The Mandalorian and Grogu

Star Wars is back on the big screen!

For over half a decade, Star Wars has been on the small screen with animated and live-action spin-off series on Disney+. Will The Mandalorian and Grogu, based on the fan-favourite characters from The Mandalorian, be more than a feature-length episode that should have been released on Disney+?

Matt, Harry and Luke Charlton don Beskar armour and embark on a family-friendly adventure in a galaxy far, far away...

Guest post by the Charltons

This is the way.

2026 is shaping up to be one of the biggest box-office draws in years. Already planning to see well over 5 films this year (I can’t remember the last time that happened) with the kids, it's great to go to the movies and share laughter, shock, awe, and excitement over popcorn.

Our last outing was Super Mario Galaxy and we had a great time – I couldn’t help but notice just how many times they had to labour the point about putting your mobile phones away and enjoying the movie – I know that since COVID, a lot of people have struggled being separated from their communication devices for 2 hours but generally speaking I’ve found most people to be respective of these rules – especially at a £15 per person IMAX showing.

Anticipation has been building for The Mandalorian and Grogu for years!

I watched all of The Mandalorian series as they aired on Disney+, Ahsoka season one, too. I’ve dabbled in Star Wars: Rebels, and I haven’t seen all of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, even though I enjoyed the ones I’ve watched so far.

My 10-year-old has gotten really into the series and has watched all of it in the last month. We had a Mandalorian-themed birthday party. I 3D printed him a helmet, we painted it together, and he’s looking at one of the really expensive Darksabers with his birthday money. He was worried that he hadn’t finished Ahsoka yet, and he hasn’t watched Star Wars: Rebels, but he absolutely adores The Mandalorian.

Safe to say, the stakes were high when we booked this movie.

This is our spoiler-free review.

The movie carries a 12A rating in the UK, which means you need an adult to go and see it if you’re not at least 12. The trailers we saw at Cineworld included Scary Movie, which was interesting, but that looks to carry a 12A certificate too – not too surprising for this day and age, but one that’s worth bearing in mind if you are taking smaller kids with you.

Being neurodivergent, we booked the first showing on a Saturday morning, and we arrived in plenty of time to get settled, ear defenders in tow.

We were lucky to get a free poster with each ticket, we passed on the Cineworld exclusive Grogu popcorn buckets as I’ve been told at £34.99 the quality leaves a lot to be desired, but I guess that’s to be expected – we certainly don’t have the same sort of madness over this side of the pond for popcorn buckets and whilst I do have a mouse droid bucket downstairs in my MattCave™ it was gifted to me rather than something I actively sought out to purchase.

The biggest problem I have with these things is once you start putting foodstuff in there, how on earth do you get it clean? Then it's sticky, and just no – it doesn’t work for me.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

You might be wondering if you need to have seen the plethora of Disney+ material that Star Wars has put out there to properly enjoy The Mandalorian and Grogu – and let’s not beat about the bush here, we’re talking hundreds upon hundreds of hours of Star Wars content.

The answer is no. You do not. There’s no overarching story from any series or movie that came before it. If you know who Mando (Pedro Pascal) is and who Grogu is, you’ve got enough to go see it. Even if you don’t I bet you’d have a great time.

Clocking in at 2 hours and 12 minutes runtime plus ads, trailers (no end credits but there’s some good music worth sticking around for), the whole thing feels like a really well put together Mando series/episode, and that isn’t a bad thing.

There are Easter eggs galore, and I have no doubts that on a second or third or even fourth viewing, I will find even more.

I took my 15-year-old and my 10-year-old. My wife would have joined us, but someone needs to stay with the cockapoos, and she often gets the short straw – mainly because I can drive and she cannot – but I’ll take her to see it for a date night, maybe if we can get a babysitter.

One of the things we do – whether it's just us or our autism – is see something on screen, look across at the person we’re watching it with to see if they are reacting with the same unbridled joy that we are – I caught both the kid doing this, and I do it too. There were so many of these moments throughout the entire movie, and I really do feel like I unlocked a core memory here.

This is Star Wars at its very best – I’ve seen it likened to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau tipping out all of their Star Wars toys and just playing. I can see that totally. What we got was a romping ride through with surprise, peril, joy, a few jump scares and satisfaction.

