Movie magazine Empire has revealed an exclusive preview issue featuring Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, the new Star Wars film and the first cinematic release from the franchise since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
For its May issue (on sale Thursday 12 March), Empire says it collaborated closely with filmmakers, Lucasfilm and Disney over many months for a photoshoot that is set to thrill Star Wars fans around the globe.
Following three acclaimed seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+, this new feature film brings the characters to the big screen for the very first time, Empire continued. Directed, produced and co-written by Jon Favreau—who launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man - the film marks a major return to the big screen for Star Wars.
Inside the issue, Empire presents world‑exclusive interviews with Favreau; producer, co-writer and new Lucasfilm co‑CEO Dave Filoni; and stars Pedro Pascal (the Mandalorian), Sigourney Weaver (Colonel Ward), and Jeremy Allen White (Rotta the Hutt).
Exclusive quotes from inside the issue:
Pedro Pascal: “There were whispers about a movie. I didn’t hang onto or listen too closely to the whispers, because I wanted it to happen so badly.”
Sigourney Weaver: “I was able to hold Grogu. He’s an amazing creation.”
Dave Filoni: “Star Wars still, I hope, feels special to people. I hope they go with their family. I hope they create a lifelong memory seeing this with their mom, their dad, their brother, their sister, whoever takes them. When people talk about Star Wars, often they talk about the people in their life that they connected with it.”
Jon Favreau: “That very first shot [in 1977], the whole audience started to vibrate when you saw the blockade runner, and an even larger ship pass overhead. That’s the power of a movie theatre, the power of a crowd cheering for the same thing.”
Nick de Semlyen, editor of Empire, said: “We at Empire are thrilled to unveil our first ever photoshoot with Star Wars characters, joining iconic small‑screen heroes the Mandalorian and Grogu as they make their very first movie. Which just so happens to be the first new Star Wars movie in seven years. With help from our friends at Disney and Lucasfilm, we managed to catch the iconic bounty hunter and his little green friend in Los Angeles for an incredible day (yes, Grogu is every bit as cute in real life). While inside the issue, we have world‑exclusive interviews with the director and stars of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, a film poised to bring Star Wars back to cinemas in high style this summer.”
The May issue of Empire with interviews and imagery for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, is available on all newsstands from Thursday 12 March, and to purchase online at greatmagazines.co.uk, in both print and digital editions.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in cinemas from 22 May.
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