Jon Favreau Teases Star Wars: The Mandalorian Could Bring Back Legends Characters

Star Wars: The Mandalorian marks the first live-action TV series in the Star Wars saga, which is set to focus on all-new characters, but producer Jon Favreau hopes that the series can find ways to unite all corners of the saga, including characters who have been relegated to the Legends universe of the series’ mythology. The series creator has already offered a number of teases about the ways the series will feature Easter eggs to other corners of the galaxy and, while he didn’t explicitly confirm the appearances or future of characters like Mara Jade or Grand Admiral Thrawn, he looks forward to fans discovering potential connections.

“I don’t want to talk about anything that might be fun for people to discover,” Favreau shared with Entertainment Weekly when asked about these characters appearing. “We do have conversations. Part of what’s fun to see if we could merge the worlds of the original trilogy, the prequels, the sequels, [Star Wars:] The Clones Wars, and what’s been considered canon up to this point and what’s been considered part of Legends. I think this show offers an opportunity to bring in all those elements so no matter what your flavor of Star Wars ice cream you like there will be something to enjoy. But you’re asking the right questions.”

Following the conclusion of the original trilogy with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, a series of novels, comic books, and video games further explored both new and familiar characters, with the events of these stories being referred to as the “Star Wars Expanded Universe.” The events of the films didn’t explicitly contradict those adventures, but when Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, the studio deemed the SWEU definitively non-canonical, changing its name to the “Legends” universe.

One of the characters that debuted in the SWEU was Mara Jade, who would end up marrying Luke Skywalker. Another popular character was Grand Admiral Thrawn, who earned three novels, with the animated Star Wars Rebels bringing him into the official canon and delivering the villain further adventures.

The success of Thrawn confirms that, while the general public might not be aware of the events of the Legends universe, there are a lot of great ideas in that mythology, giving many of us hope that more elements can be brought back into the Star Wars canon.

It was recently confirmed that Agents of SHIELD star Ming-Na Wen stars in The Mandalorian, but without confirmation on her role, fans have been speculating who she could be playing. When asked if she could be playing a well-known character, Favreau avoided confirming her role.

“We take full advantage of her acting and her action ability,” the producer confessed.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian debuts on Disney+ on November 12th.

What characters from the Legends universe would you like to see in the show? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!