THE MANDALORIAN Season 3 Finale Easter Egg Teases A Zombie Threat Tied To STAR WARS' Expanded Universe

In The Mandalorian's season 3 finale, Din Djarin and Din Grogu visited a New Republic base and made a deal with Captain Carson Teva to hunt down any remaining Imperial remnants on an unofficial basis. 

With that, the reset button was hit on the Disney+ series, but is the stage being set for one of the wackiest, goriest Star Wars tales ever told? 

When Grogu spotted that IG head, a Stormtrooper helmet could be seen next to it that was more than a little worse for wear and has three long gashes across its front. Now, speculation is running rampant that this might have been a nod to Project Blackwing, a deep-cut Easter Egg that could tie into Ahsoka or perhaps another future Star Wars story. 

In a 2009 novel titled Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber, we catch up with Han Solo and Chewbacca prior to the events of A New Hope when they discover what seems to be a deserted Star Destroyer. Inside are the remains of a secret Imperial experiment called "Imperial Bioweapons Project I71A," with this Blackwing virus meant to be used against the Rebels, transforming them into cannibalistic zombies.

That's right, Star Wars zombies. 

Eventually, an entire platoon of Stormtroopers is exposed to the virus, though the story was written out of canon when Disney acquired Lucasfilm. However, the concept returned in 2014 when the Star Wars: Commander mobile game revealed that Project Blackwing was now a creation of Sith scientists who mixed science with magic as part of their quest for immortality (something we know Emperor Palpatine has a vested interest in).

Don't forget that Ahsoka is rumoured to feature Grand Admiral Thrawn ruling over an army of Stormtroopers who have been resurrected as a near-unstoppable army, so it definitely feels like the stage is being set for Project Blackwing to be adapted for live-action. 

And, if that helmet is any indication, the New Republic may have already encountered it...