Hideo Kojima has done what he rarely does with a project he genuinely likes: he wrote a long, enthusiastic review. The creator of ”Metal Gear Solid” and ”Death Stranding” said ”The Mandalorian and Grogu” delivered the kind of broad, technically packed spectacle that rewards a big-screen format, especially IMAX. For a filmmaker-minded game designer who usually keeps his praise brief, that is about as close to a standing ovation as social media gets.
Kojima also has a bit of history with The Mandalorian. He said he first watched only the beginning of the series back in 2019 while studying virtual production with LED screens, which makes this reaction feel less like celebrity fan service and more like a verdict from someone who notices the machinery behind the magic. That perspective matters in a franchise built on layering old-school craft over modern effects – a formula Disney and Lucasfilm have leaned on for years, because pure CGI alone rarely buys the same goodwill.
What impressed Kojima most
His list of what he saw reads like a greatest-hits reel for blockbuster excess: action, vehicle chases, close combat, sword fights, shootouts, duels, aerial battles, giant monsters, and giant mechs. He called the film a vivid demonstration of ”all against all,” which is a neat way of saying the movie is not interested in restraint. That kind of maximalism has become a familiar survival strategy for tentpole cinema, where the challenge is no longer whether to go bigger, but how to keep the chaos legible.
He was just as impressed by the production side. Kojima pointed to the mix of CGI, puppets, heavy makeup, animatronics, and stop-motion, plus the sheer number of Star Wars staples packed into the frame:
- X-Wings
- AT-ATs
- AT-RTs
- speeders
- stormtroopers
- droids
In other words, the movie appears to be selling scale without abandoning texture, which is exactly the trick audiences keep rewarding when franchise fatigue starts setting in.
John Favreau gets the credit
Kojima ended with the kind of line studios love to put on posters, calling it ”an entertaining spectacle made with John Favreau’s craftsmanship.” That’s praise with weight behind it, because it comes from someone who is notoriously hard to impress and unusually sensitive to form, not just fandom. If anything, the endorsement suggests The Mandalorian and Grogu has hit the sweet spot Lucasfilm needs: familiar enough for devotees, elaborate enough to sell itself as an event.
The bigger question is whether that mix can carry beyond a single rave from a famous admirer. Star Wars projects have spent the last several years juggling nostalgia, technical polish, and audience patience, and the films that break through usually offer a clear visual promise rather than just another trip through the canon. Kojima seems to think this one has that promise. The box office will decide whether everyone else agrees.