Should Season 4 Be Turned Into a Movie?

When The Mandalorian debuted in 2019, it quickly became one of the biggest shows in the world. Years before Marvel Cinematic Universe shows such as WandaVision and Loki premiered on Disney+, The Mandalorian was the show that attracted millions of people to the streaming service.

In fact, The Mandalorian also completely shifted Lucasfilm’s plans for the Star Wars franchise. At the time of its release – right around the time the disappointing Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters – the majority of fans voiced their opinion that The Mandalorian was the only thing keeping them interested in the franchise.

It’s clear that Lucasfilm saw The Mandalorian’s value, as the studio quickly abandoned any plans for Star Wars movies and shifted its focus to growing the franchise on Disney+. Since 2019, Lucasfilm has produced two more seasons of The Mandalorian, along with one season of The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor.

The Mandalorian’s Disappointing Season 3

Between 2019 and 2022, Lucasfilm experienced immense success on Disney+. Seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian were each nominated for a multitude of awards and dominated the pop culture landscape.

Season 1 of Andor was so impressive that many fans have called it the best Star Wars project since The Empire Strikes Back (1980). While The Book of Boba Fett received a more lukewarm reception than the other shows, with many disagreeing with how the show handled the legendary titular bounty hunter, people still praised the episodes which featured Din Djarin.

Therefore, given that Din was able to hold the spotlight in another character’s show, fans were still extremely excited for The Mandalorian Season 3, which premiered on Disney+ in March 2023.

Unfortunately, The Mandalorian and Grogu’s most recent set of adventures made for by far the worst season of the show yet. In the aftermath of the disappointing Season 3, it seems that Disney and Lucasfilm are once again rethinking their Star Wars strategy.

RELATED: Star Wars: How The Mandalorian Season 3 Establishes a New Path for the Franchise

Reportedly, the studio is considering turning the scripts for The Mandalorian Season 4 into a movie. Showrunner Jon Favreau has previously confirmed he has already completed the scripts for Season 4. While this plan has not been officially confirmed and should only be taken with a grain of salt, it does not seem unrealistic since Lucasfilm does seem eager to bring Star Wars back to the big screen.

Lucasfilm’s Master Plan

At Star Wars Celebration 2023, which took place while The Mandalorian Season 3 was airing, Lucasfilm revealed three Star Wars movies that would be hitting theaters in 2026 and 2027: Dawn of the Jedi, an untitled Daisy Ridley-led film about the new Jedi order, and an untitled Dave Filoni-directed film that will serve as a climactic crossover for The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka.

This announcement was the first time fans were made aware that Lucasfilm was planning a potential endpoint for Din Djarin, who has quickly become a fan-favorite character. This news was also surprising when considering Favreau’s outspoken desire to continue The Mandalorian for many more seasons. When asked how long The Mandalorian would run for, the showrunner stressed that he would not end the show as long as he enjoyed making it. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he added,

“I don’t know what would make me not enjoy doing it, especially as long as the audience is connecting with these characters. This feels like a really enjoyable moment. And I love this format of telling one chapter at a time and keeping the audience guessing, but also fulfilling certain expectations.”

Lucasfilm potentially wanting to turn The Mandalorian Season 4 into a movie suggests that the studio and Favreau have completely different visions for the franchise. This raises the question: what is the best way forward for The Mandalorian?

This Is The Way

Favreau has brought so much success to the Star Wars franchise that he would most likely be involved in the future of The Mandalorian, whether it becomes a movie or remains a show on Disney+. However, referring to the above quote, it is apparent that he likes the current format of the show.

Since its inception, The Mandalorian has always been envisioned as a “mission of the week” style of show. While there are overarching narratives throughout the first three seasons, Favreau, Filoni, and the rest of the creative team have never been afraid to tell one-off stories.

RELATED: The Mandalorian Season 3: The Good, The Bad, and The Baby

This format has led to critically-acclaimed episodes such as Season 1’s “Sanctuary” and Season 2’s “The Jedi,” which helped to set up the upcoming Ahsoka series. Additionally, these one-off episodes have also allowed the show to dabble with different genres.

For example, Season 1 Episode 6, titled “The Prisoner,” serves as a slasher in space, with Din Djarin acting as the “monster” who is taking his enemies out one by one.

However, if The Mandalorian Season 4 gets turned into a film, these one-off episodes would likely be completely cut. While that decision may be applauded by some – after all, various Season 3 episodes were seen as pointless deviations from the main storyline – others may argue that an essential aspect of the show has been removed.

Therefore, it is currently completely subjective if turning The Mandalorian Season 4 into a movie is a good idea. While it may pave the way for a more focused story, it will significantly reduce the time audiences get to spend with Din Djarin and Grogu.

Additionally, it is possible that going against Favreau’s vision for The Mandalorian, the first three seasons of which are currently available to stream on Disney+, could prove disastrous for the Star Wars franchise.