Star Wars fans were convinced a key Clone Wars character would be in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere

The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1 reunites us with Din Djarin and Grogu after a long break – but there is another Star Wars character that fans thought might make an appearance. Before we go any further, a warning that there are spoilers ahead for the season 3 premiere! 

In the episode, Mando returns to Nevarro with Baby Yoda, and there they discover the planet has changed drastically since they last visited. Their old friend Greef Karga is now a High Magistrate and is running a peaceful society… until trouble arrives in the form of some pirates. 

The group are particularly unhappy with Karga, since they say he built the saloon-turned-school with his cut from profits from their boss, Pirate King Gorian Shard. Star Wars fans familiar with The Clone Wars, though, all had one character spring to mind when the pirates showed up: Hondo Ohnaka.

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The charismatic Pirate King Hondo pops up regularly in The Clone Wars, and has both helped and hindered the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker in his relentless quest for profit. He also appears in Rebels, which saw him aid Ezra Bridger and his friends against the Empire. In fact, Hondo's presence in canon continues all the way through the era of the sequel trilogy. 

"My delusional ass thought it's gonna be Hondo when the droid told Greef Karga it's pirates......." laments one fan, though another is more certain: "Hondo's coming, I'm sure of it" 

"Not me constantly thinking we're going to see live-action Hondo whenever they bring up pirates," says another viewer, while this person is similarly optimistic: "They wouldn't tease us with pirates if they weren't about to give us a live-action Hondo, right?"

"Man I really thought we were about to get Hondo Ohnaka in live action Whenever pirates are mentioned in Star Wars, my mind goes straight to the goat" says another person. 

It remains to be seen if Hondo will make the jump to live-action or not, though considering Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze, Cad Bane, and soon Ezra Bridger have all made it to the live-action shows, it seems likely that we'll see him someday. 

The Mandalorian continues on Disney Plus weekly, and you can keep up to date with our The Mandalorian season 3 release schedule. 

For more on the new episodes, see our exclusive interview with Jon Favreau, which touched on Grogu's Jedi journey, breaking the internet, and if season 4 will be the end, as well as what Pedro Pascal had to say about Mando and Grogu's bond and the "epic" third season.