What is the Star Wars Franchise?
The Star Wars franchise has come a long way ever since it began in 1977. It is really hard to believe that the very first film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope would spawn an entire universe. For many who do not know, Episode IV had a lot of problems and challenges during production. The film however became a massive success and earned an unprecedented $775 million at the box office against its $11 million budget.
So When Does The Mandalorian Takes Place?
The Mandalorian is a television series and the first live-action series that is set in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars fans and many other viewers are still confused about When Does The Mandalorian Takes place. The Mandalorian takes place five years after the events of Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, which would be nine years after the battle of Yavin. This series follows a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin. The lone bounty hunter operates in the Outer Rim and goes on many adventures.
The Mandalorian has a fantastic storyline and ties in well with the Star Wars Universe. Djarin is tasked with finding “The Child”. Djarin however ends up becoming a father figure to him. “The Child” became a worldwide sensation and is still popularly known as, and called Baby Yoda (as he looks like Jedi Master Yoda). Ahsoka Tano reveals that The Child’s name is Grogu.
There is a gap of nearly 25 years between The Mandalorian and the sequel trilogy which involves Rey, Kylo Ren, and the First Order. Since the sequel trilogy is now over, it is unexpected for any Mandalorian character to make an appearance in it.
At the end of the second season, we witnessed Luke Skywalker take Grogu with him as The Mandalorian tearfully looked on. This means that Luke Skywalker could have trained him. Grogu’s age is revealed to be fifty years old during the events of The Mandalorian so we could see him on further television series or films.
The Star Wars Timeline:
The Stars Wars timeline follows the Battle Of Yavin (BY). So BBY stands for Before the Battle of Yavin and ABY stands for After the Battle of Yavin. The Battle Of Yavin took place in Episode IV: A New Hope where Luke Skywalker destroyed the first Death Star.
The Star Wars franchise so far has over nine saga films, two anthology films, and an animated film. There are many television shows as well but the main ones right now are The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and The Mandalorian. The order of the films and series as per the timeline:
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) [32 BBY]
- Episode II: Attack Of The Clones (2002) [22 BBY]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 film) [22 – 19 BBY]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 – 2020) [22 – 19 BBY]
- Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005) [19 BBY]
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) [13 – 10 BBY]
- Star Wars Rebels (2014 – 2018) [5 BBY – 1 BBY]
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [3 ABY]
- Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983) [4 ABY]
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) [34 ABY]
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) [34 ABY]
- Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) [35 ABY]
Solo: A Star Wars Story takes place ten years before the events of A New Hope. However, the events of Rogue One lead directly into A New Hope.
Apart from the films, the franchise also has many television series, animated and live-action. One of the most notable series is The Clone Wars which is preceded by the film. The Clone Wars takes place between the films Episode II and Episode III. The series introduced a character who became a fan favorite, Ahsoka Tano.
Tano is the lead character in this animated series and is very closely associated with Anakin Skywalker. She is also indirectly responsible for Anakin turning to the dark side. After turning to the dark side, Anakin was dubbed Darth Vader by Emperor Palpatine. After Order 66 was issued, she faked her death and she is next seen in The Mandalorian.
One More Old Character Returns! (Spoiler Alert)
Another character that has become a hot topic is Boba Fett. Boba Fett is the son of bounty hunter Jango Fett who was seen in Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. He was killed by Mace Windu. This led to Boba becoming a bounty hunter himself and he begins serving the Emperor and Jabba the Hut. When Jabba is killed by Leia Organa, he fell into a Sarlacc’s mouth during the events of Return Of The Jedi.
It is revealed that he has survived. He later makes an appearance in The Mandalorian where he worked alongside Djarin and helps him fend off the Startroopers deployed to capture Grogu. Boba Fett later returns to Tatooine. He kills Bib Fortuna, who had taken over Jabba’s palace after his death. Fett then sits on the throne where Jabba once sat.
Apart from Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano also makes an appearance in the second season of The Mandalorian. She crosses paths with Djarin. She senses the connection between Djarin and Grogu and also senses great fear in Grogu. She refuses to take Grogu as her Padawan, fearing that Grogu could follow the same path as her former master, Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka advises Djarin to take Grogu to the Jedi Temple where he could decide his own destiny.
Future of The Mandalorian and Other Series
The Mandalorian has received acclaim from critics for its performances and plot and for its faithfulness to the Star Wars universe. The first season won numerous Emmy Awards and was also nominated in the category of Outstanding Drama Series. With two acclaimed seasons and the second one ending on a high note, a third season is definitely expected.
Who Will Return?
Cast members returning include Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin/ The Mandalorian, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Omid Abtahi as Dr. Pershing, Gina Carano as Cara Dune, and Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon. Temuera Morrison and Rosario Dawson could return to reprise their roles of Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano respectively. Mark Hamill could also return in a cameo performance as Luke Skywalker.
Both Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano are getting their own spin-off shows. Rosario Dawson had expressed interest in portraying Ahsoka Tano after the release of the first season. This led to fans starting a campaign on social media. After her appearance in The Mandalorian received praise, the makers decided to have a spinoff series on Ahsoka Tano where Dawson will reprise her role.
As for Boba Fett, he too will have his own spin-off show where Temuera Morrison will reprise his role from The Mandalorian. Interestingly, Morrison also portrayed Boba Fett’s father Jango Fett in Attack Of The Clones and the clones in the prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars. It will be interesting to see how the spinoff shows will progress and how they will overlap with the Mandalorian series.
The Star Wars franchise has a great future ahead with great stories to tell and fans will have many films and television series to watch!
