When The Mandalorian started airing in 2019, it was very clearly a story about a lone Mandalorian warrior — whose name we since learned was Din Djarin — played by Pedro Pascal; and his little Force-sensitive buddy Baby Yoda, whose name we since learned was Grogu. These two wandered the Star Wars galaxy having adventures and getting into scrapes. Part of what made the show feel so fresh was that it didn’t have many ties to the wider Star Wars mythology; there was nary a Jedi nor a Skywalker around.
Then came season 2, which introduced Jedis and Skywalkers into the story, as well as other characters from the animated Star Wars universe long spearheaded by Dave Filoni. That included Bo-Katan Kryze, a deposed Mandalorian ruler voiced by Katee Sackhoff in animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels and then played by her in live-action on The Mandalorian. The third season of the show focused on Bo-Katan to such an extent that some fans wondered if she wasn’t the “Mandalorian” referred to by the title. Was the show always planning to pull a switcheroo on us?
According to Sackhoff herself, the answer is a simple “no.” She expounded on the topic to The Direct. “I think there’s always going to be a lot of speculation in this fandom. You know, I think it’s one of the reasons why people love this fandom so much,” Sackhoff said. “And they love this universe so much that a lot of times it allows just enough ambiguity for people to interpret things the way that they want to interpret them. And out of that there is the ability to have a lot of misinformation get out, or just, you know, wishful thinking.”
"And I think in this situation, I think that the story of the Mandalorians and the story of Bo-Katan needed to be told, I don’t believe in any way that it was taking away from Din [Djarin’s] story, nor was that ever the intention. And you know, Pedro and I aren’t in charge of who gets to lead the show [laughs]. This is Din Djarin’s show, it will always be Din Djarin’s show."
So there you have it: Bo-Katan Kryze isn’t here to steal The Mandalorian out from under Din Djarin. That said, we can expect her to stick around as a supporting character. In fact, a lot of characters from Filoni’s animated Star Wars shows have made the jump over the live-action Star Wars shows on Disney+. Ahsoka Tano, first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, now has her own live-action series: Ahsoka, where she’s played by Ahsoka Tano. Sabine Wren, another character introduced in animated form, made the jump to live-action along side, as did the villain Grand Admiral Thrawn.
From what we’ve heard, Filoni and company seem to be building towards a massive climax that will involve characters from all of these shows. That includes Din Djarin, who will continue to take point on The Mandalorian. But in the wider story Filoni is telling, one that may conclude with a movie, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be the main character.
We’ll find out more when The Mandalorian season 4 comes along. It may have gotten delayed a bit thanks to the actors and writers strikes from earlier this year, but it’s coming.
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