The science behind the 2023 book The Science of the Mandalorian by Mark Brake points to just how ‘long ago’ the Star Wars timeline might be. Although it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly when these stories take place, in part because the movies go out of their way to be vague about both the time and the location, a bit of cosmology and some quick math can offer a rough estimate of the Star Wars timeline. According to The Science of the Mandalorian author Mark Brake, The Mandalorian story in particular may align with the existence of Earth, perhaps making Star Wars a little closer than expected.
Brake explained the logic behind this estimation in The Science of The Mandalorian.
Let’s conclude this section on The Mandalorian clock. This is, naturally, only an approximation, one which assumes similar pathways in galactic, planetary, and biological evolution in the Star Wars galaxy as our own Galaxy. Nonetheless, our Mandalorian clock tally reads six billion years for a planet on which life can develop, and a further three billion years until evolved beings begin to take a form we would recognize as animals. Roughly nine billion years. All told, this means that the drama that unfolds in The Mandalorian needs to be around nine billion years after the Big Bang. Since the Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old, and the Universe approximately 13.8 billion years of age, this puts the age of the Mandalorian story very roughly around the same age as planet Earth.
Star Wars Is Truly An Ancient Galactic Story (So Don’t Expect Earth After Ahsoka)
While it’s fun to imagine Earth’s reality intersecting with the Star Wars galaxy, and while whether Earth is part of the Star Wars galaxy has certainly been a topic of interest over the years, the tagline is “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” for a reason. The movies have spoken in their scrolling yellow text for decades: this is a separate, distant, untouchable time and place. Star Wars is also meant to be an ancient, fantastical story, and while the stories and messages do resonate and connect with modern issues and perspectives, bringing Earth in as a piece of the larger Star Wars galaxy would undercut some of that fantasy.
Even if Earth does exist somewhere out there in tandem with The Mandalorian story (since it’s true that Earth was also formed a long time ago), Earth is still far, far away from The Mandalorian and the rest of the Star Wars galaxy—farther even than Ezra Bridger was in Ahsoka. Canonizing Earth as a planet in the Star Wars universe is also not necessary amid the massive changes already in the works for the franchise; Dave Filoni has his eyes set on The Mandalorian movie, new and exciting changes to the Force, and Rey’s new Jedi Order. There’s simply no room for uncovering Earth in the already expanding Star Wars galaxy.
The Science of the Mandalorian can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Mandalorian-Anatomy-Space-Western/dp/1510770593
