Phil Roberts 
Check out the cover art for Empire Magazine’s The Mandalorian and Grogu edition featuring Din Djarin and his lovable little companion.
Look out, Star Wars fans, because Empire Magazine has revealed its cover art for its The Mandalorian and Grogu issue. The issue is available on 12th March, with two spectacular covers (one for the newsstand, one for subscribers). However, inside holds a treasure trove of new revelations, which are a shoo-in to delight every fan. It features conversations with Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Jeremy Allen White. Check out the covers below.
DAVE FILONI SPEAKS!
It is, says Lucasfilm co-CEO Dave Filoni, a different prospect to the last time the saga made a culture-shaking big-screen comeback. “Episode VII was a completely different entity,” explains Filoni, who also co-wrote The Mandalorian And Grogu, and directed second-unit on the film. “I had dreams of Episode VII since I came out of Return Of The Jedi. You were like, ‘After VI comes VII! Where’s VII?’ We’re in a completely different era of Star Wars now.” The Mandalorian And Grogu doesn’t carry the burden of introducing a new trilogy, or establishing a group of unknown heroes. Instead it is, Filoni says, “a big celebration” of its title pair.
So, where were bounty hunter Din Djarin and Grogu – his adoptive son and Mandalorian apprentice – when we left them? The Season 3 finale had a sense of genuine finality to it, as our heroes settled into their homestead on Nevarro, having thwarted Moff Gideon and played their part in reclaiming Mandalore. “It only felt like the ending of a particular chapter,” Pedro Pascal tells Empire. The same finale also saw Mando agree to take on missions solely for the New Republic at Adelphi Base. “They open up the opportunity for him to continue his best work as a bounty hunter, but just working for the good guys,” says Pascal. “Combining skill and morality. Whereas when we meet him first, it’s simply skill, and beskar, and [the Mandalorian] Creed. Through his relationship to Grogu, there is an expansion of his heart and a disarming of his armour, so to speak, that leads him to fight for what he knows is right.”
NEW LOOK!
But if that isn’t enough, there are some juicy new images from the film, and we have one of them to share. The image depicts Din Djarin riding an Imperial AT-RT across snow-covered terrain. In the teasers, Mando rides the vehicle down a cliff face as he evades a squadron of Imperial AT-AT Walkers. Check it out below.
RELEASE
The Star Wars saga has always blown us away with its big-screen adventures. Thankfully, The Mandalorian and Grogu looks set to continue that tradition. With Ludwig Göransson returning to compose the score and Jon Favreau filming the movie for the IMAX experience, Star Wars fans will be eating extremely well in May.
The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, opening exclusively in cinemas on 22nd May, 2026.
Meet Phil Roberts! He’s the dedicated owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. Phil is a budding novelist who turned his passion toward writing about the franchises he loves back in 2016. He’s a huge fan of all things Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phil is a BFI-accredited journalist and a distinguished member of the Film Critics Association UK.
If he’s not catching a movie at the cinema, you can bet he’s streaming something just as awesome!
