How The Mandalorian and Grogu Revives '90s Cinema in New Star Wars Film

The Star Wars franchise has evolved significantly since the 1990s, but its cinematic style has largely remained rooted in classical influences. While George Lucas’s Prequel Trilogy leaned into mid-20th-century aesthetics—evoking the works of John Ford and Akira Kurosawa—it also embraced CGI and digital photography by the time Attack of the Clones (2002) arrived.

Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu marks a departure from this tradition. During exclusive IMAX sneak peek screenings held on May 4th, viewers experienced a distinctly different opening. Instead of the iconic Star Wars crawl with John Williams’ triumphant score, the film debuted with a title card summarizing a pivotal moment in the galaxy’s history: the chaos following the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi (1983). This approach mirrors the narrative framing of historical dramas like Gladiator (2000) and Braveheart (1995), offering a subtle recap for audiences unfamiliar with the Disney+ series.

The shift in tone becomes clear within the first 26 minutes of footage—a more extensive preview than the 17 minutes shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas just weeks earlier. The most striking sequence features a snowbound battle between AT-ATs and a sleek AT-ST, piloted by Pedro Pascal’s Mandalorian and his diminutive ally, Grogu. The IMAX format amplifies the scene’s scale, immersing viewers in the vast, icy terrain as Din Djarin confronts towering mechanical foes.

For casual Star Wars fans, the sequence offers a playful nod to lingering questions—like what became of the Snowtrooper uniforms after The Empire Strikes Back (1980). The answer? They’re still deployed to frozen outposts, perpetually overlooked by the remnants of the Empire. Yet despite its nods to The Empire Strikes Back—widely regarded as the best Star Wars film—the tone of The Mandalorian and Grogu is far lighter and more anachronistic.

The sequence begins with a meeting of bumbling Imperial remnants plotting to restore their fallen empire. Here, the Mandalorian transcends the archetype of a Western gunslinger or bounty hunter; he embodies the ultimate action movie fantasy—an unstoppable force in a galaxy still grappling with its past.