The Mandalorian has been telling the story of Din Djarin and his tiny clanmate Grogu, but their tale isn’t limited to that series alone. Winter of 2021 pivoted Star Wars TV away from Din to focus on an old friend with The Book of Boba Fett, which detailed how the bounty hunter survived his Sarlaac encounter and went on to rule as the newest Daimyo of Tatooine.
But all that stopped for one episode, which followed Din and Grogu on separate paths, the former being told he’s now an apostate from his Mandalorian sect and the latter choosing to leave his Jedi training. It was a sharp turn for the series, but Mandalorian co-showrunner Jon Favreau stands by it.
In conversation with Empire, Favreau explained the reasoning behind turning a Book of Boba Fett episode into what was basically a bonus episode of The Mandalorian. “I think The Book Of Boba Fett offered time to pass,” he said. “You saw what Mando was like without Baby Yoda and we saw what Grogu was like without the Mandalorian and neither of them was doing too good. So them coming back together was a really good plot point that allows us to jump back into Season 3 while maintaining the central relationship.”
The Mandalorian Season 3, premiering on Disney+ next month, will certainly jump back into the action. But for future fans, the transition from Season 2 to Season 3 will look very disjointed. In Season 2, Din breaks every rule he has and removes his helmet to say a tearful goodbye to Grogu, and then in Season 3 they’re palling around as if nothing happened. But Favreau isn’t concerned — if anything, he’s intrigued by how fans who skipped The Book of Boba Fett will react to the shift.
Although Grogu left his Jedi summer camp early and chose to follow the Mandalorian path, that doesn’t mean that his training was a complete write-off. Besides the fact that trailers show him using his Force power to get up to typical Baby Yoda hijinks, his training makes for an excellent storytelling opportunity.
“You have this interesting character who has Jedi training to some extent, Force abilities, but also is joining the Mandalorian culture, which we’ve established is something that you can opt into. It demands a lot, it offers a lot,” Favreau said.
The demands are not to be overlooked — Mandalorian culture is extremely insular, and Bo-Katan looks down on Din for merely being in a different sect. How she’ll react to a tiny green Mandalorian with a history of being a Jedi, who the Mandalorians consider sworn enemies, should prove interesting.
No matter what lies in Grogu’s future, skipping over how he reunited with his adoptive dad is arguably a plus. It’s an optional adventure for those who want answers, but for those who just want to see these two traverse the galaxy together, Season 3 can hit the ground running.
The Mandalorian Season 3 premieres March 1 on Disney+.
