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SSW260: The Mandalorian & Grogu returns Star Wars to the theatrical screen for the first time in years, and it leads with the franchise’s most compelling duo. Mike Creavey, Jeff Haecker, and Thomas Salerno sit down for a full review.

Their verdict: a fun, self-contained adventure that earns its place on the big screen. The episode-arc structure will feel familiar to Mandalorian viewers, but it works as a standalone entry for newcomers too — and the panel appreciated that.

Grogu’s development is the film’s real center of gravity. The team tracks his arc from baby sidekick to emotionally present participant, and agrees the film earns its quiet moments — especially in the parallel it draws between Grogu’s bond with Din Djarin and Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), who wants nothing to do with his father Jabba’s legacy. Fatherhood runs through the film: the bonds that form, the shadows fathers leave, the choice to be something different.

The panel digs into several standout elements. Embo, the Kyuzo bounty hunter from the Clone Wars, makes his live-action debut — Jeff found him underwhelming, Thomas felt he was exactly right. Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios (Steve Blum) gets a warm welcome. Sigourney Weaver as Colonel Ward of the Adelphi Rangers is appreciated, though the panel wonders if her role was undersized. Martin Scorsese’s cameo as shopkeeper Hugo Durant gets a laugh. Shirley Henderson — Moaning Myrtle, Babu Frik — voices all the Anzellans.

The Dejarik match set piece, which brings the classic holographic board game to life as gladiatorial combat, lands as the film’s best action beat. The Hutt Twins speaking Basic rather than Huttese sparked real discussion. And the shared disappointment: no post-credits tease for the larger Thrawn storyline.

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