"Empire" Magazine Shares Two Different Covers for Its Upcoming "The Mandalorian and Grogu" Issue

We are now about two and a half months away from the release of Lucasfilm's highly anticipated new Star Wars movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, and the film's marketing campaign is kicking into high gear. Today the British film magazine Empire released two different covers for its upcoming issue focused on The Mandalorian and Grogu, and you can check them both out below.

What's happening:

• Empire magazine has shared two different covers for its The Mandalorian and Grogu issue, which hits newsstands one week from today on Thursday, March 12.
• Both covers feature exclusive photography by Robert Ascroft (The Housemaid, Dark Matter, The Handmaid's Tale).
• The first cover depicts the two title characters: The Mandalorian (AKA Din Djarin) in full armor, standing beside little Grogu, who is seated in a director's chair with his name on it. They are posing "backstage" during a film shoot, although there are two very Star Wars-esque light sources nearby-- one blue and one red (perhaps a nod to the light and dark sides of the Force?).

• The second cover (which is an Empire subscriber exclusive) is a closer, medium shot of Grogu seated in the same chair with the red light still behind him on the floor. Grogu holds a clapboard for The Mandalorian and Grogu with director Jon Favreau's name on it. The clapboard indicates shot 113 and take 8, a reference to George Lucas's first movie THX 1138. Longtime Lucasfilm fans will know there have been plenty of 1138 references scattered around the Star Wars galaxy through the decades.

• According to Empire, this issue will feature interviews with Favreau, Lucasfilm's new president Dave Filoni (who the magazine incorrectly identifies as the CEO-- he's actually the Chief Creative Officer or CCO), star Pedro Pascal (from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, who plays the voice and the unmasked face of Djarin), newcomer to the Star Wars franchise Sigourney Weaver (from Ghostbusters and Alien, playing Colonel Ward of the New Republic), and actor Jeremy Allen White (from The Bear, voicing Rotta the Hutt).
• Other non-Star Wars projects covered in this issue will be Spider-Noir from Sony Pictures Television, Apex from Netflix, the Cape Fear miniseries from Apple TV+, The Beatles from Sony Pictures Entertainment, and a look back at Stand by Me from Columbia Pictures and director Rob Reiner on its 40th anniversary.
• We'll also get some new, never-before-seen images from The Mandalorian and Grogu when the issue drops next week, including the one below of Din Djarin riding an AT-RT on a snowy planet.

• The Mandalorian and Grogu will be released into theaters on Friday, May 22.

More news about the film:

• Tokyo Disneyland guests are guaranteed a holographic visit by Din Djarin and Grogu when they ride Star Tours from mid-April through the end of June in promotion of the movie.
• In the latest episode of Laughing Place's Star Wars podcast "Who's the Bossk?" we take a deep dive into what we can expect from (and how excited we are for) The Mandalorian and Grogu.
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is evidently getting a new name when Mando and Grogu take over the attraction at Walt Disney World.