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The Mandalorian and Grogu boasts not one, but two big names behind the camera. First, there is Jon Favreau, who directed Elf and Iron Man, created The Mandalorian, and helmed several episodes of the series. Then there’s the guy who helped Favreau write the screenplay, Dave Filoni. Not only is Filoni about to rise to co-head of Lucasfilm, but he also created The Clone Wars, the fan-favorite animated series that has increasingly been the focus of Star Wars media.
Yet, despite their achievements, neither of those two men are the most impressive director involved in the project. As seen—or, rather, heard—in the latest trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, Martin Scorsese lends his voice to an Ardennian who closes up shop when he hears that Din Djarin is tangled up with the Hutts.
To be honest, Scorsese’s involvement seems to make no sense. After all, this is the guy who created some of the grittiest and most upsetting movies of all time, grimy classics such as Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. This is the guy who spoke dismissively of superhero movies, a guy who not only offered a withering response to Todd Phillips’s Joker (which was a clear riff on Scorsese’s The King of Comedy), but compared the entire genre to amusement park rides. Scorsese makes complex movies about crime and God and sin and redemption. What the heck is he doing in a Star Wars flick?
The answer is more simple than you’d think. First of all, even if Scorsese was an East Coaster who went to NYU, he still palled around with West Coast movie brats like Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, and, yes, George Lucas. He saw Star Wars back when it was a little independent movie that his buddy was doing outside the studio system.
And then there’s the fact that Martin Scorsese really, really likes movies. Even if he’s best known for his grown-up fare, the director has indulged in kid-friendly spectacle himself, making the 3D romp Hugo. He regularly champions films of various genres, and even previously lent his voice to Shark Tale, a film that even the biggest Star Wars hater can admit is probably worse than The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Finally, Scorsese is hardly the most unlikely filmmaker to get involved with The Mandalorian. Season 1 featured regular appearances by Werner Herzog, the German director best known for documenting nature at its most meaningless and violent. Herzog made for a striking addition for the series and famously demanded that Favreau and company use a puppet instead of CG for Grogu, creating the cultural phenomenon that was Baby Yoda.
Will Scorsese’s Ardennian shopkeeper become an equally beloved pop figure? Well, probably not. But at least Star Wars marketing team got a good “Absolute Cinema” joke out of it.
The Mandalorian and Grogu and Martin Scorsese arrives in theaters on May 22, 2026.
The post The Mandalorian and Grogu Will Feature a Directing Great… As an Alien Shopkeeper appeared first on Den of Geek.
