The nextStar Warsmovie,The Mandalorian & Grogu, has a much smaller budget than recent films in the franchise, and there are a few major reasons why. ThenextStar Warsmovieset to release in 2026, theupcoming filmThe Mandalorian & Grogu, has been a subject of speculation since it was announced. News about the film has slowly been released over months, such ascast updates forThe Mandalorian & Grogu, which is set to include stars like Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White. One new bit of information, however, is a massive development for bothThe Mandalorian & GroguandStar Warsas a whole.
Star Wars, as a film franchise, has always been interested in creating blockbusters that draw in huge crowds and huge profits from the box office. Recently, that means the franchise has put down huge amounts of money to each new film’s budget. However, a new report shows thatThe Mandalorian & Grogu’s budgetis just $166.4 million. That’s less than most blockbusters in the last several years:the two highest-grossing movies of 2024,Inside Out 2andDeadpool & Wolverine, both had budgets of about $200 million (viaBox Office Mojo).The Mandalorian & Grogu’s budget is truly remarkable, and it may need some explanation.
How The Mandalorian & Grogu’s Budget Compares To Other Disney Star Wars Movies
The Mandalorian & Grogu Has The Smallest Budget In The Disney Star Wars Era By Over $30 Million
The Mandalorian & Grogu’s budget is surprisingly small even among most modern blockbusters, but it’s even more surprising in comparison to Disney’s history withStar Warsspecifically.The Mandalorian & Groguis the cheapestStar Warsmovie Disney has ever made, with a budget $33 million lower than the next cheapest,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In fact, it’s the only DisneyStar Warsmovie to cost less than $200 million to produce, and the numbers are even more staggering after adjusting for inflation. In 2025,Rogue Onewould have a budget of $273 million, meaningThe Mandalorian & Groguis over $100 million cheaper.
1977
$11 million
1980
$18 million
Return of the Jedi
1983
$32.5 million
1999
$115 million
2002
2005
$113 million
2015
$245 million
2016
$200 million
2017
$317 million
2018
$275 million
2019
The Mandalorian and Grogu
2026
$166.4 million
Adjusting for inflation also reveals thatThe Mandalorian & Groguis even cheaper than some of George Lucas’Star Warsfilms.Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, for example, would have cost $227 million to make today, or more than $60 millon more thanThe Mandalorian & Grogu. It’s a staggeringly small budget for aStar Warsfilm, and there were a few waysThe Mandalorian & Groguwas able to achieve such a small price tag.
Jon Favreau Used The Volume To Keep Costs Under Control
Some Of The Best Examples Of The Volume In Action Are Favreau’s Doing
A big reasonThe Mandalorian & Grogu’s budget is so low compared to otherStar Warsmovies is because director Jon Favreau has used the Volume for filming.The Volume was developed by Industrial Light and Magic and is essentially a large LED screen that wraps around a sound stage and allows filmmakers to put whatever background they want on it. In broad strokes, the Volume is a more modern alternative to filming with a green screen, which has been the Hollywood standard for years, and it’s also far cheaper than any other large-scale filming method.
Why Three Actors Play The Mandalorian (Not Just Pedro Pascal)
While Pedro Pascal stars in The Mandalorian as its titular character, Din Djarin, there are at least 2 other actors who also play him. Here’s why.
For example, the scenes set on Tatooine in the originalStar Warswere shot on-location in places like Tunisia or Death Valley. IfThe Mandalorian & Groguwere to film on-location in those places, a handful of shots would cost hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of dollars just to transport all the cast and crew there, secure permits and filming rights, set up all the equipment, and film in harsh desert conditions.The Volume, however, allowsThe Mandalorian & Groguto bring Tatooine onto a sound stage, completely eliminating all the travel costs and production delays that filming on-location entails.
