The upcoming film «The Mandalorian & Grogu» received the lowest budget of any Disney-led Star Wars film — according to the California Film Commission (via Collider), it amounted to just over $160 million.
Modern technologies from the visual effects studio ILM and filming in California helped to reduce the cost of production — the state granted the team a tax credit of $21.75 million. This is quite unusual for Disney, which tries to control costs on its own and usually spares no expense even for failed television shows.
For comparison, here are the production budgets of the rest of the Star Wars films
Original trilogy budget figures have been adjusted for inflation for accurate comparison.:
| Title | Year of release | Production budget |
|---|---|---|
| «Star Wars. Episode IV. A New Hope» | 1977 | $11 million |
| «Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back» | 1980 | $18 million |
| «Star Wars. Episode VI. Return of the Jedi» | 1983 | $32.5 million |
| «Star Wars. Episode I. The hidden threat» | 1999 | $115 million |
| «Star Wars. Episode II. Attack of the clones» | 2002 | $115 million |
| «Star Wars. Episode III. Revenge of the Sith» | 2005 | $113 million |
| «Star Wars: The Force Awakens» | 2015 | $245 million |
| «Rogue One. Star Wars. The Story» | 2016 | $200 million |
| «Star Wars: The Last Jedi» | 2017 | $317 million |
| «Solo. Star Wars. The Story | 2018 | $275 million |
| «Star Wars: Skywalker. Ascension» | 2019 | $275 million |
| «The Mandalorian & Grogu» | 2026 | $166.4 million |
On the one hand, a modest budget is something new for studio giants. However, high costs usually put additional pressure on box office results, and if the cost of «The Mandalorian & Grogu» is really that low, then Lucasfilm should have no problems with return on investment and profitability. On the other hand, this price indicates that the production was mainly carried out on the soundstage of The Volume.
The technology, which began to be actively used in the early 2020s and was used in the «Mandalorian» series, is essentially a large circular installation of seamless LED screens that display computer images using various graphic technologies, united by the term StageCraft. In fact, The Volume involves working with graphics even before filming, not at the post-production stage, and this is a big plus for directors who immediately see the finished picture, not the green screen. However, it also has some drawbacks — the actors are confined in a space that limits the camera’s movement; and the intensive use of technology is sometimes too conspicuous and cheapens the final result.
«The Mandalorian & Grogu» will be the first theatrical release of a Star Wars film in six years. Obviously, Disney has high hopes for it — the series starring Pedro Pascal became the face of Disney+ when the streaming platform was launched and generally received positive reviews (especially compared to other Star Wars series).
The film will continue the story of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Dean Jarin along with his magical assistant Grog, known as Baby Yoda. The plot is still being kept under wraps, but we expect to see such characters as Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), Bo-Katan Kryce (Kate Sackhoff), Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and others. Jeremy Allen White and Sigourney Weaver also joined the cast.
The film is produced by Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni and is tentatively set to premiere on May 26, 2026.
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