There has been a ton of speculation — and a fair amount of skepticism — about the first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian & Grogu. The trailers and two clips (below) released so far have resulted in no shortage of opinions.
On Monday night, some Star Wars fans and influencers were treated to the film’s first 25 minutes in Imax, and they’ve taken to social media to share their thoughts. Keep in mind these are influencers who did not see the full film and Disney is rather savvy about who gets invited to such events (the first fan reactions to 2025’s widely panned live-action Snow White, for example, were also enthusiastic).
Still, these are actual Star Wars fans with plenty of online followers and their opinions matter.
Their verdict?
The film’s opening was really strong, with some extended action that particularly benefited from the Imax format. Several noted that most of what has been shown in the trailers and clips was taken from these first 25 minutes, suggesting writer-director Jon Favreau might be holding back some big surprises from the latter portions of the film (this would be on brand — remember, Favreau convinced Disney to entirely hide Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian marketing until after the first episode dropped).
If there’s a common negative point, it’s that the film struck many as feeling like an elevated version of a TV show rather than having the grandeur of the Skywalker Saga films (or the gorgeous Rogue One). Given that the movie is based on a TV show, that’s probably to be expected.
Here is a sample of the comments:
“The 25 minutes felt like a first episode of a new season. It’s also great to Mando kicking ass on an #imax screen. If you’re only gonna see once in theater, do imax. Sound & scope of the opening action sequence was great. Ludwig’s score was [fire].”
“I really liked what I saw. It has vibes of the original trilogy, the action looks great (especially in IMAX), the plot sounds interesting, and there’s a mystery at its core that caught my attention. I’m really excited!”
“The opening scene deserves credit. It’s genuinely cool. The CGI still needs some polish, but if the film keeps that momentum, it could easily turn into a hit. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but something felt off when the opening credits rolled, it didn’t quite feel like a Star Wars movie. It came across more like a streaming TV film than a big-screen experience. Overall, I enjoyed what I saw and will still be seated to watch the rest on May 22nd.”
“Din Djarin is arguably the coolest he’s ever been, and Grogu is as adorable as always. While the movie’s stakes aren’t the highest, a lot of what the trailers show is from early in the film. So hopefully we’ll get some fun surprises.”
“Very entertaining, reminds me a lot of the 1st season + the OG Star Wars trilogy in terms of story structure & feel. Action is MASSIVE, the Hutts have a huge part, & I can’t wait to see the rest!”
“If you love the show (as I do), I am positive you will love the movie (just based on what we saw). It looks like the show, of course, but there is an elevated quality to it, with more polished VFX and atmosphere … Mando is still basically Star Wars John Wick and isn’t aiming for the leg when taking out bad guys, so there’s no saturation for a family audience in that regard. Grogu is still adorable and fun, so if you expect him to be like Yoda in Episode II, you’re looking for the wrong movie. Overall, I got some of the old Star Wars feelings back, and I would have stayed for the whole movie with no complaints if they let us. I don’t know if it will reverse a lot of soured SW fans and some will surely complain no matter what, but who cares? For me, it’s nice to be back in a galaxy far, far away with characters I enjoy, rather than enduring the new ones I don’t.”
“Cinematic, epic scale that demands to be seen on the big screen. Ludwig Göransson’s music gave us goosebumps. Had smiles on our faces the entire time watching the footage.”
“So, in many ways, these 25 minutes feel like an exciting premiere of a big streaming TV series, one that provides some big setpieces and tees up an exciting season of adventures. The Mandalorian and Grogu is on the big screen—on IMAX, no less, the biggest screens! That gives everything an extra sense of importance, scale, and excitement. This might not be a return to a Star Wars movie from the old days, but the scale is certainly there … it seems like The Mandalorian and Grogu is trying to be more than a TV show, though it’s unclear if its ambitious enough to seem on par with the episodic films.”
“We got to watch the first 25 minutes of Jon Favreau’s THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU in @IMAX
on this May the 4th and it was such a treat. Already a whole lot of fun. The film looks way better on this huge screen and especially when the aspect ratio expands to the full 1.43.”
“I’m very happy to report that this movie hits the ground RUNNING! Fantastic action and adorable Grogu shenanigans. I can’t wait to see the rest!”
Here are the two clips from the film, which opens May 22.
And this clip is at the 9 minute mark:
