If the writer’s strike had an effect on this I wouldn’t be too surprised, though I can just as well believe the finale would always be this way, they already experimented with episodes in select theaters and this sounds like a suped up special.
This studio is so trapped by short-sightedness, it’s shockingly predictable, maybe this is their best bet back into movies, but something still feels cynical here, like they decided on it with a calculator more than a script. Do the masses still care about Grogu at this point? I’ve only heard about waning interest, how many times can the baby button be pushed? It’s not like baby groot kept going forever. Maybe I’m underestimating Mando but as safe as they’re playing this I think they might be in for some hurt again. Either way as someone not very interested in the adventures of the mandalorian even if it’s entertaining it still feels like the same holding pattern until the next one, I’d prefer to move on at this point. No more cliffhangers and empty promises, it’s tiring.
People say that, but according to the Nielson charts when season 3 was airing it was consistently the 3rd and 4th most-watched streaming show in the U.S. and it did better than both Book of Boba Fett, and Obi Wan in terms of minutes viewed. Season 3 was consistently around 800 to 1100 million minutes viewed while Bobba Fett was only around 500 million minutes (although it did make it to 800 million minutesa few times) and Obi Wan around 400-600 million minutes. It also did a lot better than Ahsoka which again was between 400-800million minutes. Sure critically Season 3 was considerably less well received, especially by fans, than previous seasons, but in terms of the amount of views it still mostly held up. I mean it did have less people watching than season 2, which was consistently around 1200-1300 million minutes , and I think its lowest week was around 800 million minutes, but again Season 3 did make it to 1100 million minutes viewed once or twice as well
I might be too caught up in merch sales, but I do think the Disney+ audience is more in a passive space, just another bill, usually on auto renewal and for a variety entertainment package. So I’m not sure if there will be as many people who would actively pay for a ticket and be willing to go to the theater, it would even be different if we were talking Mandalorian boxset sales.