Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 26, 2026

Note: Disney is also releasing several 4K editions of The Mandalorian and Grogu, including a wide 4K release in standard packaging (link will lead to an available review tab), a SteelBook (which will be reviewed as soon as it's received) and a considerably more expensive Beskar Collector's Edition.

E.Y. "Yip" Harburg was one of the most playful lyricists from the Golden Age of Hollywood and Broadway, and if in the movie world he's remembered for such classics as Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, his contributions to the legendary stage musical Finian's Rainbow (the link points to the film version, of course) included a bevy of witty wordplay, including in the fantastic song The Begat, where Harburg insouciantly offered:

The Lord made Adam.
The Lord made Eve.
He made them both
A little bit naive.

They lived as free
As the summer breeze,
Without pajamas and without chemise.

Until they stumbled
on the apple trees.

Harburg's lyric then continues on to document generations of all sorts of "begatting" culled from Genesis and other books of the Old Testament moving on to (then) contemporary times, but considering the "oak sized" um, empire that grew from the "tiny acorn" (?) of the first Star Wars, Harburg's efforts could jokingly be updated to include a verse stating:

They begat George Lucas
Who begat a lot
In a mutating franchise
Which left fans distraught.

Well, maybe not distraught, actually, but at least increasingly in need of some kind of a flowchart to keep track of all of the nooks and crannies of various interlocking storylines, timeframes and, of course, characters. A "begat" list of Lucas properties stemming from that first Star Wars film from almost a half century ago (!) would take up considerable space, but suffice it to say The Mandalorian and Grogu is another attempt to fashion an ostensibly full bodied property out of what was initially kind of a sidebar or, to keep the metaphor intact, an appendage. If the Disney+ television series (links to reviews below) started out strongly but started showing those feared signs of diminishing returns as it continued on, this film (made ostensibly in place of a fourth season of the show) never really consistently achieves even the arguably less effective moments of the series' second and third years.

While not strictly necessary to understand the plot machinations of this feature film, those interested can catch up on the story thus far in our reviews of the property's television run:

The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray review

The Mandalorian: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray review

The Mandalorian: The Complete Third Season 4K Blu-ray review

Despite all of Lucas' "begatting", even Lucas himself has mentioned how many (most? all?) of the Star Wars properties elucidate tropes outlined by such notables as Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth. That frankly means certain plot points or at least general trendlines become recurrent, and that is certainly once again the case with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which pits our heroic pair against remnants of the dreaded Galactic Empire in the so-called Outer Rim. The underlying narrative offers few actual surprises in terms of machinations, though there are a couple of fun quasi-cameos, and the story is liberally stuffed full of characters (maybe too stuffed) from all sorts of both live action and animated Star Wars properties from the veritable days of yore to current streams on Disney+.

The two interesting "marquee" additions to this outing are probably Sigourney Weaver as Colonel Ward of the New (if not completely improved) Republic, and a perhaps even more surprising voice cameo from none other than Martin Scorsese as a character rather cheekily named Hugo (Durant), who contributes a mile a minute info dump (reportedly improvised by the legendary director) to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). It's probably in relatively "little" moments like this that The Mandalorian and Grogu manages to capture some of the sheer fun of the original Star Wars trilogy, though it's at least passingly interesting that the Mandalorian and Grogu are on a rescue mission of sorts involving a Hutt "tot". Other moments can be listless even given an impressive production design. Still, director Jon Favreau's stated objective to provide a kind of "nostalgic" experience is certainly on tap, though some curmudgeons may be reminded of Peter De Vries' famous statement that "nostalgia ain't what it used to be". In that regard, while admittedly minor, wouldn't it have been instantly nostalgic for this film's introductory text crawl to play out in a receding perspective angle?

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was probably a bit more pleased with the film. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Mandalorian and Grogu is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1 and 1.78:1 (the latter used mostly for more effects laden and/or action sequences). Captured with Arri Alexas and finished at 4K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb), this is another stellar looking offering from Disney, though I'll cut to the chase and certainly recommend those with the appropriate equipment with an interest in this title to opt for Disney's 4K UHD release, for reasons pointed out in the review of that format. The opening several minutes of the film exploit relatively neutral tones like grays and whites, though sudden pops of blue and red help to establish the eventual more consistent pop of the palette. The opening vignettes offer several explosions where dynamic oranges in fireballs are especially expressive. That said, I'd probably argue the palette only really begins to demonstrate its variety and power once the credits start up, and then especially in any number of following scenes, including some of the seaside material seen early on, but perhaps just as noticeably in more intentionally graded material, like the almost fetid green pallor that accompanies some of the Hutt material (though it should be noted even earlier the military setting which introduces the Weaver character is also rather subtly skewed toward greens). The film has a number of rather dark or dimly lit scenes, and one noticeable difference between this 1080 SDR presentation and its 4K HDR counterpart is the improvement in shadow detail the 4K edition offers. Detail levels are consistently appealing throughout, including on any number of CGI elements (one of the supplements gets into some of the fascinating hi tech blandishments now available to render reflections and highlights on metallic surfaces, as in scenes with the Razor Crest). Fine detail on little Grogu is excellent, and more "rubbery" textures like those porcine Hutts also look palpable. This is a presentation that frankly doesn't try to ape film with a coating of heavy digital grain, and I for one appreciated the clarity offered.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As has been their standard operating procedure for a while, Disney features a Dolby Atmos track on their 4K UHD disc and a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this 1080 disc. While there is some noticeable height engagement throughout the story that helps to, well, elevate the Atmos track somewhat, I wouldn't argue that the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 offered here is seriously lacking in any significant way. Surround activity is consistent and very smartly designed, with near constant ambient environmental effects dotting the side and rear channels. Several action scenes virtually from the get go involve clear engagement of the surround channels for a variety of whizzing spacecraft and explosions. Ludwig Göransson contributes an energetic score which also has some sumptuous spaciousness throughout. Dialogue is rendered clearly and cleanly. Forced subtitles for occasional moments like "Hutt speak" are offered, but otherwise optional subtitles in several languages are available.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Crafting The Mandalorian and Grogu (HD; 19:49) is a really interesting piece highlighting some of the techniques utilized by the various artisans involved in the production.


• Biomes: From Snow to Swamp (HD; 6:36) offers some background on the various environments the story explores.


• Welcome to Shakari (HD; 8:44) looks at a kind Blade Runner adjacent urban setting.


• Dejarik for Real (HD; 5:53) goes all the way back to the first Star Wars, speaking of nostalgia.


• Audio Commentary by Jon Favreau

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Given my above joking about the, um, fertility of Lucas' enterprises, and with current controversies like the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers, not to mention the previous merger between 20th Century Fox (as it was known then) and Disney, I'm almost at a point where I just want us mere mortals to surrender and finally accept some kind of cinematic metaverse that combines all of the Marvel, DC and Star Wars stories into one. That can't be that far off, can it? Those who managed to stick with all three seasons of The Mandalorian will probably enjoy this even given some of its deficits, and of course Grogu is inarguably one of the most adorable characters in the entire Star Wars canon. Technical merits are solid and the supplements enjoyable. With caveats noted, Recommended.