Ludwig Göransson does an amazing job on the soundtrack, with his signature Mandalorian theme featuring throughout (much to the joy of Luke – yes, he is named after *that* Luke, and yes, I am his father).

Sigourney Weaver (Alien) is great, the whole cast is, to be honest. We loved every minute of it, and I would quite happily say that this is one of, if not the best movie that Disney have put out there in the Star Wars universe.

I haven’t enjoyed a Star Wars movie at the cinema this much since "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them, what are we going to do?" It’s amazing to share this joy with my children, but I think this movie will appeal to Star Wars fans of all ages, genders, and whatever their situation.

Pure unbridled joy, fist pump moments, and so so many "AWWW!" "WOW!" moments. I saw so many different emotions on the face of my 10-year-old – it made every second of it worth it.

I saw some mixed reviews just after the premiere. I also saw some bad press about it being the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars movie, but the Rotten Tomatoes scores look to have settled at 63% critic and 89% Popcornmeter with over 2.5k reviews.

Ignore the critics who want to spoil the fun for everyone. Ignore any naysayers who might say Star Wars just isn’t for them anymore.

Go and see it, you won’t regret it.

I bet you laugh out loud at least once, and the smiles command the highest bounty there is.

I’m ordering the soundtrack on vinyl as soon as I finish this review.

Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think?

Masters of the Universe, Supergirl, Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Doomsday are just some of the movies on our must-see at the cinema list. What’s on yours? Let us know in the comments below.

Matt, Harry and Luke.

Masters of the Universe unleashes He-Man nostalgia

Following a star-studded press screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre, transformed into Castle Grayskull, Mattel Films and Amazon MGM Studios have dropped an official final trailer for Masters of the Universe.



Read the official synopsis:

"After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto). To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe."

Masters of the Universe is directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee) from a script by Chris Butler. It stars Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man, alongside Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Malcolm/Fisto, and Jared Leto as Skeletor.

Mattel launched Masters of the Universe with a toy line in 1982 followed by the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon from 1983-1985. The franchise now includes multiple animated series, toy lines, comics, video games, and books, along with a 1987 live-action film.

Masters of the Universe is in cinemas on 5th June 2026.

Are you looking forward to Masters of the Universe? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars actor Tom Kane dies aged 64

Tom Kane, best known to Star Wars fans (myself included) for voicing Yoda and the narrator in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, has died at the age of 64 at a Kansas hospital, surrounded by family.

His talent agency announced the news on Facebook:

"Today we say goodbye to Tom Kane — a legendary voice actor whose work shaped the childhoods and imaginations of millions around the world.

From his unforgettable performances in Star Wars to countless animated series, documentaries, and games, Tom brought wisdom, strength, humor, and heart to every role he touched. His voice became part of our lives, our memories, and the stories we carry with us.

But beyond the incredible career was an extraordinary man. Tom was a devoted husband and father who, alongside his wife, built a loving family of nine children — three biological and six welcomed through adoption and fostering. That compassion and generosity defined who he was just as much as his remarkable talent did.

Though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever.

Rest in peace, Tom Kane. Thank you for everything.

May the Force be with you, always."

The Mandalorian and Grogu in Fortnite

Fortnite and Star Wars fans (myself included) can watch a 10-minute sneak peek from The Mandalorian and Grogu for free this Tuesday.



I enjoyed watching the special look at The Mandalorian and Grogu on Disney+! Seeing an INT-4 Interceptor (as seen in Matt Ferguson's poster art) in action was so much fun! Hopefully, there'll be more deep cut Easter eggs in the upcoming Star Wars movie!

Whilst speaking about the upcoming Star Wars film, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) teased that he’s already thinking far beyond this next adventure, especially when it comes to where Grogu’s story is headed in the larger Star Wars universe.

"Creatively, I have a lot of plans, and I have a lot of thoughts about these characters, especially for Grogu. Grogu is a character that is – his species lives for centuries.

“He's on a path to be both a Jedi and a Mandalorian. He's making certain choices and decisions, and he has a great teacher now. And so, as he develops and grows, there's opportunities for stories that would emanate from that."

