The Mandalorian & Grogu Needed The Villain Twist We All Thought Would Happen

Published Aug 23, 2026, 10:32 AM EDT Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock. The Mandalorian and Grogu is coming to Disney+ on September 2, so audiences will finally see the movie the way it was intended to be seen: on a TV. Not since Moana 2 have we seen such a flagrant case of the Mouse House taking a half-finished streaming project, turning it into a feature film at the last minute, and ham-fisting it into theaters. The Mandalorian and Grogu was a lot of fun on the big screen — I actually went to see it in the theater three times (once in 3D) — but, from a narrative perspective, it couldn’t be clearer that this was supposed to be the fourth season of the TV show. The film has a very episodic plot, and every half an hour, we get one of those wrap-up scenes you get at the end of every Mandalorian episode, but then the story just keeps going. It really feels like binge-watching four episodes of the show, rather than watching a real movie. This plodding, chapter-based storytelling just leaves you waiting for a big payoff that never comes. The final battle is certainly very big and explosive, but it doesn’t have any emotional stakes. Mando, Grogu, and Rotta are never in any real danger, the deus ex New Republic fleet arrives just in time to save the day, and everything wraps up in the most predictable way possible. But there would’ve been an easy way to avoid that. Sigourney Weaver's Character Should've Been The Secret Villain Of The Mandalorian & Grogu Via MovieStillsDB When it was announced that Sigourney Weaver would make her Star Wars debut in The Mandalorian and Grogu, it was initially very exciting. But when the movie came out, her role turned out to be an underwhelming nothing burger. She plays Ward, a colonel in the New Republic. She’s essentially a more legit version of Greef Karga, sending Mando across the galaxy to arrest (or kill) various bad guys. In the first act, Ward sends Mando to bring Rotta the Hutt back to his family in exchange for information about Janu Coin, but Rotta gives Mando the information he needs on Coin, and they team up to take him down. Ward had no idea that the Hutts were planning to betray her, and Mando ends up being captured by the Hutts anyway. It would’ve been much more interesting if Weaver’s character had secretly betrayed Mando to the Hutts, rather than just being clueless about the double cross. It would’ve given her character more of a personality and a purpose in the plot, and some conflict with Mando beyond the generic renegade cop/stern police chief dynamic. If The Mandalorian and Grogu was actually conceived as a feature film, and plotted out as a feature film, Jon Favreau would’ve been able to layer in twists like this. But since he just had to retool some TV scripts, what we ended up with was television on the big screen. Weaver Was Massively Underutilized In Her Star Wars Debut Via MovieStillsDB Jeremy Allen White phoned in his voice role as Rotta, but the real disappointment of The Mandalorian and Grogu’s cast was the underutilization of Sigourney Weaver. Weaver has been an enduring sci-fi icon for nearly 50 years, thanks to her game-changing action-hero role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien saga. She’s since given earnest sci-fi performances, like her roles in the Avatar franchise, and self-effacing comedic turns, like her roles in Paul and Galaxy Quest, and walked a fine line between the two in Ghostbusters. Whenever Weaver shows up in The Mandalorian and Grogu, she’s clearly game to do something great. But the movie just has her delivering exposition that could’ve been delivered by anyone. Ward isn’t a character; she’s just a mouthpiece for all the information we need. You don’t need a screen legend to play such a thankless part. Movies The Mandalorian and Grogu