Despite several significant recasts, the latest installment within the Mandalorian franchise is earning positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Mandalorian’s three seasons have been well-received, as indicated by the overall 90% Tomatometer score and 78% Popcornmeter score. Both seasons 1 and 2 carry a “Certified Fresh” 93% Tomatometer score, followed by 84% for season 3. The Mandalorian and Grogu movie did not perform as strongly with critics, resulting in a 60% average, though audiences gave it an 86% based on more than 10,000 verified ratings.
Now, the all-new special episode, LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, has debuted to a “Fresh” 75% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This is based on eight reviews as of this writing, six of which are “Fresh” and two of which are “Rotten,” and the overall number may fluctuate as additional reviews are added to the aggregation site. The episode does feature some major recasts, including Gavin Hammon voicing Din Djarin instead of Pedro Pascal and Carl Lumbly playing Greef Karga following Carl Weathers’ passing, but this does not appear to have negatively impacted its reception.
With the new special episode humorously retelling the story of Din and Grogu in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, IGN‘s Jesse Schedeen writes in his review that “LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian delivers exactly what was promised. It offers a goofy, cutesy recap of the live-action series with plenty of LEGO-flavored humor. It’s certainly an entertaining way to experience that story all over again.”
Peter Martin at EverythingButHorror.com appreciates how the episode is both family-friendly and packed with references meant to resonate with adult viewers: “Among the witty one-liners, writer Michael Price, who is also a longtime writer and producer of The Simpsons, keeps things appropriate for a family audience, yet with many, many references that only adults will fully appreciate.”
LEGO Star Wars is not considered canon, but Comic Book Club‘s Alexander Zalben sees this as a strength for both the episode and the franchise rather than a limitation: “Between the continuity-free Star Wars: Visions – The Ninth Jedi and the absolute blast of nostalgic fun… of LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, the franchise is in safe minifigure hands going forward.”
In Collider‘s review, Maggie Lovitt takes issue with the episode being “merely a rehash” of the live-action show and suggests it would have been better suited as “a recap that should have played ahead of The Mandalorian & Grogu’s theatrical release.”
While the roles of Din and Greef were recast, the majority of the voice actors reprise their parts from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, featuring Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Bill Burr as Migs Mayfeld, Nick Nolte as Kuiil, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Emily Swallow as the Armorer, Taika Waititi as IG-11/IG-12, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Carson Teva, David Pasquesi as the Majordomo, and Matthew Wood as Bib Fortuna.
The franchise has released new LEGO Star Wars specials on Disney+ for several years now, including two seasons of LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, along with the Holiday Special, Terrifying Tales, and Summer Vacation episodes centered on the heroes of the sequel trilogy. With The Mandalorian and Grogu now on Disney+, it makes sense that this year brings the LEGO-styled version of Din and Grogu’s journey.
After LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, it remains unconfirmed what comes next for Din and Grogu’s ongoing story, whether it be another film, The Mandalorian season 4, or something entirely different. There is a possibility that they will appear in Ahsoka season 2, which premieres on January 20, since the series is set during the same era in the Star Wars timeline.
LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+.
