On this episode of The VFXShow, we head back to a galaxy far, far away for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Jon Favreau’s big-screen continuation of the Disney+ series that brought the Mandalorian and Grogu into the centre of modern Star Wars narrative.
Jason, Matt and Mike discuss how the film translates the texture of The Mandalorian from streaming to theatrical scale, easter eggs and call backs, the effectiveness of the character and creature work, the return of the Razor Crest, and whether the film’s visual effects support the emotional core of the story. They also look at the broader question of where Star Wars filmmaking sits in 2026: between practical puppetry and digital augmentation, episodic storytelling and cinema, nostalgia and new-world building.
The film marks an interesting shift for Lucasfilm: what had originally been developed as a fourth season of The Mandalorian became a theatrical feature, expanding the scale of the story while keeping its focus on the often funny, and increasingly emotional partnership between Mando and Grogu. Set after the fall of the Empire, the film sees the pair drawn into a New Republic mission involving Rotta the Hutt, remnant warlord twins, gladiatorial combat, and more than a few very dangerous creatures.
For The VFXShow podcast, the film offers plenty to unpack. Grogu remains one of the clearest examples of modern hybrid character work, combining animatronics, puppetry, and visual effects to deliver a performance without conventional dialogue. The film’s brilliant VFX were led by ILM and VFX supervisor John Knoll. The film also leans heavily into new creature work, digital environments, starships, droids, large-scale action, and the ongoing challenge of bringing Star Wars iconography to the screen in a way that feels both cinematic and connected to the series’ LED-Volume-era visuals.
During the show, Matt referenced the X-Files movie here is a trailer to the re-release of that film:
This week, in the gladiator fighting pit are
Bounty Hunter: Matt Wallin * @mattwallin www.mattwallin.com
Follow Matt on Mastodon: @[email protected]. and letterboxd.com/mattwallin/
Neo-imperialist warlord: Jason Diamond @jasondiamond www.thediamondbros.com
The Droid, Mike Seymour @mikeseymour www.fxguide.com. + @mikeseymour
Special thanks to Jim Shen for the editing & production of the show.
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