The trailers released for The Mandalorian and Grogu so far have teased a low-key adventure for Din Djarin and his charge Baby Yoda – there looks to be plenty of excitement in store, but no galaxy-shaking revelations or battles.
Director Jon Favreau has expanded on the stakes in a new interview with SFX magazine, confirming that, while the Mando movie isn't carrying the Star Wars mythos forward, another upcoming project is.
"Anybody who saw the sequels knows that there's a First Order coming in, like, 20 years from where we are now in the storyline," he commented. "And then Ahsoka season 2 is coming out – which I've seen all of – and that's definitely more dealing with the larger [picture], a higher level. That's about the officers and we're the enlisted men – this is more of a ground-level experience of what's going on. You're seeing the backdrop – which, by the way, is what the first Star Wars started off as."
The Mandalorian season 3 teased the rise of the First Order through the Shadow Council, an ominous gathering of Imperial remnants – and then Grand Admiral Thrawn returned at the end of Ahsoka season 1. "If you look at the fall of empires, historically, a lot of the power brokers become warlords," Favreau shared, "and anybody with a standing army had power in the ancient world. We see that repeat itself in history. I guess what the Shadow Council alluded to is that they're starting to actually connect. It's not just insulated warlords anymore, and there's a larger scheme afoot. There's something going on and Thrawn is sort of the missing link that we began to allude to at the end of season 3."
By the sounds of it, the future of this period on the Star Wars timeline will become clear in Ahsoka season 2, developed by new Lucasfilm co-president Dave Filoni. "Dave has grabbed the baton now with the Ahsoka show, and that's going to be taking the next step," Favreau said. "There's a lot in that man's head and I know that he takes how it all connects very seriously. Now Dave is in his new position, he's been figuring out where things are moving forward after this. He's got a lot of responsibility there."
The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives this May 22, while Ahsoka season 2 doesn't yet have a release date.
While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else that's coming soon.
