The Mandalorian is set shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, but if this week has proved anything, it's that Jon Favreau is playing fast and loose with the Star Wars timeline!
While the filmmaker is definitely respecting canon, he isn't willing to be tied down to a specific period of time, a wise move to ensure he can tell these stories without being too restricted. The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and upcoming shows like Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew appear to be informing what we saw in the sequels, including the eventual rise of the First Order.
However, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Dave Filoni said it's possible these shows will outright avoid eventually tying directly into the divisive trilogy.
"That’s a great question, and we talk about many different things," he responded when asked if they've figured out what Grogu was up to during that time. "That’s a question for a bunch of characters by the way, not just Grogu. Where are they during these events?"
"If anything, having made The Clone Wars and weaving a tale so intricately between two movies that were much closer together, I’ve learned that there’s expansive room in this galaxy for us to tell stories and have characters doing things."
"As a kid, when Yoda said, 'When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be,' to Luke, I took that very literally. Well, now we know that’s anything but true," Filoni continues. "There are many different people that could wield the force, and maybe Luke is the last Jedi as far as what Yoda would consider a Jedi."
"So we’ll just have to wait and see how the story evolves and what makes sense. But in my experience, there’s definitely a way to weave everything together and make it exciting. It’s possible it would never even have to cross over with what we saw [in the sequel trilogy] if the story has us somewhere else."
With these intriguing remarks comes a new trailer for season 3 of The Mandalorian that offers a better idea of what's to come next week and beyond. We see more of Mandalore, plenty of action, and a few teases about what the next seven episodes hold in store for us.