Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu: In the Name of the Father (review)
After his series, Iron Man filmmaker Jon Favreau continues to take control of the Star Wars saga by featuring those left behind. But with too little subtlety to convince.
Spaceships, a miniature world, a father and a son, and an uncovered hero. Seven years after The Mandalorian series, the director returns with a film which makes the father/son bond between Din Djarin and Grogu its central driving force. And if in Star Wars, blood ties are often decisive – thus Kylo Ren, with his legacy of resentment, walked, eyes injected with hatred, in the footsteps of his grandfather – here, Favreau chooses a different approach. It is not known whose son Din, the Mandalorian, is, nor what planet Grogu comes from. But there are other links that unite them: they form a spatial father/son duo that works on emotion. One cannot move forward without the other and vice versa. It is this very special bond that the director places at the center of his plot. This is also where, since the beginning of The Mandalorian, he has taken his viewer.
Although he is keen to leave the original universe intact, the director of Iron Man couldn’t help but leave his Marvel touch…Din, armored in chrome and propelled by his rockets, is directly reminiscent of the Iron Man costume. In the same way, the humor and the values – very American – presented are reminiscent of the MCU universe…
With his child’s voice and his toddler appearance, the director here makes Grogu – this character with ambiguous cuteness – the emblem of the Mandalorian universe, thus eclipsing the power of this “baby Yoda” although endowed with exceptional powers. Grogu only intervenes in battles at the very last minute, when his spiritual father is in danger. A mascot protagonist, designed to make spectators fall in love but who unfortunately loses too much thickness…
The film finally marks the return of some of the most famous antagonists of the saga: the Hutt. Rotta, son of Jabba, is portrayed as Cinderella mistreated by The Twins, the brother and sister of the crime lord, who want to eliminate him to reign over the clan. Here again, the blood ties are undone: Rotta has not inherited his father’s cruelty, and joins the Din/Grogu pair on the side of good. The bad guys unfortunately oppose the good guys without subtlety… And this symbolizes what we can more broadly regret in The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite its undeniable effectiveness: by placing emotional bonds and what results from them at the center of the Star Wars universe, it loses too much in tragedy and rough edges.
By Jon Favreau. With Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White… Duration: 2h12. Released May 20, 2026
