Baby Yoda Heads to Big Screen in New ‘Star Wars’ Movie 

A Baby Yoda toy from Mattel is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, February 21, 2020. (Reuters)
A Baby Yoda toy from Mattel is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, February 21, 2020. (Reuters)
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Baby Yoda Heads to Big Screen in New ‘Star Wars’ Movie 

A Baby Yoda toy from Mattel is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, February 21, 2020. (Reuters)
A Baby Yoda toy from Mattel is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, February 21, 2020. (Reuters)

Baby Yoda's next adventure will take the young alien, seen only on a hit "Star Wars" streaming series, to movie theaters.

The first feature film inspired by "The Mandalorian" series will start production this year, Walt Disney's Lucasfilm said on Tuesday. The title character, a helmeted bounty hunter, and his companion, known as Baby Yoda or Grogu, debuted on the Disney+ streaming service in 2019.

Jon Favreau, creator of the series, will direct the movie called "The Mandalorian and Grogu." Disney did not announce a release date. Pedro Pascal, who plays the Mandalorian in the series, is expected to return to the role.

Disney had paused development of new "Star Wars" films and scrapped a few projects as it worked to figure out a new strategy for the franchise, one of its biggest. The last "Star Wars" film, "The Rise of Skywalker," was released in 2019 and took in nearly $1.1 billion at global box offices.



Tomorrowland Music Festival Opens after its Main Stage was Destroyed by Huge Fire

The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
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Tomorrowland Music Festival Opens after its Main Stage was Destroyed by Huge Fire

The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fans roared in excitement and organizers sighed with relief as the Tomorrowland music festival kicked off Friday — just two days after a massive fire engulfed the main stage and threw one of Europe's biggest summer concert events into doubt.

Workers labored around the clock to clear out the debris from the elaborate backdrop that was consumed in Wednesday's fire.

Shouting ‘’We made it!'', the festival's opening performers, Australian electronic music group Nervo, were able to take to the main stage Friday after a last-minute scramble and slight delay. Some charred frames were still visible behind them.

No one was hurt in the fire, organizers said. The causes are being investigated.
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world attend Tomorrowland's annual multi-day festival outside the Belgian town of Boom.

Some 38,000 people were camping at the festival site Friday, Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said.

’’Maybe there are some few people that say, OK, we would like to have a refund, but it’s only like a very small percentage because most of them are still coming to the festival,” she told AP.

“It is all about unity, and I think with a good vibe and a positive energy that our festival-goers give to each other and the music we offer, I think they will still have a good time,″ she said. ’’We really tried our best.″

Australian fans Zak Hiscock and Brooke Antoniou — who traveled half the world to see the famed festival as part of a summer holiday in Europe — described hearing about the fire.

“We were sitting having dinner when we actually heard the news of the stage burning down. We were very devastated and shattered, quite upset because we travelled a long way,'' Hiscock said.

Ukrainian visitor Oleksandr Beshkynskyi shared their joy that the festival went ahead as planned.

‘’It’s not just about the one DJ or two DJs you’re looking to see, but about all the mood and about the dream being alive," Beshkynskyi said.