We’re trying. Truly, we are. We really want The Mandalorian and Grogu to be awesome. It’s Star Wars! Back on the big screen! Nothing would make us happier than for the film to provide the joy and wonder Star Wars has provided so many for so long. But, we’re also honest. And, if we’re being honest, not everything being released from the film has inspired hope. The most recent trailer was great, but the first clip just came out and, well, you’ll see.
Director Jon Favreau appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night to promote the new Star Wars movie and brought a clip of a brief action scene in the film. It’s best if you just check it out here, 9 minutes into the interview.
So the point of this clip is that Grogu is still a mischievous little devil, hitting buttons even if they aren’t the right buttons. The Mandalorian seems to think he understands him, but what we’re seeing plays out as if there is zero understanding at all. It’s supposed to be cute, but we’re not sure if it works.
Meanwhile, Zeb is in the back, just firing over and over, hitting nothing as a bland backdrop zips by—for a chase scene, it’s just got no energy. That’s Jonny Coyne sitting beside them as, we think, the Imperial warlord Janu, but who knows if he’s friend, foe, or neither at this point? It’s just not great.
Now, obviously, this is about 45 seconds of a two-hour-plus-long movie. It’s out of context. We don’t know how the characters got there or what comes next. We have to assume that, when everything is working in tandem, it plays out better. Also, Favreau is famously very averse to talking about or revealing any spoilers, and this clip clearly is devoid of them. Maybe it’s one of the very few clips he decided he could play that gives a little taste and reveals nothing. All of which is to say, while the clip isn’t great, we’re not counting it out just yet.
But when you add this to the previous trailers, the Rotta the Hutt stuff, and about a dozen other things, the pattern does not look great. We hope we’re wrong.
The Mandalorian and Grogu open May 22.
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