Disney Officially Introduces the 'Star Wars' "Mando-Verse"

When The Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm, Ltd. from George Lucas in 2012, then-CEO Bob Iger and the rest of the Disney executive board could not have known what was in store for the Star Wars franchise — and they certainly couldn’t have guessed that the savior of the Star Wars universe would be a 50-year-old baby named Grogu.

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For over 40 years, since the release of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), the Star Wars story had primarily relied on movies to tell its tale. George Lucas released his original trilogy and prequel trilogy, and then Disney began its own sequel trilogy with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015).

Set approximately 25 years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) in the Star Wars timeline, the film launched a divisive trio of movies.

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Some found the story in The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) to be stale and too reliant on nostalgia. Others thought the main characters — Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) — were much too similar to the original trilogy’s core trio of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

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Enter The Mandalorian. Favreau and Filoni’s live-action series, the first in Star Wars history, debuted with the Disney+ streaming platform on November 12, 2019. From the first episode, viewers couldn’t get enough of Grogu — then known only as “Baby Yoda” or “The Child” — and his unwitting rescuer, bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal).

For two seasons so far, Favreau and Filoni, plus their all-star cast of directors, have taken us on a journey around the Star Wars universe, introducing new characters — and reintroducing old ones — into their corner of a galaxy far, far away.

Thanks to The Mandalorian, we’ve seen the live-action debut of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ fan-favorites Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) in Season 2, Episode 3 (“Chapter 11: The Heiress”) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”), plus the epic return of legendary Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill) in Season 2, Episode 8 (“Chapter 16: The Rescue”).

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Now, following the conclusion of The Mandalorian‘s first spinoff, Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Ming-Na Wen’s (Fennec Shand) The Book of Boba Fett, Disney has officially introduced the “Mando-Verse” in a new Disney+ trailer.

On Twitter, the official Disney+ account wrote:

#TheMandalorian #TheBookofBobaFett Experience every epic moment of the action. All episodes are now streaming only on #DisneyPlus!

#TheMandalorian 🤝 #TheBookOfBobaFett

Experience every epic moment of the action. All episodes are now streaming only on #DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/ZaOVzDtk56

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) February 24, 2022

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The new trailer shows key scenes from The Mandalorian Season 1, The Mandalorian Season 2, and The Book of Boba Fett, featuring classic characters like Fett and Djarin, plus beloved newcomers like Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) and Wookiee Black Krrsantan (Carey Jones).

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This is the first time Disney has released any videos that officially combine the two shows into a single universe — the “Mando-Verse” as fans online have long referred to it — and it perfectly sets up Djarin and Co.’s future in the Star Wars story.

Next up is The Mandalorian Season 3, which will reportedly drop in December 2022. Then, Mandalorian fans can look forward to live-action Rebels sequel, Ahsoka, sometime in 2023.

Related: Favreau & Pascal Caught In ‘Mandalorian’ Controversy

There are also rumors of a Bo-Katan Kryze-centric series starring Sackhoff now that fired actress Gina Carano’s (Cara Dune) spinoff, Rangers of the New Republic, has been officially canceled.

Clearly, particularly with Disney’s official acknowledgement of the “Mando-Verse” with the company’s new trailer, this is only the beginning for the most popular characters Star Wars has seen in decades.

What are you most looking forward to as the “Mando-Verse” moves forward?

Star Wars’ next live-action series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, debuts on Disney+ on May 25, 2022.