JuicyTalk
Warning: Spoilers for The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu premiered in theaters last weekend, becoming the first Star Wars movie to be released this decade. The film stars Pedro Pascal, once again reprising his role as Din Djarin, aka the Mandalorian. Pascal provides the voice of the character and appears in a section in the middle of the film.
For the rest of the movie, Din Djarin is played by Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, both of whom appear in the opening credits in the film. Crowder takes on the action sequences whereas Wayne plays Mando in the talking scenes and delivers the lines on set.
Speculation regarding whether Pedro Pascal would even appear in The Mandalorian and Grogu was rampant prior to the reveal in the film’s first full trailer. From there, the question became just how much Pascal would be in it. He was in The Mandalorian season 2 for two episodes but had a big impact, showing what he can do with limited screen time.
Then, Pascal didn’t show his face at all in season 3, in part due to production of The Last of Us running concurrently with The Mandalorian. While The Mandalorian and Grogu certainly benefits from having Pascal in it (and his appearance automatically elevates the movie above season 3 of the show), it also feels as if director Jon Favreau could have done more with his screen time.
Din Djarin’s Story Isn’t Pushed Forward
As far as character arcs go, Din Djarin doesn’t have too much of one in The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite what was teased beforehand. His development, and that of Grogu’s as well, can be summed up by one line Din says in the third act: “the old protect the young and then the young protect the old.” It’s a touching moment, but one that doesn’t push Din Djarin forward much at all.
That line comes after Din’s helmet was removed by the Hutt twins, so audiences had already seen the last of Pedro Pasal’s face by this point. However, while he was on-screen, Pascal wasn’t given enough to do, especially when it comes to giving Din Djarin’s character some forward momentum.
That’s very different from the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, in which each time Din took his helmet off, it progressed his arc in some way. In season 1, removing his helmet for IG-12 to heal him showed that Din had, at least to a certain extent, overcome his views on droids. It also highlighted Din’s progression from a cold bounty hunter to someone willing to bend the rules of his group in order to see Grogu again.
Season 2 took that even further. Din removed his helmet in order to find the location of Moff Gideon’s ship in Chapter 15 — The Believer, and kept it off for an extended period of time. Then, in the next episode, he takes his helmet off again and lets Grogu see his face for the first time. It’s a touching moment that shows just how much Din has changed since his adopted son came into his life.
The Mandalorian and Grogu’s scenes with Pedro Pascal, while entertaining, unfortunately don’t feature that same level of importance. Seeing Din’s face again in this movie feels more like a throwaway part of the plot as opposed to something monumental, as it typically is when Pascal shows his face in Star Wars.
Helmet-less Din Would Have Felt More Consequential If It Came In The Third Act
Hindering Pascal’s scenes in The Mandalorian and Grogu is the placement of his screen time. Din Djarin is unmasked by the Hutts in the second act, and he then spends the next ten minutes or so fighting in the body of water below the twins’ sanctuary. Then, he gets his helmet back and the film continues almost as if it never happened.
The second act placement also didn’t help in terms of getting the most out of Pedro Pascal’s time on set in The Mandalorian and Grogu. It perhaps would have felt bigger and more important to the story of Pascal appearing in the third act, even if he has the same exact scenes as he does in the second act.
