Star Wars has been deep in its television era for the past few years now, with shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor all releasing on Disney+. Despite the success of those shows, most fans have been eager for the Star Wars franchise to return to movie theaters. The last time a galaxy far, far away was on the big screen was with The Rise of Skywalker in December 2019.
At Star Wars Celebration in April 2023, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy finally revealed some more details about upcoming movies, including a film centered on Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order after the events of Episode IX. After that announcement, some fans have wondered if Grogu could be Rey Skywalker’s new apprentice in the film. The story is confirmed to take place 15 years after the last time fans saw Rey, which would presumably make Grogu an adolescent in his species. As such, it would be the perfect time for him to train.
The Rey movie, which has been dubbed the film focused on the New Jedi Order, wasn't the only film announced at Star Wars Celebration. Also in the works is a Dawn of the Jedi film directed by James Mangold, who is currently working on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for Lucasfilm and Disney. Finally, Dave Filoni is now confirmed to be helming the MandoVerse climactic event film, which will see the conclusion of the various Favreau-Filoni shows that are currently airing on Disney+. It's presumed that the stories from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and more will all come together in this upcoming movie.
Fans are clearly excited about all three of these announcements, but it was the New Jedi Order film starring Daisy Ridley that got the loudest reception from the crowd at the convention. With excitement comes anticipation and, of course, theorizing. These theories have incluced some thoughts about just how Rey will rebuild the Jedi and whether Finn, who was revealed to be Force sensitive, will become a Jedi alongside her.
Whether Grogu can join Rey in this new Jedi Order comes from his age. Grogu would be 91 years of age at the time the new movie is confirmed to take place. Interestingly, Yoda (who belongs to the same species as Grogu) was a Padawan learning to become a Jedi at that point in his youth. If Grogu follows that same path as Yoda, then it’s likely that he will no longer be the lovable baby that he is currently on Disney+. Instead, he's likely to appear as a more independent, older Jedi apprentice.
Grogu’s possible appearance in this film could also explain the 15-year time jump from Episode IX. Some fans were surprised at the time gap in between these two stories. After all, this new movie is likely to release in 2025, just 6 years after JJ Abrams’ conclusion to the Skywalker Saga. This will likely mean aging up the actors in order to demonstrate that more time has passed, which could be considered an odd choice in isolation. However, if the decision regarding the time jump is being made in order to include Grogu in this story, the creative vision becomes significantly clearer.
In regard to the story that could be told with Grogu and Rey in this film, it’s possible that audiences will see Daisy Ridley’s Jedi learning from the mistakes of her master, Luke Skywalker. Luke once trained Grogu as well, but based on the evidence fans saw in The Book of Boba Fett, he wasn’t exactly the best of teachers. Grogu opted to choose his love for his father, Din Djarin, over the lifeless and emotionless way of Luke’s new Jedi. Luke obviously went on to make some major mistakes in The Last Jedi as well. While he was arguably one of the greatest and most powerful Jedi to ever exist, he also wasn’t the best of masters overall.
However, Rey saw and learned of many of Luke's mistakes and the consequences they had. She learned from Luke's mistakes. Therefore, Rey’s arc could involve her growing beyond Luke and changing her methods to avoid his failings. In rebuilding the Jedi Order, she could make them a stronger, more unified, and balanced group. In particular, Rey could undo the mistakes that Luke made with Grogu and tap into the latter’s potential tohelp him to become a Jedi, perhaps the first Jedi Mandalorian since Tarre Vizsla.
Plot details are still scarce on this new upcoming film, but it’s clear that Lucasfilm are moving in the right direction and getting movies off the ground again. The next film in a galaxy far, far away is scheduled to release in December 2025.