The opening day of Star Wars Celebration Japan was a big one. There was news of a new Shawn Levy-directed and Ryan Gosling-starring Star Wars movie named Star Wars: Starfighter. There was also an announcement of a new animated series focusing on Darth Maul. On top of all of that, more details were shared about The Mandalorian and Grogu.
The Mandalorian and Grogu will be arriving in theaters on May 22, 2025. When it does, fan favorites will be returning in including Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios. There will also be a brand-new character played by Sigourney Weaver coming to a galaxy far, far away. During an opening-day panel, Sigourney Weaver and Pedro Pascal, the Mandalorian himself, joined a panel with Jon Favreau and Kathleen Kennedy. The enthusiasm of those in attendance was palpable.
Weaver, who hadn’t seen The Mandalorian before being approached the fan talked about seeing the series for the first time. “When I watched [The Mandalorian], I fell in love with all the characters, especially this guy,” Weaver said, motioning to Pascal. “And of course Grogu stole my heart.”
Grogu also came to the stage to thunderous applause. An exclusive clip was shared with those in attendance. In it, Grogu utilizes his Force powers, which continue to grow, to break apart a mean-looking mouse droid. Attendees also got to see a glimpse of an incredible action sequence with Din Djarin breaking into an AT-AT, blasting away, and taking out an entire squad of snowtroopers. During the battle, he utilizes just about every weapon he has, including his iconic flamethrower.
A photo from the set showed Dave Filoni sitting in the pilot’s seat of the AT-AT and grinning away. “Look at Dave, look at what he does at work,” said Favreau. “He gets paid for that, by the way.”
“I do!” Filoni exclaimed quietly.
Photos that were also shown exclusively to Star Wars Celebration Japan attendees revealed Weaver and Pascal looking amazing in their costumes. Weaver was wearing the familiar X-wing pilot jumpsuit. A special early look also showed the two butting heads. The Mandalorian isn’t a fan of authority, and Weaver’s character weilds it naturally.
More details were shared about Weaver’s role in The Mandalorian and Grogu, although not a name. Weaver said of the role: “She’s a fighter pilot… she came up in the Rebellion and now she’s trying to protect the New Republic and I believe is completely committed to what she does, has had the good sense to hire Mandalorian and this side kick, and I’m gonna find out if they’re as good as they say. I’m counting on it!”
During the panel, Weaver was also asked what drew her to Star Wars. Her reply was:
I just really can’t believe how lucky I got. I’ve admired the Star Wars films, and you always have such amazing actors in them, and I love being taken to another world where you can see things play out that are really important, but they are about another world, not your world. I think everyone needs that escape and that’s why I’ve consistently gone back to science fiction. I just feel it’s about the future, it’s about being human, it’s an exploration of so many things, it’s just endless. I think science fiction fans understand just how important sci-fi is.
So when Jon, out of the blue, asked to zoom with me and starts talking about The Mandalorian and Grogu… I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t watched the show. If I’d known what it was, I would’ve watched it, but… he said ‘just watch it, start watching,’ and I just fell in love with it. How could you not? With both characters, and the world, and all the other supporting worlds, it was just very inspiring and very cool. So the next Zoom we had, I knew a little more, and… irresistible, are you kidding me? I’m so grateful for Jon for even thinking of me… we have to find someone who hasn’t been in this other universe, and I’m so grateful that he thought of me.
Favreau was asked what kind of story fans can expect from the movie. He said:
Well I think there’s a few things we’re keeping in mind. First of all, we want a sense of play and adventure, right? Because that’s what it is… there’s adventure, but there’s also all of the complexity that came from the western and samurai film. And Kurosawa, Ford… and we, especially the directors that we brought in to do the show over the years, we connected them with that.
Also, mid-century war films. There’s imagery George was drawn to that we tried to maintain and an aesthetic of the lived in world that he created. That felt like there was history. And even though it’s sci-fi, it doesn’t feel like it’s set in the future. If anything, it feels like it’s set in the archetypes of the past, of classic storytelling.
And how do you incorporate all of those things… in the show, we could go on little tributaries and trajectories, but with a movie, you want it to be for everybody to enjoy and how do you draw all of that together and put it in a package and experience that if it’s the first time someone’s coming to see Star Wars, that they want to be here and be part of this.
Weaver was also asked what it was like to finally be a part of the Star Wars franchise. She answered, “I’ve never had such a warm welcome, enthusiastic, and what’s cool is everyone has a different Star Wars and it doesn’t matter, I’m part of the family now. I’m thrilled to be here, I thanked Jon backstage, I said ‘thanks, dude’.”
The following clips were shared by Star Wars Celebration Japan with some of the principles for The Mandalorian and Grogu:
What do you think of what you know about The Mandalorian and Grogu so far? Are you excited about this film? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
