Good things come to those who wait and, while it took a little longer than “Star Wars” fans may have expected, we finally have a proper trailer for “The Mandalorian and Grogu” – and it’s teasing one heck of a cameo. Even a galaxy far, far away needs to be populated with all sorts of fascinating faces and oddball characters, and the upcoming spin-off movie seems to be no exception. The big focus early on in the new footage revolves around the return of the dastardly gangsters known as the Hutts, the very same family of oversized slugs that terrorized Luke Skywalker and his pals back in the day. War criminals and Empire loyalists abound, too, but there’s only one main attraction who’ll be well-known to film fans everywhere.
The series that originally brought you the great filmmaker Werner Herzog in a recurring role is now leveling up even more with … Martin Scorsese?! That sure appears to be the case, as the trailer depicts Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin sidling up to a food stand in the middle of a city and attempts to bribe the vender for some “information.” The short, multi-armed alien (called an Ardennian) doesn’t just have a familiar-sounding voice, remarking that, “Whoa. For this price, I’ll tell you whatever you want,” before scurrying away in hilarious fright the moment the name “Hutt” is mentioned. A closer look at his appearance reveals some very bushy eyebrows, a fast-talking cadence, and a certain connection that all hints at the same thing: Scorsese, the director of several classics like “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and countless more may have just joined “Star Wars.”
While this may seem like a total left-field choice, Martin Scorsese cameoing in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” actually makes quite a bit of sense.
The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau previously worked with Martin Scorsese
In this industry, you can’t get very far without making some crucial networking connections along the way, and Jon Favreau is living proof. Once known for little else than cameoing as that sarcastic clown in an episode of “Seinfeld,” Favreau has since risen up the ranks to become a trusted custodian for all things Disney, from the first two “Iron Man” films (though they were then under the purview of Paramount Pictures) to live-action remakes like “The Jungle Book” and “The Lion King” to the blockbuster spin-off film “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” With all that in mind, it makes quite a lot of sense that he would look back at arguably the most influential film in his entire career — his supporting role as securities lawyer Manny Riskin in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” — and find a way to homage one of our greatest living directors.
Should this be confirmed, it’ll instantly rank among some of the most entertaining cameos in the entire “Star Wars” franchise. Scorsese, of course, is no stranger to acting. He most recently stole the entire show in the Apple TV+ comedy “The Studio” as himself, appeared in a brief (but key) role as a radio broadcaster near the end of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and, of course, real ones know about his ongoing comic tour de force collaboration with daughter Francesca Scorsese on TikTok. Those familiar with Scorsese’s brand of fast-talking wit will recognize much the same in this alien character in “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and here’s hoping we get official word sometime soon about how exactly this came about.
Until then, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” flies into theaters May 22, 2026.