Summary

The Mandalorian & Grogu film will debut characters from the show, along with new additions, like BDX droids.
BDX droids, related to BD-1, are cute, animatronic, and modeled after ducklings, making them fitting for a movie.
The film's budget constraints make practical, remote-controlled BDX droids a cost-effective and charming choice to include.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is sure to excite fans of the Disney+ show, but a recently revealed addition will likely also excite a different group of Disney fans, as they’ll be seeing a familiar sight when the film hits theaters next year.

When it was revealed that The Mandalorian’s three-season run on Disney+ would be followed up by a feature film in place of a fourth season, fans were skeptical at first but soon began to see the vision. While the show had the sort of unfocused feel of a Western week-to-week, a return to the big screen would certainly be a better way to tell one well-paced, singularly focused adventure story featuring the show’s two main characters. In addition to The Mandalorian & Grogu bringing back characters from the show for the movie, a bunch of debuts were set up for new characters, including bringing back an obscure Star Wars villain that longtime fans of the franchise will certainly look forward to seeing in live action.

'It's Hard To Imagine A Situation Like This Would Ever Come Again' Andor Showrunner Reminiscences On Time Working Within The Franchise

Tony Gilroy hasn't changed his mind about departing the Star Wars franchise for good after his Disney+ show wraps, but he'll certainly miss it.

Posts

By Ademilade Shodipe-Dosunmu

As the big-screen return of the franchise following years of only releasing Disney+ projects, The Mandalorian & Grogu will see a lot of additions to the lore and world-building of Star Wars, including new technological marvels befitting the science fiction juggernaut. While the titular Mandalorian himself is no fan of droids, Din Djarin and Grogu will be joined on their upcoming theatrical adventure by the live-action debut of one of the franchise’s most adorable mechanical creations. As revealed during The Walt Disney Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders Webcast, the BDX droids that the company created for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge park exhibitions will be making an appearance in the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu when it hits theaters next year.

You Know You Just Want To Cuddle Up With A BDX Droid

The BDX droids are an interesting addition to live-action as they’ve appeared in one major Star Wars project already. While made for the park, the droids are related to Cal Cestis’ BD-1 droid companion from the Star Wars Jedi games. Fans of the game series will already know that BD-1 is one of the franchise’s most intelligent droids, but the BDX animatronic units at Galaxy’s Edge are made with the utmost focus on cuteness. While the droids are remote-controlled, their motions and habits in response to control inputs were modeled on ducklings in the real world, training the droids on how to walk, jump, dance, and more, just like those real-world baby animals do. The end result has been a small army of the most adorable, lifelike little machines that Star Wars fans have ever seen. The remote control capabilities also make them a real standout choice for a movie, as having pre-made droids to add to the movie is much more workable than CGI or having to create RC droids from scratch.

Fans are sure to enjoy the addition, and it might just be more fitting than other options considering the film’s position. It’s recently been reported that The Mandalorian & Grogu hit a worrying snag concerning its budget, which is rumored to be worryingly small for a theatrical Star Wars project. While there’s something to be said about the show’s grounded tone playing a part in that by potentially sparing the production some post-processing costs, the BDX droids being practical and remote-controlled now seems even more of a heaven-send in light of the constraints.

The Mandalorian is available to stream on Disney+, with The Mandalorian & Grogu set for theatrical release on May 22, 2026.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

The Mandalorian

Display card tags widget

TV-14

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget

Release Date: 2019 - 2023-00-00

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Network: Disney+
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Chris Bartlett, Carl Weathers, Misty Rosas, Emily Swallow, Brendan Wayne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tait Fletcher, Lateef Crowder, Amy Sedaris, Carey Jones, Dawn Dininger, Hemky Madera, John Beasley, John Leguizamo, John Rosengrant, Jon Favreau, Jonny Coyne, Marco Khan, Mark Hamill, Rio Hackford, Seth Gabel, Shirley Henderson, Steve Blum, Titus Welliver, Trula M. Marcus, W. Earl Brown, Werner Herzog, Xander Berkeley, Charles Baker, Danny Jacobs, James Chen
Showrunner: Jon Favreau
Directors: Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dave Filoni, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, Deborah Chow, Jon Favreau, Peter Ramsey, Robert Rodriguez, Taika Waititi, Lee Isaac Chung
Writers: Jon Favreau
Franchise(s): Star Wars
Main Genre: Sci-Fi
Seasons: 3
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Karen Gilchrist
Story By: Jon Favreau
Streaming Service(s): Dis
Creator(s): Jon Favreau