If Lucasfilm is smart, the newly-announced The Mandalorian & Grogu movie will leave Grand Admiral Thrawn out of the story. In a shocking turn of events, it was announced that The Mandalorian season 4 is being reworked as an upcoming Star Wars movie. Jon Favreau announced that the scripts for The Mandalorian season 4 had been written as far back as February 2023 before season 3 had even been released, though the delay in confirmation for the fourth outing can now be attributed to the reworking of the story as a feature film.
Star Wars’ The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is set to be a different film than the one announced at Star Wars Celebration directed by Dave Filoni. Filoni’s film is still expected to be the culmination of Star Wars’ New Republic timeline, while the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian & Grogu is another stepping stone on the journey. Given this, it would be smart of The Mandalorian & Grogu to avoid the inclusion of Star Wars’ Grand Admiral Thrawn, the theorized and likely villain of Dave Filoni’s New Republic theatrical release.
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Ahsoka Tano is working hard to prevent the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn – but who is the Empire’s warlord, and why is he so important?
Star Wars Could Overdo It With Grand Admiral Thrawn If He’s In The Mandalorian & Grogu
The reason as to why The Mandalorian & Grogu should arguably not feature Grand Admiral Thrawn lies in the confirmation of Ahsoka season 2 and the reaffirmation that Filoni is still working on his New Republic film. Given that Thrawn is heavily expected to be involved in both projects after Ahsoka season 1 introduced the character to live-action Star Wars, the franchise could risk over-relying on the villain should he also be included in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Therefore, utilizing The Mandalorian & Grogu as exactly what the title promises – a story centered squarely on the two titular characters – is undoubtedly the better course of action for Lucasfilm.
Who Could The Villain Of The Mandalorian & Grogu Be Instead?
This raises the question then, of who the villain could be in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Regarding the film’s story, it will undoubtedly carry on from where The Mandalorian season 3’s ending left off. At the end of the duo’s most recent Disney+ journey, Mando and Grogu began living peacefully on Nevarro in an official adoptive father-son relationship. What’s more, Din unofficially pledged himself to the New Republic’s cause, offering his services to Carson Teva in hunting down Imperial remnants in the Outer Rim. With that in mind, it is expected that The Mandalorian & Grogu continue this journey of Din and Grogu’s Imperial bounty-hunting exploits.
This means that the film could include other members of The Mandalorian season 3’s Imperial Shadow Council as its primary antagonists. One such example is Captain Pellaeon, the man steadfastly loyal to Grand Admiral Thrawn whom Din and Grogu could target to put a dent in Thrawn’s plans. Another potential villain is Brendol Hux, the man responsible for working on Project Necromancer and an instrumental figure in the First Order’s rise to power. This all but proves that The Mandalorian & Grogu has several villain candidates besides Grand Admiral Thrawn, saving the latter for his big-screen debut with Dave Filoni’s upcoming movie.
