How The Mandalorian Finale Sets Up Dave Filoni’s Star Wars Movie

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian “Chapter 24: The Return.”] It’s the end of an era. Wednesday’s The Mandalorian season 3 finale saw the Darksaber-wielding Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) lead Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and their factions of Mandalorian troops in retaking their home world of Mandalore, once deemed unlivable after The Great Purge. The battle for Mandalore ended with Bo-Katan, Din, and the Jedi-trained foundling Grogu decisively defeating the armored Imperial Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) beskar alloy-clad Dark Troopers and destroying the clone army he perfected with the potential to wield the Force.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Finale Recap: “Chapter 24: The Return”

At the reignited Great Forge, the Armorer (Emily Swallow) baptizes Ragnar (Wesley Kimmel) — son of fallen warrior Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher) — in the Living Waters before an audience of unified Mandalorians. “I swear on my name and the names of the ancestors that I shall walk the Way of the Mand’alor,” so says the Creed, “and the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart. This is the Way.“

Din wants to take Grogu on as a Mandalorian apprentice and add him to the Song of Mandalore, but the Armorer says the child is too young to speak — and thus too young to take the Creed. Only Grogu’s parents, wherever they might be in the galaxy, could permit the youngling to walk the Way of the Mand’alor. “Then I will adopt him as my own,” says Din, now officially recognized as Grogu’s father.

“This is the Way. Let it be written in Song that Din Djarin is accepting this foundling as his son,” decrees the Armorer, knighting the former foundling as Din Grogu, Mandalorian apprentice. The Armorer tasks father and son with one more mission: “You must leave Mandalore and take your apprentice on his journeys, just as your teacher did for you.” For Mandalore!

The Mandalorian Ending, Explained

The Mandalorian and his apprentice return to Nevarro with a business proposition for Adelphi Ranger Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee). Now that Din is accompanied by Din Grogu, the bounty hunter will be more selective in his assignments. Because the New Republic doesn’t have the resources to protect planets like Nevarro in the Outer Rim — let alone hunt down Imperial remnants in the shadows the Empire — Din offers to work for the New Republic on a case-by-case basis as an independent contractor.

It’s against regulation, and Colonel Tuttel (Tim Meadows) and the government are unlikely to approve hiring a Mandalorian bounty hunter and his apprentice as Outer Rim marshals. That’s why Teva will keep their handshake alliance secret. High Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) grants Din the deed to a cabin just outside of town to lay low with his son if he so chooses — between adventures, of course. Season 3 ends with Din and Din Grogu — former foundlings turned father and son — in their new home on Nevarro while Bo-Katan leads unified tribes of their people on the resurgent Mandalore. This is the Way.

Dave Filoni’s Star Wars: The New Republic Movie

As announced at Star Wars Celebration, The Mandalorian executive producer and writer-director Dave Filoni will direct an untitled Star Wars cinematic event that culminates the interconnected Mandalorian timeline of The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, all taking place five years post-Return of the Jedi during the New Republic era of the official Star Wars timeline. While plot details are being kept under wraps beneath a Mandalorian helmet, Lucasfilm says the feature film centers on “the escalating war between the Imperials and the fledging New Republic,” which ultimately leads to the decades-later Rise of the First Order and New Jedi Order era of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

With the Mandalorian and his apprentice now serving as Imperial-hunting hired guns for the New Republic, Din and Din Grogu will play pivotal roles in the theatrical finale of The Mandalorian timeline.

“I think of, you know, A New Hope is an important moment in the timeline. The Death Star blows up. That changes everything … A cinematic moment for this time period [of The Mandalorian] has to be a moment that’s changing things and we understand it as the audience, and then it can ripple down if we have other shows going on underneath that,” Filoni told ComicBook about his New Republic movie. “So if there was a show taking place in the New Hope time period that you were watching as a kid, you would understand that things have changed in the show because the Death Star blew up. But they didn’t necessarily need to be there. So there’s a ton of possibilities for how to tell these stories in a unique way for Star Wars as well.” 

All episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian are now streaming on Disney+.