'The Mandalorian' Producer Gives Up on Grogu's Future, Admits Show Has No Direction

Recently, The Mandalorian (2019) executive producer Dave Filoni and creator Jon Favreau teased Grogu’s long future in Star Wars by suggesting that, like fellow species member Jedi Master Yoda, he will live a very long life, surpassing even the distant Sequel Trilogy.

This led us to wonder whether The Mandalorian will end up doing a major time-jump of some kind, to bring us up to speed with an older version of Grogu further down the line. After all, the showrunners have already confirmed that another season is in the works.

(L) Grogu in The Mandalorian (R) Rey in The Rise of Skywalker — Credit: Lucasfilm

In fact, Jon Favreau has said he’d like to do at least five seasons of the show. As such, many fans will expect it to leap forward quite significantly at some point, especially seeing as it’s already leaning heavily into Sequel Trilogy territory, despite Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015) being 25 years away.

Even the show itself seems to be teasing Grogu’s future, whether it’s the fact that he’s now being trained in “the way” of the Mandalorians under the tutelage of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), or the fact that he’s seemingly about to utter his first word.

(L-R): Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) and Grogu in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. — Credit: Lucasfilm

As for the Sequel Trilogy, there are already whispers of the First Order being established somewhere in the galaxy. Will the show go there? We’ve already seen how Grogu survived Order 66 at the end of the Prequel Trilogy, but will The Mandalorian also explain what happens to Grogu during the Sequel Trilogy?

Well, it was all looking quite promising until the PaleyFest red carpet on Friday, during which Insider asked Dave Filoni whether or not Grogu will end up speaking his first words soon or not, to which Filoni responded by saying it’s something he leaves to Jon Favreau.

Here’s what he said:

“You know, I leave all that stuff to Jon [Favreau], really. I’m very protective of the character as far as being Jon’s brainchild, literally. I advise and obviously have been a big part of that creation.”

Kelleran Beq saving Grogu in The Mandalorian — Credit: Lucasfilm

However, Filoni elaborated, saying that they “like” Grogu how he is” and that “it depends on how much father” they go with the show.

“We talk about how much would that change him or how much do we change him?” he said. “We really like him how he is. It’s hard. It’s a great question. It’s definitely something we think about and you know, I think it depends how much farther we go forward. I don’t know.”

(L-R): Grogu and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) with stone crabs in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. — Credit: Lucasfilm

The words “it depends” and “I don’t know” don’t fill us with much hope, and neither does the fact that the showrunners don’t appear to be committing to allow Grogu to evolve, despite all the signs being there in the show itself. And exactly what Filoni means by “it depends how much farther we go forward” isn’t entirely clear, though it’s obvious he’s referring to the show’s lifespan.

While Favreau did previously admit that he wants to do at least five seasons, it’s hard to imagine that the show will end abruptly, or at least without leaving Grogu in the hands of another Star Wars show, or even a film. But with that said, didn’t they already try that with The Book of Boba Fett (2021)?

When it first arrived on Disney+ back in 2019, The Mandalorian felt like a Star Wars renaissance, a breath of fresh air following the disastrous Star Wars sequels. Now, it seems the show has about as much in the way of direction.

Check out the official trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3 below:

As per Disney+, here’s the official synopsis for The Mandalorian Season 3:

The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.

The Mandalorian Season 3 stars Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/The Mandalorian), Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon), Carl Weathers (Greef Karga), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Emily Swallow (The Armorer), Omid Abtahi (Dr. Pershing), Amy Sedaris (Peli Motto), and Tim Meadows (Colonel Tuttle), and Christopher Lloyd in an undisclosed role.

Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian — Credit: Lucasfilm

The Mandalorian Season 3 is now streaming on Disney+.

Are you concerned about the future of The Mandalorian? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!