The Mandalorian & Groguis likely also saving money through its cast. Because Din Djarin rarely takes off his helmet, the film can pay Pedro Pascal a fraction of his normal salary for voice acting rather than appearing in person. Then, it can use one of Din’s body doubles, like Brendan Wayne or Lateef Crowder, who aren’t nearly as expensive to have on set.
The Volume also cuts down on the price of filming in a studio. Modern day filmmaking relies heavily on CGI for everything from fantastical creatures to otherworldly locations. A green screen is used to film in a studio, and digital artists edit the footage to change that green to something like Mos Eisley Cantina, inStar Wars' case.Hiring digital artists and having them create backgrounds is quite pricey, though, and the Volume eliminates that need almost entirely. With the Volume,The Mandalorian & Grogucan include whatever background it wants as it films, and the footage will only need some light and inexpensive touching-up after the fact.
Will Pedro Pascal Be In The Mandalorian & Grogu Movie? Here’s Everything We Know About His Star Wars Role
Star Wars has announced their new The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, starring Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin. Here’s everything we know about Pascal’s role.
It’s also worth noting thatStar Wars, Industrial Light and Magic, and Jon Favreau himself pioneered the Volume and the technology it employs. The first scene ofThe Mandalorian, when Din is on the ice planet Pagodon, was filmed in the Volume, and it still looks marvelous six years later.Favreau and the rest of the team have been using the volume for over half a decade, which should mean they can use it extremely well. They should be able to avoid some of the worst examples of filming in the Volume, like some of the more uncanny-looking shots inObi-Wan Kenobi.
Lucasilm Has Learned One Key Lesson From The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
The Mandalorian & Grogu Has A Clear Plan & None Of The Rewrites & Reshoots Of The Sequel Trilogy
Along with the Volume, Lucasfilm and Disney seem to have learned a massive lesson from theStar Warssequel trilogy. One of the main reasons the sequel trilogy was so expensive to produce is because there wasn’t much of a plan in place before filming.Movies likeSolo: A Star Wars StoryandStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerwent through numerous rewrites, reshoots, and general overhauls in their production process, all of which cost money.The confusion about how to finish out Rey Skywalker’s story andSolo’s numerous director troublesended up ballooning their respective budgets.
WithThe Mandalorian & Grogu, however, there doesn’t seem to be any such confusion. The movie is written and directed by Jon Favreau, who created the characters it’s based on and has been writing about them for half a decade now.It also has three seasons ofThe Mandalorianas precedent, so there’s a fairly clear sense of who these characters are and whatThe Mandalorian & Grogushould be about.The Mandalorian & Grogualready has a plan, which should help it stay on schedule and avoid costly reshoots and rewrites.
Has Disney Finally Learned George Lucas' Greatest Trick?
Lucas Became A Billionaire By Making Wildly Successful Movies On A Shoestring Budget
This astonishing news aboutThe Mandalorian & Grogu’s budget may even signify that Disney has finally learned George Lucas' greatest lesson about filmmaking. With the original trilogy, George Lucas famously made tremendous amounts of money, and it turnedLucas into the richest celebrity in the world, to the tune of $5.5 billion. While the actual box office takings of the original trilogy and the revenue fromStar Wars' various merchandising efforts helped,the real secret of Lucas' success wasn’t making movies that made a lot of money, it was making movies that made much more than they cost.
All 12 Star Wars Movies Ranked By Box Office (Adjusted For Inflation)
The Star Wars franchise is the second highest-grossing in film history, but how do all 12 films rank among themselves when adjusted for inflation?
For example, the originalStar Warscost just $11 million to produce ($63 million today), but it made a whopping $4.5 billion after adjusting for inflation.Conversely, Disney’s most profitableStar Warsmovie to date,Star Wars: The Force Awakens, made a huge amount of money ($2.7 billion adjusted for inflation), but it also cost $334 million adjusted for inflation, or five times as much. WithThe Mandalorian & Grogu, it seems like Disney may have finally followed George Lucas' lead and decided to keep the initial costs of production low to increase the movie’s return on investment.
