At the Philippine premiere of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” the audience was asked to shout “Star Wars is back!” for the video cameras. It has been almost seven years since the last Star Wars movie. Seriously, has Star Wars ever really gone away?
In the interim, Disney+ has rolled out over a dozen live action and animated Star Wars series. And did I mention the fandom here is through the roof?
Star Wars, a saga set in a galaxy far, far away, often seems omnipresent in our Asian archipelago.
On May 3, at the BGC Amphitheater, members of the local 501st Legion, the Rebel Legion, and Fight Saber, along with costumed fans celebrated the eve of the annual Star Wars Day, May 4 (this takes off from “May the force be with you”). They were out having fun, parading in costumes often using thick black fabric and even resin and fiberglass, and taking photos in the summer heat — that’s devotion.
A week and half later, many of the same fans were back at the SM North Atrium populating a very large activation area with all manner of Star Wars merchandise from apparel to toys to accessories and even gaming chairs. There were installations and backdrops from The Mandalorian franchise within a franchise: sets from Tatooine, the Razorcrest cockpit, an AT-ST walker and more. Said area will be up into Sunday, the 24.
The premiere last Friday involved a parade, including six cosplayers dressed up as The Mandalorian/Din Djarin, countless fans carried their Grogu figures.
The events in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” happen after what transpires in the finale of the third season of “The Mandalorian.” In movie terms, it’s after “Return of the Jedi” and before “The Force Awakens.”
Some people in the audience wondered why Disney just didn’t just have this as the fourth season of “The Mandalorian.” I can only hazard a guess a movie would bring in so much more revenue. After all, the series was a hit out the gate. Also, it’s useless to resist Pedro Pascal and ‘Baby Yoda.’ Not to mention, that second season sustained a lot of geeks over the pandemic.
As with the series, the movie is a Space Western. If you watched scenes from Lito Lapid’s “Leon Guerrero” movies, you might recognize a power slide, and a stunt or two. Din Djarin (Pascal), in his usual reluctant fashion, accepts an assignment from Ward, a Rebel alliance colonel played by Sigourney Weaver.
Part of this mission involves locating the late Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta. We met Rotta as a baby when we met Ahsoka Tano, in 2008’s animated film, “The Clone Wars.” Rotta is no run-of-the-mill Hutt. If you've been wondering who “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White’s character is in the film, this is the one. And director Jon Favreau makes it work.
It’s not necessary to watch all of “The Mandalorian” over again to enjoy the film. The Hutt twins from “The Book of Boba Fett” are part of the story, but all one needs is a quick refresher. Zeb Orrelios, originally from “Star Wars Rebels,” shows up again in Mando’s world.
The mighty and unique Grogu is predictably cute and irresistible. While I’m past the cute and irresistible stage of life, I must say we have something in common — we constantly like to eat.
For those of you who pay attention to who does the score, three-time Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson is back doing the music for this.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is out in cinemas and Imax theaters, it runs just over two hours and has no post-credits scene.
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING FROM HANK PALENZUELA
