officially hit U.S. theaters today, ending the hiatus that began after 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Disney needed a guaranteed crowd-pleaser to revive its flagship sci-fi property. They got exactly what they paid for. The resulting movie has split the fanbase and the critics right down the middle, exposing the creative limits of the current Disney formula.
Critics are tearing the project apart. Over at The Guardian, film critic Ben Child went as far as labeling Star Wars a cursed franchise when it comes to theatrical releases. Child admits the movie is perfectly fine matinee fodder filled with Baby Yoda cuteness and visual polish. He also argues it highlights severe franchise fatigue. Disney refuses to let these characters retire, heal, or complete an emotional arc. Instead, the studio just reopens old narrative wounds to sell familiar lore like helmets and darksabers in slightly shinier packaging.
The plot itself is relatively contained. Pedro Pascal returns as Din Djarin, working alongside Grogu for the New Republic. They tangle with villains like Rotta the Hutt, voiced by Jeremy Allen White. But reviewers are struggling to see the cinematic value. Across the industry, critics complain the movie is suffering from pacing issues and feeling like television episodes crushed together. It plays less like a grand cinematic rebirth and more like a binge-watch session edited into two hours.
Regular audiences completely disagree. The film currently sits at a franchise-low 61% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but the fan reaction tells a totally different story. The movie boasts a robust 88% audience score. According to Forbes, this establishes a historic divide, as the film officially holds the highest Rotten Tomatoes audience score record for any Star Wars film released in the Disney era. Fans are clearly turning out for the familiar charm, easily surpassing the audience ratings of both the prequel trilogy and the recent sequel films.
The studio is playing it extremely safe. Nostalgia and familiar puppets are still putting fans in seats, even while film critics beg for original storytelling. Fans get their New Republic bounties, Disney gets its ticket sales, and the cinematic ambition takes a backseat.