The Mandalorian & Grogu delivers steps up the TV action for a strong outing at the cinema

On the way into a screening of The Mandalorian & Grogu, I bumped into local Sydney film critic and media writer Michael Bodey (who writes one of my favourite weekly film Substack’s SHOUTING AT CLOUDS) who asked if I was excited about seeing the movie.

“I haven’t been this unenthused about seeing a Star Wars film since Solo,” I replied very quickly. And that was true. Star Wars has been a constant in my life. I grew up with the original films on VHS (and by ‘original films,’ I’m absolutely including the two 80s made for TV Ewok movies which I watched endlessly at my Nanna’s), I was there as a teenager every second Thursday night across the six weeks of the Star Wars: Special Edition cinema releases, I was in line for 6+ hours for the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace midnight screening, etc etc. Heck, I even went to the cinema to see the 3D re-release of The Phantom Menace.

All of this is to say: I’m invested in Star Wars. But there has been a lot of Star Wars product in recent years and my interest has waned dramatically. It’s not that I think there’s too many of these shows. It’s just that most of them aren’t very good.

Andor, obviously, being the exception.

The Mandalorian & Grogu has re-stoked my enthusiasm in Star Wars.

One of the challenges the film faces is the weight of expectation on two fronts. As a spin-off from the TV show, it needs to feel bigger and more theatrical than the show you have been watching at home. It has also been about eight years since we last saw a new Star Wars film in the cinema, so there’s just a greater weight on its shoulders.

The challenge of its theatricality is that The Mandalorian TV show is a good looking show that has a certain theatrical look and scale to it. Yes, we are all a little tired of that visual look of shows filmed against ‘The Volume,’ but Mando has actually done a fairly good job of evolving along with that technology and making the show feel more tangible.

The Mandalorian & Grogu does push its theatricality further. There’s a sequence in a battle arena that feels a little smaller scale than it should, but other than that, I think that this visually warrants the trip to the cinema to see it.

Also, it just looks f**king great on the huge IMAX screen. The film was shot for IMAX and I saw it projected on a 1.43:1 screen in Sydney, which is an incredibly boxy-ratio. It’s funny that we are talking about the film escaping its TV roots only to be screened in cinemas in a ratio that evokes the 4:3 screens we used to watch TV on.

Where that scale isn’t quite felt is with the story. Star Wars movies have always been fairly episodic with multiple stories and fantastical locations defining each act. So, the fact this feels like a couple of episodes strung together is a byproduct of it being Star Wars.

The weight of expectation with this one is an issue though. When Disney bought Star Wars, fans were given the promise of a main large-scale trilogy of films, with off-shoot films released in-between the bigger releases. These films would have a lower budget and tell smaller stories. In that kind of environment, The Mandalorian & Grogu would fit right in and be celebrated. As the only film out in the market after a bunch of stagnant films… it doesn’t quite hit the bar needed.

And that’s a shame, because this is a fun movie. It has exciting set pieces and some fun action moments. There’s some really great, laugh-out-loud gags with Grogu and some other little guys mounting a rescue of Mando. And there’s this great soundtrack keeping the whole film feeling really energetic.

There’s this awesome Tangerine Dream-inspired musical sequence with Mando and Grogu visiting an 80s-esque Blade Runner-like large city, with elements I am almost certain were pulled from George Lucas’ failed ambitions Star Wars: Underworld TV series project.

The film is broadly pretty fun and one of the better popcorn films you’ll likely catch at the cinemas this year. It’s not among the best of the Star Wars films, but it’s firmly around the middle of the list somewhere. And that’s fine,. It’s good.

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Maximum Pleasure is Guaranteed on Apple TV

I’m going to write about this more in Friday’s Always Be Streaming newsletter, but if you have an Apple TV subscription, there’s a really lively and fun dramedy debuting later today called Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.

Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) stars as a woman in New York who becomes the victim of a scammer webcam boy that she has been fooling around with online. He’s threatening to reveal footage of her along with personal details, which is a problem for her as she’s also involved in a difficult custody situation for her daughter.

Maslany is great in this, with a supporting cast that are equally lively and funny. It’s a really good, adult show that treats the viewer with a lot of respect.

I like this one a lot. But, it got me thinking about the absolute tear Apple TV is on right now.

Concurrently streaming with new episodes weekly is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Your Friends and Neighbors, Widow’s Bay, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, For All Mankind, Unconditional, and For All Mankind.

I, admittedly, haven’t seen Unconditional, but the rest are all contenders for End of Year best lists. And those are just the shows streaming right now. We talk about the strength of HBO as a brand. It’s no secret that Apple TV is attempting to be a challenger brand in this space.

Below is a list of announced titles from HBO and Apple TV for 2026. There’s still some titles without release dates, so I haven’t included those. And The Pitt and Hacks are both HBO Max titles, so I have left both off the list too.

This isn’t to throw shade on HBO as that’s an impressive list of shows for any year, but Apple TV has a genuinely incredible output.

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News Desk

• NBCUniversal has launched a Law & Order mobile game. Law & Order: Clue Hunter is available on the Peacock app. Read: Variety

• Aden Young is leaving Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent after three seasons. Luke Kirby will be starring in the show from season four. Read: THR

• The US ABChas announced a straight-to-series order for an untitled Grey’s Anatomy spin-off that will be set in Texas. It’s the third spin-off for the show. Read: THR

• Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles is a series of 30x4 minute shorts about the turtle mutant heroes when they were younger ninjas in training. ABW notes the missed opportunity by Nickelodeon not to shamelessly chase a TMNT knock-off of the very popular Amazing Spidey cartoon on Disney+. Read: Polygon

• The cast of Shrinking stopped by Sesame Street to record some sketches that will be released online-only. There’s something very funny to me about how Harrison Ford’s decision to do TV and specifically this show now has him doing Internet videos opposite Cookie Monster. Read: Variety

• RIP 90s reality TV star Mark Fuhrman. Read: THR

• David Mitchell and Robert Webb are launching a YouTube channel to globally distribute sketches from their hit new sketch show Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. Read: Radio Times

• The anime take on Scooby-Doo, Yokoso Scooby-Doo!, will stream in the US on Tubi. Read: Deadline

• Demián Bichir and André Holland are among the cast of the upcoming Prime Video TV series spin-off from the Creed films, Delphi. Read: Deadline

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Trailer Park

The Agency is back for season 2 on Paramount+ June 21.

South Park is back for season 29 on Comedy Central Sept 16 and the next day on Paramount+. Episodes will be released every two weeks.

Rosario Tijeras is back for season 5 on Netflix.

Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express – The Movie debuts on Netflix June 1.

Six delinquents are tasked with cleaning a train as part of a community service program. But when the train suddenly takes off, chaos ensues.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan is back for a fifth and final season June 12 on Starz.

Voicemails For Isabelle debuts on Netflix June 19.

A young woman's hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar.

The Capture returns to Peacock for season 3 June 18.

Spider-Noir will debut in color on Prime Video May 27.

Spider-Noir will debut in black and white on Prime Video May 27.

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That’s the newsletter for the today.

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