The Mandalorian and Grogu, based on the fan-favourite characters from The Mandalorian on Disney+, embark on their most thrilling mission yet in The Mandalorian and Grogu, an all-new family-friendly Star Wars adventure filmed for IMAX and opening exclusively in cinemas on 22nd May 2026.

Are you looking forward to The Mandalorian and Grogu? Will you be watching the 10-minute sneak peek in Fortnite? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars: Starfighter alters the Force

Details regarding Star Wars: Starfighter remain scarce, but an intriguing plot description has emerged from a reliable source.

According to a synopsis published on IMDb:

"In a rebuilding galaxy, a solitary pilot becomes entangled in a crucial mission as new threats emerge. Their journey may alter the future of the Force itself."

The upcoming film directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) stars Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.

Star Wars: Starfighter, a standalone story set 5 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is due for release on 28th May 2027 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of George Lucas' space opera.

Are you looking forward to Star Wars: Starfighter? Let me know in the comments below.

Doctor Who streaming on AMC+

Following the ending of the Disney+ deal after only two seasons, the future of Doctor Who has been in flux. However, AMC+ has signed an exclusive deal to stream the beloved BBC sci-fi series in the US.

“Doctor Who strengthens AMC+’s position as a destination for premium genre storytelling – curated franchises defined by iconic worlds, passionate fan bases and enduring cultural impact,” said Courtney Thomasma, Executive Vice President of AMC Global Media’s linear and streaming products. “We’re thrilled to welcome the Whoniverse into our home of fandoms, giving longtime fans a reason to return while inviting new audiences to discover one of television’s most beloved franchises.”

The streaming rights are for 13 seasons from 2005-2022, featuring Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker. It does not include classic serials or the two seasons starring Ncuti Gatwa as the titular Time Lord on Disney+.

“Doctor Who is one of the most beloved franchises in television, with a fanbase that spans generations,” said Lawrence Szabo, EVP of Content Sales, North America & LatAm, BBC Studios. “AMC+ has built a differentiated home for premium genre franchises and deeply engaged fandoms, making it the ideal exclusive U.S. streaming partner for these 13 seasons of Doctor Who. We’re excited to bring these adventures back to longtime U.S. fans and welcome new audiences into the Whoniverse. Allons-y!”

This announcement follows a Reddit rumour that the BBC has signed a three-series deal with AMC Global Media and Sony Pictures Television (owner of Badwolf Studios) for a new series of Doctor Who. Production is expected to begin in 2027, with the first season slated for a global premiere in 2028.

Beginning 11th June, AMC+ will now be home to 13 seasons and 176 episodes (including specials) of the award-winning sci-fi series.

Are you looking forward to streaming Doctor Who on AMC+? Let me know in the comments below.

Ahsoka is back for Star Wars anniversary

The second season of Ahsoka, the Star Wars live-action spin-off series starring Rosario Dawson, will premiere on Disney+ in early 2027, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of George Lucas' space opera.

Dawson, who has played the fan-favourite character in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, made the announcement at Disney's Upfront presentation to advertisers. She also introduced a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel showcasing some of the making of season two.

Lucasfilm president and series showrunner Dave Filoni has described the new season as “all-out war” between Grand Admiral Thrawn and the New Republic forces led by Admiral Ackbar.

Hayden Christensen is set to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano's former master, in season two.

Since season one of Ahsoka in 2023, Lucasfilm has scaled back on Star Wars projects. Skeleton Crew and the second and final season of Andor are the only live-action series to be released.

The Mandalorian and Grogu hit the big screen on 22nd May. For over half a decade, Star Wars has been on the small screen with animated and live-action spin-off series on Disney+. Will The Mandalorian and Grogu be more than a feature-length episode that should have been released on Disney+?

Are you looking forward to Ahsoka season two on Disney+? Let me know in the comments below.

LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the LEGO Group has announced a Minas Tirith set.

Read the official press release:

"In partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, the LEGO Group today unveiled the LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith - 25th Anniversary Legacy Collection, an impressive new building set designed for adult fans and collectors celebrating a quarter century of The Lord of the Rings.

