Sigourney Weaver recently spoke with Empire about her long and illustrious career – and how sci-fi is a huge part of it. In the process, she singled out her appearance in the upcoming Star Wars movie The Mandalorian and Grogu as being demonstrative of what Lucasfilm’s new approach to the franchise is — standalone movies that don’t necessarily try to be the biggest film events of the year, but ones that serve as satisfying experiences on their own.
Sigourney Weaver stated that she had no intention of joining another major science fiction franchise after iconic turns in Alien, Ghostbusters, and Avatar, but she was drawn in to the franchise thanks to the strength of the script for her character, despite her unfamiliarity with the franchise:
“I didn’t ever imagine that I would enter the Star Wars world, but what’s interesting about Star Wars now is they’re no longer trying to do the Star Wars to end all Star Wars. They’re letting the universe exist, and tell[ing] really interesting stories within that.
I think Jon Favreau thought, ‘Okay, we want this very strong character. Let’s make it a woman.’ I’m not sure it was supposed to be a woman. I think again, these days, they often think, ‘What do I need to do to make this seem more timely?’, and now, because women are doing everything, hooray for us.
[But] I just fell in love with the script and said, ‘I don’t know anything about this world.’ Jon said, ‘Well, you can watch the series,’ and I said, ‘Oh, there’s a series?!’”
Weaver’s quote may be interpreted as though Jon Favreau originally wrote the part for a male actor, but left it open enough for actresses to step into the part. In any case, more of Sigourney Weaver anywhere is a gift – and she agreed in another interview with Rolling Stone. She noted how thankful she was to be able to run into lots of science fiction fans in person with her appearance at Star Wars Celebration:
“I was at the Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, where you walk out on that stage, and there are thousands of people there with those lightsabers and stuff — my god! I mean, what energy! I’m so proud to be part of the whole sci-fi universe. It’s like we’re our own planet…”
She then went on:
“Some people think science fiction is just special effects. And it’s not. It’s so much more about dreaming about what could happen in another world, in another time. I mean, of course, we see that some of these big franchises are hit and miss. If you try to pay off a franchise too many times, it stops working. Mandalorian is a good example of staying in the universe but letting these shooting stars go out in these different directions. So I’m delighted to be in The Mandalorian.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu will be released in theaters on May 22, 2026. The film is directed by Jon Favreau, who also co-wrote the script with Dave Filoni. The film stars Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, Sigourney Weaver as Colonel Ward, and Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt, among others. Ludwig Göransson will compose the film’s score.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.