LAS VEGAS (AP) — “The Mandalorian and Grogu” director Jon Favreau debuted the opening of the first Star Wars movie in seven years at CinemaCon Thursday in Las Vegas. The footage was shown as part of The Walt Disney Co.’s presentation to theater owners, where they.
The film, which opens on May 22, begins with a title card saying the Galactic Empire has fallen and ex-warlords remain scattered throughout and, in the Outer Rim, the Mandalorian and Grogu hunt them down.
The sequence shows a one man, and child, battle against one such ex-warlord, with a big fight on a snowy cliff as they attempt to take down what looks like AT-AT walkers. Later, Sigourney Weaver’s character scolds the bounty hunter for his messy job, which left the target dead and them with no new information.
She also proposes a new mission, which would put him back in the orbit of the Hutts, with Jabba’s heir Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White).
“’Star Wars’ made me fall in love with movies,” Favreau said. “I hope that our excitement and love and joy of Star Wars translates to a new generation of fans.”
He said that there are over 49 minutes of sequences filmed for large format screens.
Disney releases dominated the box office in 2025 with nearly $2.5 billion in domestic ticket sales and $6.6 billion globally with hits like “Lilo & Stitch,”“Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” A box office driver for many years, it’s fitting that Disney is closing CinemaCon.
Already this year, Disney has boosted the box office with its original Pixar hit “Hoppers,” which has made over $355 million globally to date. Disney has a flood of potential blockbusters on the way, including “Toy Story 5,” a live-action “Moana” and, in December, “Avengers: Doomsday.” Kicking off the summer movie season, which begins the first weekend in May, is not a Marvel movie, however. It’s a legacy sequel from their 20th Century Studios: “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Gird your loins.
The studio may also offer a look at the future of some of its biggest franchises, including insight into what’s next for Marvel, Avatar and Star Wars beyond “Star Wars: Starfighter,” which is due in theaters in May 2027.
Disney’s impact on the exhibition industry cannot be understated. Last year its releases made up over 27.5% of the annual domestic box office alone. The studio also has a 60-day exclusive theatrical window, the most robust in Hollywood.
The Walt Disney Co. is facing its own challenges too. On Tuesday, the company began mass layoffs in its ranks, expected to total around 1,000 with some of the cuts coming from the movie studio and its marketing department.
Orson Welles once said, “if you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” And, so, for an exhibition industry that operates on small margins, and with the box office still down around 20% from its pre-pandemic norms, Disney is about as close as the conference can get to going out on a high note.
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