Crafted from 8,278 pieces, this highly detailed set recreates the majestic city of Gondor – the legendary White City of Minas Tirith. Designed as a striking display model, the build captures the towering architecture, layered walls and iconic citadel that defined one of Middle-earth’s most memorable locations.

The set features a hybrid-scale design, combining an expansive microscale cityscape with richly detailed minifigure-scale interior scenes. From afar, builders can admire the sweeping skyline and defensive walls of Minas Tirith. Up close, they can explore key interior spaces, including the throne room of the citadel, where pivotal moments from the story unfold.

To bring the world of Middle-earth to life, the set includes 10 minifigures and the legendary Shadowfax horse figure. Characters featured in the set include Gandalf the White, Faramir, Denethor, Peregrin Took, Aragorn as King Elessar, Arwen, and four Soldiers of Gondor, along with themed accessories such as Gondor helmets, shields and Aragorn’s crown."

LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith set will be available to purchase for LEGO Insiders from 1st June, and for all from 4th June.

Discover LEGO The Lord of the Rings on LEGO AU, CA, UK and US (affiliate links).

Will you be adding the Minas Tirith set to your collection? Which LEGO The Lord of the Rings sets would you like to see released in the future? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars actor Michael Pennington dies aged 82

The veteran stage and screen actor Michael Pennington, best known for his role as Death Star Commander Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, is understood to have passed away at the age of 82, according to Fantha Tracks.

His good friend and fellow screen veteran Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter) confirmed news of his passing in a touching tribute on social media:

“Michael Pennington has died.

“An old friend, from Cambridge days, a very fine actor, brilliant, wise, clear. I am sad beyond measure.

“Bless your dear memory. Old chum.”

Much of Pennington's footage from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ended up on the cutting room floor (deleted scenes are available online). However, Moff Jerjerrod was a fan-favourite, and I fondly remember quoting his memorable lines on the school playground in 1983 and later in a 1990s newsroom.

He most recently narrated Icons Unearthed: Star Wars.

How Lucasfilm Games kept Star Wars alive

A long time ago, before I started blogging, I wrote video game reviews for a Mac gaming site in the early noughties, starting with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

The circle is now complete.

Star Wars: Gamers' Søren Kamper approached me with an idea for an article about how Lucasfilm Games kept Star Wars alive following Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. How could I resist? Søren, you have the conn.

Guest post by Søren Kamper

When Star Wars: Return of the Jedi arrived in 1983, it gave the original trilogy a triumphant ending, complete with Ewoks, fireworks, and Darth Vader making the correct career move. But for a generation of fans, it also raised a strange question: what happens when the story seems over?

There were no new Star Wars films on the immediate horizon. Star Wars survived in toys, novels, comics, VHS tapes, and playground arguments about whether Boba Fett was truly gone. But one of the most important forces keeping the galaxy alive was quietly humming away on home computers and consoles: Lucasfilm Games.

As covered in Welcome to Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm Games carries a deep sense of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the 8-bit Atari and Commodore 64 era. That nostalgia matters because these early games were not just merchandise. They were a way of travelling back to the galaxy when the cinema doors had seemingly closed.

The Galaxy Needed Somewhere to Go

Lucasfilm Games was established in 1982, just before Star Wars: Return of the Jedi completed George Lucas’ original trilogy. Its first titles, including Rescue on Fractalus! and Ballblazer, were not Star Wars games, but they showed the studio’s early DNA: technical curiosity, science-fiction atmosphere, and a willingness to treat games as more than branded distractions.

That distinction is important. Lucasfilm Games did not initially keep Star Wars alive by simply pumping out film adaptations. It helped keep the spirit of Lucasfilm alive by experimenting. The same company that had made audiences believe in X-wings, lightsabers, and trench runs was now asking what else could be done with a screen, a joystick, and a little imagination.

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the original trilogy had become a home-video fixture, the Expanded Universe (EU) was gathering strength, and players wanted more than simplified recreations of famous scenes. They wanted to live in the galaxy. Lucasfilm Games, later LucasArts, understood that better than almost anyone.

