{"id":453590,"date":"2026-05-31T04:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/453590\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T04:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:15:14","slug":"the-mandalorian-and-grogus-director-jon-favreau-wants-to-keep-star-wars-going-for-another-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/453590\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mandalorian And Grogu\u2019s director Jon Favreau wants to keep Star Wars going for another 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2013 At the Los Angeles premiere of the latest Star Wars film The Mandalorian And Grogu in May, its stars spoke of falling in love with baby alien protagonist Grogu, who anchors the story\u2019s emotional core.<\/p>\n

Now showing in Singapore cinemas, the sci-fi blockbuster follows Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his adopted alien son Grogu on a dangerous mission to find the remnants of the Galactic Empire.<\/p>\n

It is based on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019 to 2023), which first introduced fans to Grogu \u2013 whom they immediately dubbed \u201cbaby Yoda\u201d because it is the same species as the iconic Star Wars sage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Din Djarin (played by Pedro Pascal, left) and Grogu in The Mandalorian And Grogu.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY<\/p>\n

Pascal says the fan-favourite character \u2013 an animatronic creation enhanced by computer-generated imagery \u2013 represents a bridge between old and new.<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old Chilean-American actor says: \u201cThere\u2019s something unbelievable about a creature that\u2019s adorable and that is of the old \u2013 as we know Yoda \u2013 but absolutely new to the stories of Star Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bond between Grogu and his own character, who is \u201cin head-to-toe armour, and whose face you don\u2019t see, reflects the most human relationship that we know, and that\u2019s parent and child\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this little creature tells you right away that there\u2019s a human heart beating under all of that armour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sort of discovers who he is because of his love for this child and it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d adds Pascal, who starred in fantasy series Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) and crime drama Narcos (2015 to 2017). He also played a father figure in the post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us (2023 to present).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian And Grogu.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY<\/p>\n

Joining the franchise is American actress Sigourney Weaver, whose Colonel Ward is a military leader from the same generation of freedom fighters as Princess Leia, played by the late Carrie Fisher in the earlier films.<\/p>\n

A long-time Star Wars fan, the star of the first four Alien movies (1979 to 1997) was thrilled to come on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just pinching myself. I\u2019d loved it from afar. And I didn\u2019t anticipate the little guy, but of course, I fell in love with him too,\u201d says the 76-year-old, who received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Aliens (1986), of Grogu.<\/p>\n

Describing The Mandalorian And Grogu as \u201ccinematic\u201d, she also believes it works as a standalone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need to have seen any other Star Wars. You can just enjoy this movie for the instant classic it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pedro Pascal (left) and Sigourney Weaver in The Mandalorian And Grogu.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY<\/p>\n

Director, co-writer and producer Jon Favreau \u2013 who created both the series and the Mandalorian character, who had not appeared in previous Star Wars tales \u2013 says working on the film took it to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a wonderful time doing the show, but I never dreamt I would make a Star Wars movie like this,\u201d says the 59-year-old, who helmed the first two Iron Man superhero films (2008 and 2010) and animated remake The Lion King (2019).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels different. I feel the energy \u2013 and people are coming to the movie theatres, which is wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Introducing The Mandalorian And Grogu at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, he reflects on the fact that the franchise was born 49 years ago that month with Star Wars (1977), which also had its premiere at the iconic cinema.<\/p>\n

The American film-maker was 10 when he saw that film, and it \u201cchanged my life from the first shot\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad took me to see it. I sat by his side, he pointed things out and explained to me how cool it was that the X-wings had oil stains.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe later taught me about the Kurosawa influences and The Hidden Fortress \u2013 all the influences \u2013 and opened the door for me to love not just Star Wars, but cinema,\u201d adds Favreau, referring to the fact that franchise creator and American writer-director George Lucas had based much of the first film on Japanese director Akira Kurosawa\u2019s 1958 period adventure epic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jon Favreau holds Grogu at the premiere of The Mandalorian And Grogu in London on May 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

Droids C-3PO and R2-D2 were modelled after the two squabbling peasants who get caught in the middle of a war in The Hidden Fortress.<\/p>\n

And they unknowingly escort a noble warrior across enemy lines, directly mirroring how various characters protect Princess Leia.<\/p>\n

Favreau points out that it has also been seven years since a Star Wars film \u2013 2019\u2019s Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker \u2013 was last in theatres.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s time to introduce that new generation to Star Wars and keep it going for another 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mandalorian And Grogu is showing in Singapore cinemas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 At the Los Angeles premiere of the latest Star Wars film The Mandalorian And Grogu…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-453590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}