With The Mandalorian & Grogu , director Jon Favreau deepened the Star Wars franchise’s Los Angeles ties — a fact that did not go unmentioned during Thursday night’s premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre. “This is where Star Wars , 49 years ago to the month, started,” Favreau told the audience inside the theater. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope opened at the Chinese Theater on May 25, 1977. “We’re still telling Star Wars stories. The baton has been passed down to other filmmakers, but here we are. Hopefully, we’ll get some of that magic and some of the energy here.” It was a fitting site for the premiere of the first Star Wars movie to be filmed completely in Los Angeles. During his speech ahead of the film, Favreau gave special thanks to the California Film Commission’s whopping $21,755,000 in conditional tax credits for the production , one of the biggest allocations in the program’s history. Watch on Deadline “I want to thank the cast and crew,” he continued.…