Empire Magazine Issue 452 (May 2026) Mandalorian and Grogu

Get your beskar on, Star Wars fans – it’s nearly time for The Mandalorian And Grogu to arrive in cinemas, bringing the saga back to the big screen for the first time in seven years. And you’ll find the duo on the cover of Empire’s May 2026 issue, going deep into their biggest adventure yet.

The Mandalorian And Grogu - The most unlikely duo in the galaxy is back, and going bigger than ever. Empire gets the inside story with director Jon Favreau, Lucasfilm co-CEO Dave Filoni, and stars Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White, as a new era of Star Wars begins.

Plus, we take a deep-dive into the world of the Hutts, try living as a Mandalorian, and talk Mando’s magnificent score with Ludwig Göransson.

Stand By Me At 40 - Four decades later, Stand By Me remains the definitive film on childhood. In the wake of Rob Reiner’s passing, we speak to stars Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, and John Cusack, screenwriters Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, and more for a brand new oral history.

Apex - What happens when you mash a survival thriller with a serial-killer film? You get Apex – throwing Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton to the elements. They talk us through the trials of making Baltasar Kormákur’s latest no-holds-barred ride.

Rose Of Nevada - Singular British filmmaker Mark Jenkin returns with a time-warping fisherman’s tale. He writes exclusively for Empire on the process of making his third film, from a single ghostly image to a full-on feature.

Ben Wheatley - Across his career, Ben Wheatley has been dealing out deaths galore. As he prepares his bloody new actioner Normal, he talks Empire through the kill list of his career – from Free Fire, to Sightseers.

Fire In The Movies - There are few special effects in the movies are visceral as roaring flames – and the art of lighting up Hollywood is only getting more advanced. Empire looks at the history – and the future – of fire on film. Flame on!

First Word - In this month’s news section, we thwip into action with Spider-Noir; break down those first-look Beatles biopic images; return to Gilead with The Testaments; pay tribute to the great Robert Duvall; get under the skin of the new Cape Fear; challenge Zazie Beetz to the Pint Of Milk interview, and much more.

Final Cut - In the home entertainment section, we talk the big swings of Predator: Badlands with Dan Trachtenberg; rank the movies of Robert Zemeckis; go beat-by-beat on Wonder Man with co-creator Andrew Guest; look back on the films of Joe Carnahan with the man himself; give The Maltese Falcon the Masterpiece treatment, and plenty more.

Reviews - In this issue, you’ll find reviews of vibrant French animated adventure Arco; Gus Van Sant’s return with Dead Man’s Wire; smash medical drama The Pitt; Netflix’s steamy drama Vladimir; Apple’s monster mash Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters; and plenty more.

Check out the Empire website.