Ecosystems of The Mandalorian and Grogu

Before we get to the planets, let me quickly get everyone on the same page because if you never watched The Mandalorian series or followed the wider Star Wars universe very closely, some of this might feel like I'm speaking Huttese.

[laughs] The Mandalorian is a Disney+ series that ran from 2019 to 2023.

It's set about five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, meaning that the Empire has just been defeated, the galaxy is in political transition, and the New Republic is trying to establish order in a universe that's still full of warlords, crime syndicates, and people who didn't get the memo that the war ended.

So our protagonist is Din Djarin, played by Pedro Pascal, the daddy, a bounty hunter who belongs to a sect of Mandalorians called the Children of the Watch, and the Mandalorians are a warrior culture bound by a strict code, and their signature is beskar armor, like Boba Fett wears, right? Incredibly strong metal that can de- deflect blaster fire and lightsabers.

Well, can, uh, lightsabers...

I don't know if they can deflect lightsabers.

Anyway, Din Djarin almost never takes off his helmet.

It's like a serious rule.

Um, it's very dramatic when he does.

You get a little glimpse of his fancy face in the movie.

Um, spoiler alert.

So in the way- going the wayback machine, uh, in the first episode of The Mandalorian, Mando is hired to retrieve a mysterious asset.

That asset turns out to be a 50-year-old infant from an unnamed species, which is the same species as Yoda, the green guy, right? Um, the character was officially called The Child for a couple seasons, and then nicknamed Baby B- Baby Yoda by everyone else, and so some people think he's actually Baby Yoda.

Um, but on the timeline, he's not.

He's his own guy.

Grogu specifically, sometimes Din Grogu, uh, because he's formally been adopted by Din Djarin as a Mandalorian foundling.

They are, in the most earnest possible reading of a science fiction franchise, a dad and his kid.

Oh, and did I mention Grogu is Force-sensitive, right? So he's, like, not a Jedi, but he can-- He's got the stuff.

Um, over three seasons, they travel the Outer Rim, get entangled in the remnants of Imperial power, help rebuild Mandalore, which is the Mandalorian home world that was bombed by the Empire to near obliteration, and they form a family across, uh, some very good supporting characters.

They build their volcanic home base of Nevarro from a lawless outpost into a functioning community.

The film picks up after all that.

Din and Grogu are living on Nevarro.

The New Republic recruits them for a mission involving the Hutt crime syndicate.

Things escalate.

More planets get involved.