Summary
- The Mandalorian season 4 may still happen, despite rumors suggesting it would be replaced by The Mandalorian & Grogu movie.
- The potential tie-in between the movie and season 4 is a bold move for Star Wars, as it would be the first time a feature film directly continues a TV show's story.
- Utilizing an opening crawl in The Mandalorian & Grogu could provide essential context for viewers unfamiliar with the show and make the movie accessible to all audiences.
Star Wars movie: The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Many assumed that this movie would completely replace the Star Wars' TV shows have recently been uncovered, meaning a potential Star Wars storytelling trick could enable The Mandalorian & Grogu and The Mandalorian season 4 to coexist in harmony.
The Latest Rumors Suggest The Mandalorian Season 4 Isn't Dead After All
The Mandalorian season 4 may be more alive than ever.
Since the announcement of The Mandalorian & Grogu, conversations about how The Mandalorian season 4's story would be condensed into a feature film's runtime began. That said, these discussions were quickly put to rest after numerous reports hinted that The Mandalorian season 4 is not completely dead. These reports suggested that The Mandalorian season 4 would still go ahead, only with the final two episodes being condensed into what has since become The Mandalorian & Grogu.
This marks an incredible new venture for Star Wars as it will be the first time a feature film will tie directly to the story of a pre-existing TV show. Of course, this venture will only come to if the reports on the status of The Mandalorian season 4 are confirmed. While Star Wars movies have had references to TV shows in the past, such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian & Grogu potentially beginning where The Mandalorian season 4 leaves off is a bold, new leap forward for Star Wars' transmedia nature.
In making The Mandalorian season 4 essential viewing for The Mandalorian & Grogu and vice versa, Lucasfilm risks alienating large swathes of audience on both sides.
That said, the question of how this potential format would work is as prevalent as ever. This plan, should it come to fruition, is undoubtedly a gamble by Lucasfilm. In making The Mandalorian season 4 essential viewing for The Mandalorian & Grogu and vice versa, Lucasfilm risks alienating large swathes of audience on both sides. There are those who only watch Star Wars movies and an equal amount who find it best to solely keep up with TV stories in a galaxy far, far away which only furthers the risk of the gamble Lucasfilm may be attempting.
Star Wars' Opening Crawls Have Always Allowed Viewers To Jump Into Stories In Progress
George Lucas' last-minute 1977 trick has become integral to filling in the Star Wars franchise's blanks.
However, in light of this potential route forward being a gamble for Lucasfilm, the Star Wars franchise already contains the perfect storytelling trick that could allow it to work with ease: the opening crawl. Star Wars' opening crawls have been a staple of the Skywalker Saga movies since 1977 and are one of the more recognizable pieces of cinematic iconography in history. Moreover, the Star Wars opening crawls work for the movies themselves as opposed to solely being iconic by allowing audience to invest in stories that could be described as being in progress.
A chief example is 1977's Star Wars which began midway through a war between the tyrannical Empire and freedom-fighting Rebel Alliance. In modern times it is now known how much story and context led up to A New Hope's beginning, but in 1977 none of this information was available. That said, this evidently did not matter as George Lucas' opening crawl offered all the information audiences needed to know before the start of 1977's Star Wars. This continued with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, both of which featured huge time jumps before the events of each story that were explained via opening crawls.
Star Wars' Opening Crawl Was One Of George Lucas' Last Changes - And Here's Why He Made It
Star Wars’ iconic opening crawl was actually one of George Lucas’ last additions to the film, which he made for a very specific reason.
The opening crawl proved successful again in dropping audiences into ongoing stories with the Star Wars sequel trilogy. The opening scene of Star Wars: The Force Awakens between Poe and Lor San Tekka would have made little sense without the opening crawl which established the First Order's power, the Resistance's opposition to such, and the latter organization's desire to find the missing Luke Skywalker. All of this proves the benefit of Star Wars' now-iconic opening crawls and equally proves how the storytelling trick can be utilized for The Mandalorian & Grogu.
A Smart Opening Crawl Can Make The Mandalorian & Grogu Work
The Mandalorian & Grogu may need an opening crawl more than any other film.
Should The Mandalorian & Grogu indeed be confirmed to follow on from The Mandalorian season 4, an opening crawl could be integral in making the former work for all audience regardless of the level of their knowledge. Opening crawls have proven to fill in vital pieces of information that audience may not know about the Star Wars franchise, something that can also be the case in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Filling in the events of The Mandalorian seasons 1-4 would be relatively easy in an opening crawl should it be written smartly enough.
This would then allow audience unfamiliar with The Mandalorian to know everything they require before the story of The Mandalorian & Grogu begins. That said, The Mandalorian & Grogu would then need to be written well enough to make a compelling, emotional, and exciting journey for anyone without the added context of the show. However, with storytellers like Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni at the helm, this is certainly possible. All of this proves beyond all doubt that, should The Mandalorian season 4 still happen in truncated form as reported, The Mandalorian & Grogu must utilize Star Wars' most iconic screenwriting gimmick, the opening crawl, to set up its exciting new story.
