UPDATE: 2023/02/28 21:39 EST BY THOMAS BACON
Jon Favreau has clarified The Mandalorian's timeline
In a bombshell statement, showrunner Jon Favreau has rewritten The Mandalorian's place in the Star Wars timeline. This article has been edited to incorporate Favreau's new statements.
The Mandalorian season 2 ended with Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin letting Grogu go train with Luke Skywalker. It was a touching moment in their story since Din had no idea when or if he would ever see his adopted son ever again. At that moment, it seemed like the end of Din and Grogu’s arc with one another, and that future seasons of The Mandalorian would have to focus on Din alone. But The Book of Boba Fett finale revealed this wasn’t the case. Luke Skywalker presented Grogu with the choice whether to become a Jedi or return to his found father, and Grogu chose to embrace the path of the Mandalorian.
It would have been exciting to see what would've happened if Grogu stayed with Luke and become a Jedi. But returning him to Din was the right choice for Star Wars to make. Grogu’s species has the ability to live for centuries, giving him plenty of time to train his Force powers later in life after his time with Din. Given that Grogu is 50 at the start of The Mandalorian, he has enormous potential as a central character far beyond The Mandalorian and even after the Star Wars sequels. Nevertheless, his time spent training with Luke in between seasons was crucial for his character.
Jon Favreau Reveals Grogu Trained With Luke Skywalker For Two Years
The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau initially suggested Grogu was with Luke Skywalker for up to a year. Speaking with Grogu learned from Luke for several months to a whole year. More recently, however, Favreau revised this statement. Speaking to Skytalkers, he explained Grogu was "rescued and spent many years with The Mandalorian, went back with Luke [Skywalker], now he's been two years apart from him, training."
Din and Grogu’s reunion in The Book of Boba Fett has a lot more weight to it given they were apart for a substantial period of time. Grogu became Din’s world for roughly two years in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, yet he chose to leave him and go with Luke after being captured by the Empire. Though The Mandalorian has avoided breaking Lucas’ rule of not revealing too much about Yoda’s species, Grogu’s time with Din so far has only been a small blip of time in his long life. Nevertheless, that short period of time impacted him enough to forego training with Luke.
How Much Has Grogu Grown In Force Knowledge?
Much of the penultimate episode of The Book of Boba Fett was spent showing Grogu’s new Force abilities. Having gone through up to two years in training, Grogu is now much more adept with Force jumping and meditation, as well as using the Force to pull or push things. In The Book of Boba Fett finale, he also saves Din’s life by using the Force to put a full-fledged rancor to sleep; proving that Grogu couldn’t skip Jedi training. It’s clear Grogu’s time with Luke wasn’t for nothing, and that more of his new abilities will be shown in The Mandalorian season 3 on Disney+ on March 1.