I’m swamped today but didn’t want to leave you hanging. And there’s actually Scriptshadow-relevant movie news since yours truly may possibly be – nothing has been confirmed yet but there are multiple witnesses testifying as such – obsessed with Star Wars.
Quick side story: Getting my rackets strung today, I ask the stringer her name and she says ANAKIN. I kid you not! Anakin is stringing my rackets! There’s a 30% chance my rackets will turn into lightsabers the next time I play.
Does that make me… a tennis jedi???
Anyway, The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer dropped today and it’s not trending. Not even a little bit. Which is frustrating cause there’s a lot of littleness going on in this trailer. While I know we’ve beaten the Lucasfilm dead bantha 10,000 times already, neither Celine’s nor my heart will let this franchise die. Near. Far. Wherever we are. Our Star Wars hearts WILL go on.
I said in my Rise of Skywalker review that I wanted Babu Frik to have his own movie. He basically gets that here! He’s the real co-star, seemingly in every adventure with Baby Yoda. And I have absolutely no issues with that. Babu Frik’s brother is in this movie and his name is Keeto. KEETO! Without a doubt, the most adorable name ever invented. Keeto is my new Jesus. This movie’s going to be hilarious.
But the big criticism against Mandalorian and Grogu is that this feels like a slightly bigger episode of The Mandalorian. Why are people saying that? You guys should know! You’re screenwriters. You follow my site. I talk about it constantly. Think hard! Why doesn’t this feel like a big movie?
The answer? No stakes. Movie stakes need to be high. Movies are chronically larger-than-life scenarios. And in a Star Wars movie, the demand for high stakes is even bigger. Characters just hopping from planet to planet getting into shenanigans won’t cut it for a movie.
To be fair, Jon Favreau hasn’t given us the full story yet. I’m hoping when he does, it will have very high stakes.
But here’s what worries me: Mandalorian and Grogu have yet another use of AT-AT Walkers! And not just use—they’re the trailer’s climax. This reiterates Star Wars’ primary problem: they’re not being inventive anymore. They keep relying on old crusty ideas. How about creating some cool NEW vehicles every now and then? Just a thought.
Let’s end with a screenwriting tip. Figure out what your script does best and LEAN INTO THAT. Favreau knows people love Baby Yoda. He’s the only thing that’s worked in Star Wars in a decade. So what does this trailer do? It leans heavily into Baby Yoda.
You need to do the same in your script. If you have a character who’s working amazingly, feature them as much as possible. Maybe Ken had a smaller role in Barbie’s original draft. But Greta Gerwig realized he was working, expanded his role, and he became the best thing about the movie. It’s HARD to come up with anything that works in a story. Most things are boring. So when you strike gold, mine as much of that gold as you can!
