Star Wars' Super Bowl Trailer is the most disappointing thing I've seen this year

Star Wars films used to be an event

In a few months, The Mandalorian and Grogu will be leaving the small screen to venture off into your local theater. Our first look at the dad-and-son duo since last seeing them in The Mandalorian season 3 teased the return of the Razor Crest, new allies with the appearance of Sigourney Weaver, epic cage fights, but not much else. Still, with such a big jump from TV to cinema, you'd expect Lucasfilm and Disney to have brought their A-game with the teaser for The Mandalorian and Grogu at the Super Bowl. That did not prove to be the case.

In fact, the 36-second trailer for the next Star Wars film — which shows Mando (Din Djarin) and his ward Grogu riding on a wagon pulled by tauntauns — only left me with a feeling worse than disappointment: apathy. This was certainly a Super Bowl trailer, and it did indeed feature Star Wars characters from The Mandalorian.

But it's been nearly seven years since the franchise hit movie theaters. J.J. Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker made a ton of money, but leaned so hard into nostalgia and attempts to please everyone that it ended up doing the exact opposite. Yet even The Rise of Skywalker knew the purpose of a Star Wars trailer: teasing the audience with answers to their questions and inspiring even more. That, along with frenetic battles and beautiful cinematography to highlight the otherworldliness of a galaxy far, far away, is what got butts into seats at the cinema.

The Mandalorian and Grogu's Super Bowl trailer, however, inspires only boredom. We've seen that Mando and Grogu love one another, travel together, and share a father-and-son bond. We know Grogu is cute. What makes this movie different from what we've already seen in the previous three seasons of The Mandalorian? The Super Bowl is a major event, so one would expect Lucasfilm and Disney to make a greater effort to promote their upcoming film rather than rely on the cute factor of their mascot character.

What's frustrating is that Lucasfilm and Disney have proven they can produce amazing trailers. Their latest, Maul: Shadow Lord, captures the intensity of Maul on the run and stirs intrigue and mystery around the origins of new characters, making it feel like a Star Wars trailer. In comparison, The Mandalorian and Grogu Super Bowl trailer could easily be mistaken for a beer or car advertisement, and not a particularly good one. To say some Star Wars fans aren't impressed would be an understatement.

I want to believe that The Mandalorian and Grogu will bring Star Wars back to the cinema again. Yet for a series so steeped in themes of hope, the latest trailer inspires anything but.