Jon Favreau Teases He Might Be Done with ‘Star Wars’ After ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’

Will The Mandalorian and Grogu mark the end of Jon Favreau’s tenure with Star Wars? After three seasons on Disney+, Disney and Lucasfilm scrapped a fourth season of the The Mandalorian to bring the sub-franchise to cinemas. Directed by Favreau, The Mandalorian and Grogu will mark Star Wars‘ grand return to the big screen for the first time since the release of The Rise of Skywalker back in 2019.

Speaking with Polygon about the upcoming movie Favreau touched upon how The Mandalorian and Grogu might be the end of his time with Star Wars. Favreau said, “I’ve been working on Star Wars now for seven years, and to be able to step up to doing it as a film feels like a culmination of what I’m working on.” The use of the word “culmination” might imply a sense of conclusion, and it would certainly be a high to go out on. Favreau also spoke about the challenges of bringing The Mandalorian from television to the big screen, implying the movie will be the biggest adventure for the titular duo yet. He said:

“With Star Wars, we have to execute at that tech level. So the challenge becomes: Okay, we presented a cinematic experience on the small screen. We have to up our game now to the movie theater. That means taller aspect ratios for IMAX, building sets that take full advantage of that, making the visual effects of the quality and caliber that we have to notch everything up. And then the storytelling as well. That adventure has to fill up the screen and has to be something — at this moment in time, when so much is competing for attention — that you’re going to stop what you’re doing, and you’re going to go to a movie theater, and you’re going to sit down in that movie theater, and you’re not going to be able to pause it, and you’re not going to be able to eat the food out of your refrigerator. You have to have such a good experience that you say, ‘This is worth my time. Let’s go again. I want to bring you. You should go see it.'”

Jon Favreau’s Long History with ‘Star Wars’

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ on Nov. 11, 2019, with Favreau spending over seven years telling the story of Din Djarin and Grogu. It is actually longer, since Favreau and Dave Filoni pitched The Mandalorian to former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, in 2017. In between pitching The Mandalorian and the series premiere, Favreau voiced the character of Rio Durant in Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. Favreau is not only the creator of The Mandalorian but also wrote 20 of its 24 episodes and directed the season 2 premiere, “Chapter Nine: The Marshall.” Favreau also created and wrote all seven episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, and served as an executive producer on Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. Favreau’s ties to Star Wars and Lucasfilm go back even further, as from 2010 to 2012, he lent his voice to the Mandalorian Death Watch leader Pre Vizla.

After so many years developing Star Wars titles, it would be understandable if Favreau wanted to take a step back. It is likely that even if he takes a backseat on writing and directing future Star Wars projects, he will likely remain as a producer, at least until the era of The Mandalorian is complete. He could also continue to star in the franchise, as he did after passing on directing Iron Man 3 in the MCU but continuing to play Happy Hogan in several other movies. Either way, Favreau is sticking with Disney, directing a short series for Disney+ centered on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first animated character.

The Mandalorian and Grogu could be the end of Jon Favreau’s time with Star Wars, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end of the story he began in a section of the franchise dubbed by fans as “The Mandoverse”. Ahsoka Season 2 is set to debut on Disney+ later this year, and Dave Filoni, now the co-president of Lucasfilm, is still set to direct a team-up movie based on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka.