Incredible Star Wars Theory Reveals Just Who REALLY Kept Grogu Safe From The Empire

A new Star Wars theory suggests who really kept Grogu safe from the Empire ahead of The Mandalorian season 1. The Star Wars movies and TV shows tend to hop around the timeline, which means many unanswered questions are resolved in the most surprising places. When it comes to Grogu, one of the abiding questions is just who kept him safe from the Empirie for decades before he was found by Din Djarin.

Grogu – originally dubbed Baby Yoda by the fanbase – was introduced in The Mandalorian season 1, episode 1. It’s gradually been revealed that he survived Order 66 courtesy of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, but he seems to have spent the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign protected by mercenaries on the remote planet Arvala-7. But who paid the mercenaries to keep Grogu safe? A new theory, inspired by Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, may provide an answer.​​

Star Wars Has Finally Explained Why The Empire Wanted Grogu

As shown in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, the Empire was looking for individuals whose blood had a high M-count. While the characters in The Bad Batch may not know what that means, viewers understood this to refer to a high level of midi-chlorians. Emperor Palpatine’s Project Necromancer requires a source of midi-chlorians to inject them into clone bodies, meaning individuals with high M-counts had bounties on their heads. While The Bad Batch season 3 focuses on Omega and her high M-count, this likely explains why the Empire was interested in Grogu decades later.

The Mandalorian opened with the bounty hunter Din Djarin tasked with capturing Grogu, to give him to the Empire. It’s not clear how long the bounty had been placed on Grogu, but it was revealed no bounty hunter had ever survived the mission before, confirming he was well protected. After Palpatine’s death, there would have been a renewed focus on finding individuals with high M-counts to continue Project Necromancer in the shadows. That would mean beings like Grogu would be even more desirable to the Empire.

Star Wars Is Setting Up Asajj Ventress As A Protector Of M-Count Bounties

This is where the former Sith assassin Asajj Ventress comes into this theory. Abandoned by Count Dooku during the Clone Wars, Asajj Ventress became a bounty hunter – but her career was less than stellar, in part because she cared too much about children. The end of The Bad Batch season 3, episode 8 saw Fennec Shand reach out to someone to discuss M-count bounties, and this seems to be setting up Asajj Ventress’ return in the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign.

Would Asajj Ventress be a hunter of people with high M-counts, or would she protect them? Because of her past, it’s unlikely that Ventress would be willing to accept this kind of child bounty. Considering Ventress was taken from her family – the Nightsisters of Dathomir – when she was extremely young, she’d likely refuse to take children from their families; this would fit with occasions where she rejected bounties on children, or sought to avenge a child’s death in Christie Golden’s Dark Disciple. It feels as though Ventress is returning as a hero, a protector of M-count bounties.

Could Asajj Ventress Be The One Who Was Keeping Grogu Safe?

It’s possible The Bad Batch season 3 is setting up Ventress to be a hero who protects children with high M-counts, and that would likely start with Omega. This raises the question of whether she’s involved in protecting others, such as Grogu. With her skills and her connections as a bounty hunter, it’s entirely possible that Ventress could have set up an operation to keep Grogu safe on Arvala-7. If Ventress was one of the individuals protecting Grogu for so long, that may explain why no bounty Hunter ever returned after seeking him out.

There may be connections between Ventress and the Hidden Path, a group which secretly ferried Force-sensitives to safety during the Dark Times. Significantly, Ventress’ lover Quinlan Vos was confirmed to be involved with the Hidden Path in Obi-Wan Kenobi. This would help explain the resources needed to pay for these mercenaries for so many years. Asajj Ventress’ career as a bounty hunter would surely help bring the credits in.

Will Asajj Ventress Return In The Mandalorian & Grogu?

It’s unclear what Ventress’ character arc will look like after The Bad Batch season 3, but if this theory is correct, it’s possible Ventress could return in other Star Wars titles like The Mandalorian & Grogu. Ventress’ voice actress, Nika Futterman, has hinted The Bad Batch isn’t the last time audiences will see Ventress, which could indicate a jump to live-action is coming for the character. With Ahsoka season 1 also seeing the return of Ventress’ home planet, Dathomir, she could easily become a vital ally for either Grand Admiral Thrawn or Ahsoka Tano herself.

There’s a lot that is up in the air about Asajj Ventress’ future in Star Wars, but there is no character more worthy of a redemption arc than her. After her struggles during the Clone Wars, and her willingness to assist Ahsoka Tano when she was on the run during The Clone Wars season 5, Ventress is the perfect character for the morally-gray hero. It will be interesting what role she plays in The Bad Batch season 3 and whether she will appear in future seasons of The Mandalorian or possibly even Jon Favreau’s upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu film.