When The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode aired in December 2020, Star Wars fans were left astounded by the return of legendary Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill).
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The iconic character swooped in with his X-Wing to rescue bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu — “Baby Yoda,” to some — Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from nearly certain doom at the hands of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his Dark Trooper squad on the Moff’s Imperial starcruiser.
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The Peyton Reed-directed episode featured a poignant moment when Djarin took his helmet off to tell Grogu goodbye as the tiny foundling left to complete his Jedi Order training with Skywalker.
This left fans wondering when they would see the beloved duo together again. Then, just a year later, when The Book of Boba Fett aired, viewers’ dreams came true when Djarin and Grogu were officially reunited in the Season 1 finale episode, “Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor,” following the toughest choice of Grogu’s life.
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The series, which starred Wen as Shand and Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, functioned as more of a continuation of The Mandalorian than a true spinoff. Creator Jon Favreau even referred to it as The Mandalorian Season 2.5 at one point.
In addition to the return of Djarin and the Force-sensitive infant, The Book of Boba Fett saw the returns of Tatooine-based grease monkey Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson).
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Tano’s return was especially meaningful for Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans, as they got to watch Tano interact with her former Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker’s, son, Luke, for the very first time in the existing Star Wars canon.
The series also saw the live-action debut of another Clone Wars fan-favorite, the notorious Duros bounty hunter, Cad Bane (Corey Burton), who may or may not be dead at the hands of his former student, Fett.
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Now that The Book of Boba Fett has laid the foundation for The Mandalorian Season 3, fans are on the hunt for any morsels of information they can get about the upcoming continuation of Djarin and Grogu’s adventures across the Star Wars galaxy.
A new leak indicates that Grogu is expected to receive an unexpected new weapon that is being hailed as “Iron Man”-like.
One recent report noted:
…the droid will be used as an Iron Man-esque suit for Grogu. The little guy will allegedly sit inside “the chest of a modified IG-11 who has been reinforced with beskar.”
The connections to Iron Man don’t stop there. According to MakingStarWars, IG-11 will also provide Grogu with “data on probabilities of success” in much the same way that Tony Stark’s trusty AI companion Jarvis does. Additionally, while it’s said that IG-11 will protect Grogu “when need be,” the droid will still be controlled by Grogu…
It is, of course, important to remember that Lucasfilm, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni have not confirmed any details about the plot of the third season of The Mandalorian at this time.
IG-11 (Taika Waititi), as fans will recall, sacrificed himself to save Grogu in The Mandalorian Season 1 finale, so the droid’s apparent return his an intriguing development.
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The season will reportedly drop in December 2022. Then, Mandalorian fans can look forward to live-action Rebels sequel, Ahsoka, sometime in 2023. Book of Boba Fett star Ming-Na Wen also may have accidentally confirmed that the rumored Bo-Katan Kryze series has been greenlit, but no official confirmation has been issued.
Are you excited to see Grogu’s new weapon in The Mandalorian Season 3?