X-Wing Made Star Wars Feel Serious Again

If one game truly announced that Star Wars could be reborn through interactive storytelling, it was Star Wars: X-Wing in 1993. This was not just “remember the trench run?” with better packaging. It was a proper PC space combat simulator that asked players to manage power systems, follow mission briefings, and survive as Rebel pilots in a campaign that treated the Galactic Civil War as a living conflict.

That mattered enormously. In the long gap between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, X-Wing made Star Wars feel operational again. The Rebellion had missions. The Empire had patrols. Convoys needed protecting. Capital ships loomed. Suddenly, Star Wars was not a trilogy you rewatched; it was a place you reported for duty.

For a fuller historical breakdown, the Complete List of All Star Wars Games Ever Made at Star Wars: Gamers shows just how central the 1990s became to the franchise’s gaming identity. The decade did not merely fill the dead air between film releases. It built an entire interactive wing of Star Wars fandom.

TIE Fighter Gave the Empire a Cockpit

Star Wars: TIE Fighter arrived in 1994 and remains one of the bravest ideas in the franchise’s gaming history. Instead of putting players back in the Rebel Alliance, it placed them inside the Imperial Navy. You were not Luke Skywalker. You were following orders, defending Imperial interests, and realising that Star Wars could become more interesting when games were allowed to shift perspective.

That is where LucasArts separated itself from ordinary licensed game development. The studio was not just adapting Star Wars. It was finding playable angles that the films could not easily explore. The Star Wars Games of the 1990s archive captures this period well: flight sims, shooters, and console adventures turned the decade into a genuine expansion era.

TIE Fighter also proved that games could complicate Star Wars without breaking it. The Empire was still the Empire. Darth Vader was not suddenly running a charity. But from inside the cockpit, the conflict felt different.

Dark Forces Opened Another Door

Then came Star Wars: Dark Forces in 1995, and suddenly the galaxy had boots on the ground. Kyle Katarn was not a Skywalker, not a Jedi, and not a movie character waiting for his close-up. He was a former Imperial turned mercenary, and his world felt grubbier, moodier, and more dangerous than the polished heroics of the films.

Generation Star Wars has already highlighted Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, and it is easy to see why the game still has a hold on players. Dark Forces expanded the galaxy without making it feel less like Star Wars. Imperial bases, secret weapons, sabotage missions, and the Dark Trooper project gave players a story that felt adjacent to the films rather than trapped beneath them.

The 1990s Became the Second Life of Star Wars

By the middle of the 1990s, LucasArts had helped turn Star Wars into a living archive of playable experiences. Rebel Assault used CD-ROM spectacle to make Star Wars feel cinematic on home computers. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire became part of a multimedia experiment that treated a story between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi like a major event, even without a film. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II pushed Kyle Katarn into Force mythology with live-action cutscenes and branching choices.

Not every game was perfect. Some have aged like blue milk left too close to a binary sunset. But collectively, they did something vital. They kept the galaxy moving. For fans who discovered Star Wars on VHS, these games were often the main course. They let players fly, sneak, shoot, race, and explore during an era when Star Wars could easily have become a museum piece.

From LucasArts to Lucasfilm Games Again

That is why the closure of LucasArts in 2013 hit so hard. The Generation Star Wars article LucasArts closed and game over for Star Wars 1313 captured the feeling at the time: it was the end of an era, and not just because a studio name had disappeared. For many fans, LucasArts was where Star Wars had gone during the quiet years.

The name has since returned through Lucasfilm Games, now coordinating Star Wars projects with studios across the industry. That modern model is different from the old in-house LucasArts era, but the mission is familiar.

As the Star Wars: Galactic Racer gameplay trailer coverage shows, Lucasfilm Games still understands the power of reaching back into gaming memory and finding something worth reviving.

That may be the real legacy of Lucasfilm Games after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It did not merely keep Star Wars commercially visible. It kept the galaxy playable. It gave fans agency at a time when the films had gone quiet. It transformed nostalgia into missions, cockpits, corridors, lightsaber duels, and loading screens.

Following Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm Games helped prove that Star Wars did not need to be on cinema screens to feel alive. Sometimes, all it needed was a keyboard, a joystick, a mission briefing, and the sound of a TIE fighter screaming past.

What are your favourite Lucasfilm Games or LucasArts memories? Let me know in the comments below.