Having debuted at the number one spot domestically last week, the action sequel Mortal Kombat II slipped down the chart in its sophomore frame at the box office. The movie did, however, manage to pass a massive global milestone as it makes way for The Mandalorian and Grogu next week. Mortal Kombat II serves as a sequel to the franchise reboot Mortal Kombat, which was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021. Warner Bros. was hoping for Mortal Kombat II to replicate the bump that Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire saw at the box office, after their respective predecessors were also released day-and-date in 2021.

Seen as the spiritual ribbon-cutting of the 2026 summer box office, The Mandalorian and Grogu makes its hotly anticipated global theatrical debut on May 22. The feature-length continuation of the hugely successful The Mandalorianseries, this marks the first theatrical release in the franchise since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The cast for the movie is stacked with talent, including Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, Sigourney Weaver as Colonel Ward, Martin Scorsese as an Ardennian Fry Cook, Steve Blum as Zeb Orellios, and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt.

It’s only May, and Star Wars fans are soon to be treated to their second official project of the year with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which jumps into theaters worldwide on May 22. The first Star Wars project of the year, Maul – Shadow Lord, just wrapped up on Disney Plus, but it’s already been confirmed that the show has been renewed for Season 2. The animated series was written and created by Dave Filoni, who also assumed the new job of Lucasfilm President after Kathleen Kennedy stepped down at the end of last year. There are other Star Wars projects coming soon to be excited about, such as Starfighter (starring Ryan Gosling) and Ahsoka Season 2 (starring Rosario Dawson).

2026 has been a major shift for the Star Wars franchise. Not only is The Mandalorian and Groguset to bring a galaxy far, far away back to the silver screen, but Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lordhas become the most critically acclaimed and popular Star Wars series. A recent piece of news just revealed that this shift is affecting another Star Wars series, and breaking a seven-year streak in the process. During Disney's presentation at the 2026 TV Upfronts, Rosario Dawsonrevealed that the second season of Ahsokawill debut in 2027, rather than this year.

Some franchises never truly die, but there's a huge difference between something dropping weekly on streaming, and a new project dropping on IMAX around the world. For years, fans have watched this corner of the saga grow through Disney+ shows, bounty hunter adventures, frog-spawn eating chaos, difficult politics, and the occasional deeply stressful "put your helmet back on, for the love of Yoda" segments, but not the leap to hyperspace is almost here.