Before Disney launched its very own streaming service, CCO Alan Horn said that if its flagship Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian proved to be successful enough, then a film adaptation could be on the cards. Jon Favreau has also said that Mando and his supporting cast could pop up in Disney’s other Star Wars media.
As The Mandalorian charges forward with significant developments in both its own storylines and several ongoing plot threads in the Star Wars timeline, a big-screen offshoot is a tantalizing prospect, but there’s also a case to be made that it’d be a bad idea.
Could Be Great: It Could Be A True Space Western
George Lucas conceived Star Wars essentially as a space western with some influence from samurai movies thrown in. Solo: A Star Wars Story had the chance to be a full-on space western — and to its credit, it does feature a train robbery and a climactic gunfight — but ultimately, it fell into generic blockbuster territory.
If Jon Favreau and his team bring The Mandalorian to the big screen, then such a movie could be the space western that Solo failed to deliver.
Bad Idea: Movies Based On TV Shows Tend To Disappoint
Both movies and TV shows have actors playing characters in stories written for the screen, but due to their differences in format, the similarities end there. This is why movies based on TV shows tend to disappoint. Premises designed for rinse-and-repeat mystery-of-the-week storytelling like Baywatch and CHiPs won’t work nearly as well in a three-act feature film.
What fans love about The Mandalorian is its old-fashioned “adventure of the week” style of storytelling. In a movie, that would get thrown out the window.
Could Be Great: Some Movies Based On TV Shows Are Great
Not every movie based on a TV show is bad. Some big-screen continuations of small-screen stories have used the freedom of a feature-length runtime to escape from the shackles of restrictive TV timeslots and expand on the characters and their conflicts.
This can be seen in The Simpsons Movie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the best Star Trek movies, even SNL-based movies like Wayne’s World and The Blues Brothers. A Mandalorian movie could follow in their footsteps if Favreau plays his cards right.
Bad Idea: The Series Already Feels Like A Movie
A movie version of The Mandalorian doesn’t really seem necessary because, despite the fact that people watch it on their TVs, laptops, and tablets, it already feels like a movie.
Like many prestige TV series of its era, like Watchmen and Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian feels like a really long movie that’s been chopped up into bitesize chunks.
Could Be Great: Star Wars Originated On The Big Screen
Since George Lucas was initially inspired by sci-fi serials and The Mandalorian itself has proven the effectiveness of the Star Wars universe in live-action TV form, there’s now a strong case to be made that Star Wars’ future is on the small screen.
But ultimately, the saga originated on the big screen and the whole 40-year endeavor has been dedicated to trying to replicate the sense of wonder that came with sitting in a dark movie theater and hearing John Williams’ booming score for the first time and watching a gargantuan Imperial Star Destroyer chasing the measly Tantive IV through the empty void of space.
Bad Idea: It Would Feel Like A Cash Grab
Since The Mandalorian is a streaming series, it should probably remain a streaming series until it reaches an organic conclusion. A big-screen adaptation would inevitably feel like a cash grab on Disney’s part.
Unless there’s a really compelling story that truly wouldn’t work as a couple of regular episodes, making the leap to multiplexes would feel like a gratuitous moneymaking effort.
Could Be Great: Jon Favreau Has A Proven Track Record
Although other directors like Dave Filoni and Deborah Chow have been integral in defining The Mandalorian’s visual style, it’s fair to say that if a movie spin-off was ever made, series creator Jon Favreau would direct it.
And the film would be in safe hands. From Iron Man to The Jungle Book, Favreau has proven himself to be one of the best blockbuster directors out there. The Lion King was a weak spot since it was basically a shot-for-shot remake of an already-perfect movie, but on the whole, Favreau has a strong track record.
Bad Idea: A Boba Fett Movie Might Be Better
Apparently, The Mandalorian’s development was a response to the proposed Boba Fett movie being canned. Now that Fett himself has joined The Mandalorian’s cast and his future in the Star Wars universe is wide open, that film project could be resurrected.
The story of Mando is being told brilliantly on the small screen. Fett is just a side character in the Mandalorian’s story — that can be used as a springboard to his own post-Empire adventure.
Could Be Great: A Movie Would Make For A Great Series Finale
Whether The Mandalorian goes on for five seasons like Breaking Bad, eight seasons like Game of Thrones, or 15 seasons like Supernatural, the creative team could end the Disney+ series on the penultimate installment of the story (possibly with a mind-boggling cliffhanger ending), then release a feature-length series finale in multiplexes.
A movie featuring the Mandalorian is a guaranteed box office hit regardless of its content, but a series finale episode on the big screen would make it an Avengers-level must-see blockbuster.
Bad Idea: The Mandalorian’s Adventure-Of-The-Week Storytelling Wouldn’t Work In A Movie
In theory, a movie about the Mandalorian and Grogu should be a no-brainer. They live in a vast universe filled with colorful characters, far-reaching conflicts, and densely populated planets. But the storytelling style that made Mando and Grogu a pair of overnight icons is the series’ adventure-of-the-week storytelling, which wouldn’t work in a movie.
Like all the worst TV-to-film translations, from Dark Shadows to Entourage, a Mandalorian movie might end up feeling like an oversized episode.