An alleged Star Wars and Lucasfilm insider attempted to provide clarity to Jon Favreau’s recent comments that The Mandalorian will tie into the Disney sequel trilogy.
Favreau recently spoke to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) where he seemingly confirmed that The Mandalorian and its spin off shows would lead to the sequel trilogy.
The Mandalorian executive producer was specifically asked, “Did you have this arc planned out from the very beginning? Specifically, was the appearance of Luke Skywalker, revealing that the story was essentially a few years after Return of the Jedi, always a set idea from the jump, or something that you arrived on after working with the material?”
He responded, “No. The story unfolded as I wrote it. The Mandalorian inherits a great deal from existing Star Wars stories, and when I write, that context is always a consideration. It became clear that, within the established continuity, certain things were likely to transpire.”
Then he was asked, “Are you concerned, having placed the story right in the midst of the saga, with the latest films having revealed Skywalker’s future, that you’re at all penned in narratively?”
Favreau would answer, “We have a tremendous amount of freedom afforded to us because of the gap in time between the films. Dave Filoni and I are in constant discussion regarding how each story choice is impacted by, and would impact, existing Star Wars material.”
His comments echo what he has said in the past. Back in September 2019, he detailed that the show would lead to the rise of the First Order.
He explained, “Also, what could happen in the 30 years between celebrating the defeat of the Empire and then the First Order? You come in on Episode VII, [the First Order are] not just starting out. They’re pretty far along.”
“So somehow, things weren’t necessarily managed as well as they could have been if [the galaxy] ended up in hot water again like that,” Favreau added.
Back in October 2018, he posted a short synopsis for The Mandalorian to Instagram.
It reads, “After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic….”
On top of this Star Wars released an official timeline in January 2021 that places The Mandalorian in front of the Disney sequel trilogy movies.
As you can see below, The Mandalorian is underneath The New Republic era. It specifically flows into the Rise of the First Order era that contains the animated Star Wars Resistance show and the sequel trilogy films.
Not to mention in The Mandalorian Chapter 12: The Siege a failed Imperial experiment involving what sounds like Grogu and blood transfusions looks very similar to the Snoke clones seen in The Rise of Skywalker at the Emperor’s base on Exegol.
Nevertheless, an alleged Disney insider claims to provide clarity on Favreau’s comments.
This alleged insider provided their information to YouTuber Doomcock, who recently shared their comments in the below video.
The alleged insider states, “Well, Favreau wasn’t lying. It all ends with the sequel trilogy. But that doesn’t mean the current version of the sequel trilogy.”
“Look, I understand you gentleman don’t live and work in this town. Favreau has to play the game. For all of Kathleen Kennedy’s faults, she knows everyone and is a powerful player in Hollywood. Add to that she doesn’t particularly care for Favreau. He has to walk a fine line,” the source continued.
They added, “The truth of the matter is Kathleen and her people didn’t think that Luke’s return would be as big of a deal as it turned out to be. The fact that it did hit as big as it did, scared Kennedy. And she is doing all she can to put a stop to this now before it goes any further.”
Later in the video, Doomcock relayed another message from the source, “All of you are going to have to just have faith. There is a plan in place and the fate of not only Star Wars, but also Marvel is riding on this plan. I can’t give any details on this at the moment, not while the pieces are still on the board. We will have to let this play out. But I assure you I will inform you when the time is right, no matter how good or bad it may be.”
Doomcock would also state in the video, “All the messages that I am getting from my sources seem to point in the same direction that they are going to fix this mess.”
He specifically points to Favreau’s comments about entertaining the fans.
In the interview with WGA, Favreau stated, “There’s something really cool about putting a small sample of what you’re doing out there to your core audience and seeing if they are sparked to it. Because, at the end of the day, it’s a conversation with that audience. And those fans are who you’re speaking to. And if you’re doing something that they’re not feeling, you’re not doing your job right.”
Doomcock comments, “And that is the principle of ‘Without respect, we reject.’ Jon Favreau reveals his philosophy in that quote. Jon Favreau is one of us. Jon Favreau is taking into account what fans are saying. He is hearing us. And they are planning accordingly.”
“I don’t know how you can listen to that quote and not be encouraged that Jon Favreau, at least, is listening to fans. And we are saying we want the sequel trilogy erased. We want our Star Wars universe back. And I have faith, at least at this juncture, from my sources, from what Favreau himself has said, that Star Wars is moving in a direction that fans can live with again,” Doomcock added.
He does add the caveat, “Now it’s always possible that we are all being played, that they are stringing us along, and that this is all just going to tie into the sequel trilogy. But if that’s the case, Star Wars will be dead forever and fans will abandon them in droves.”
What do you make of this alleged insider’s comments about Favreau’s statements regarding The Mandalorian and the sequel trilogy? Do you think fans are getting played? Or do you think the sequel trilogy will indeed be erased?