I was lucky enough to attend the World Premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu in Hollywood thanks to Star Wars and my friends, Ash and Bryan (without them this wouldn't have been possible). As someone who has been blogging about Star Wars for over twenty-five years, being able to go to my first Star Wars movie premiere meant the galaxy to me. This was a dream of mine and I can't believe it came true!
There hasn't been a Star Wars movie in almost seven years, so this felt incredibly special. It was truly a joyous occasion to be there with the largest crowd I've ever seen at a red carpet event (they filled the TLC Chinese and the El Capitan theaters with fans, and the cast and crew, and celebrities).
When we first arrived, we were taken through this space which was set up like the streets of Shakari. We couldn’t be there for long, so my memory of it is such a blur, but I did get a few photos. They also had the Coca-Cola bottles from Galaxy's Edge that they were offering guests, which I thought was so cool. It was a short, but immersive experience!
Before we had our photos taken by Getty on the red carpet, they offered to hold my belongings, including my purse. However, the purse was fully part of my outfit, especially since I had my Rotta the Hutt plush keychain from Hot Toys on it, so I politely declined. Was it unusual? Maybe, but I'm so happy with how the photo turned out. Rotta is such a star!
I found out the day after the World Premiere that Pag Six featured me in a piece about what people wore to the event. I'm near the bottom of the page listed right after Ludwig Göransson. I'm so grateful!
Green Dress: Cider (Sold Out)
Black BCBG Bag: Nordstrom Rack (Sold Out)
Silver Necklace: Kohl's
Black Heels: Lucky Feet (On Sale)
Rotta Cosb! Keychain: c/o Hot Toys
Mando Ring: c/o RockLove Jewelry
Hair Buns: Amazon (Aff. link)
Green Hairbows: American Eagle
Ash and I took some photos and checked out all the fun booths they had set up on the red carpet. Olive and June gave us free nail polish and placed Mando and Grogu nail stickers on our nails. We felt extra fancy! Burger King was handing out food, toys, and crowns (I chose the Mando and Zeb toys). RSVLTS was there with coupons and displays of some of their newest pieces, and Archer and Nilla Wafers were handing out snacks. It was such a unique experience! I didn't get photos of everything, but you can see more in my Reel from the night here.
There were cool photo ops, including the BDX droids wearing bow ties, and an AT-RT made completely out of LEGO that you could actually sit in! When I spotted it, I said, "Oh my gosh!" about three times before Ash had to say, "Use your words, Jen!" because she wanted to know what I was freaking out about! As soon as she looked over, we dashed over to get in line! I think our favorite photo op of the night was Grogu himself sitting happily on a tree branch. You can watch this video to see our reactions to witnessing his cuteness in person.
I feel so lucky to have met Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Captain Carson), Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth), Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), and Ludwig Göransson (Composer of The Mandalorian Series and The Mandalorian and Grogu).
Paul was so kind and asked me what my name was and shook my hand. It was like he was an instant friend. I got to tell Diana that I loved how her character was part of the Tales of the Underworld animated anthology series. She was so sweet and kept complimenting my hairstyle. I was emotional after meeting Ahmed. It was such a surprise to see him there! I love how he rested his head against mine in the photo. I'll probably cry about it forever. As for Ludwig, I met him right after watching The Mandalorian and Grogu in the lobby. I'm so glad that I got to share with him how much I loved the music. I was so ecstatic at that point, I probably scared him!
It was so exciting to see so many of my friends at the event too! I wasn't able to grab as many photos as I would've liked, but I did get a few. I saw Carly King and Tom Howard, both who worked on the movie! I finally got to meet Patience and Mitch and Bailey in person, and Ash also introduced me to Vanessa who was wearing an amazing Mando cosplay. The Star Wars community always makes occasions like this extra special!
I had never been to the TLC Chinese Theater before. Everything inside was so gorgeous, including the bathroom! I was stunned.
Jon Favreau shared a few words before the movie, including how he first saw Star Wars with his dad 49 years ago, and that he was there with his dad again, watching the movie he made. Ash and I were instantly teary-eyed!
I will be saving my review of the movie for an upcoming post. For now, I will leave you with this short spoiler-free review I recently shared on my social media channels...
The Mandalorian and Grogu delivered heavily in the action department and with the new musical themes, all while depicting the heart of Star Wars. I loved seeing one of my favorite duos in a new action-adventure along with my new favorite, Rotta the Hutt, who competed against Grogu in stealing the show. It had many Old Trilogy elements shown in a way we’ve never seen in Star Wars before, which I’m already OBSESSED with. It lacked emotional pull, and a couple of characters felt underutilized, but I liked the movie overall, even if story-wise it wasn’t as strong as the series. I couldn’t stop smiling!
I hope you enjoyed seeing what it was like attending the World Premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu! Did you see the movie? What did you think? You can get in touch with me by leaving a comment below or following me on my social media channels: Instagram, X, Threads or Bluesky.
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