Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu Movie Gets Filming Start Date

This is the Way: The Mandalorian movie has a filming start date. Following Disney and Lucasfilm's official announcement that The Mandalorian & Grogu feature directed by series creator Jon Favreau would begin production this year, a new listing on the Film & Television Industry Alliance's production tracking service reveals that the Mando movie — the first Star Wars movie since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker — will start shooting June 17 in Los Angeles. The first three seasons of the hit Disney+ series all filmed primarily in the L.A. area, including on soundstages at Manhattan Beach Studios with ILM's StageCraft technology and the Volume.

Plot details remain under wraps, but The Mandalorian season 3 ended with helmeted bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his Mandalorian apprentice Grogu — colloquially referred to as "Baby Yoda" — settling on the planet Nevarro in the Outer Rim of the galaxy. Laying low at a cabin on the outskirts of High Magistrate Greef Karga's (Carl Weathers) territory, Din offered to work with Adelphi Ranger Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) as an independent contractor and help the fledgling New Republic hunt down Imperial remnants in the shadows of the Empire. 

Favreau also serves as executive producer on The Mandalorian & Grogu with Lucasfilm Chief Content Officer Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. The release date is TBA, but Disney has reserved two theatrical dates for its Star Wars feature-development slate that includes the upcoming untitled Rey Skywalker movie: May 22, 2026, and December 18, 2026.

"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau said when announcing the Mandalorian movie in January. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."

Despite Mando and Grogu's jump to the big screen, The Mandalorian season 4 is reportedly in the works at Disney+. Favreau first hinted at the potential of a Mandalorian feature film in 2020, telling Variety: "The line is blurring now. Things that you would have only seen in the movie theater, you're seeing on streaming, and I think it could go the other way as well."

Following Din's crossover into The Book of Boba Fett and intersections with other series set during the post-Return of the Jedi era, Favreau said he was in "no rush" to bring The Mandalorian to theaters, but added: "We're definitely open to it, and excited to see where the story leads us and have that flexibility — because there's no rulebook now."