Bo-Katan Kryze could be the main villain of The Mandalorian season 3. Din Djarin’s life has changed dramatically after the events of The Mandalorian season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett. He has unwittingly gained ownership of the Darksaber, an ancient blade whose owner is traditionally leader of all Mandalorians. Not that Din Djarin wants the role; rather, he simply wants to be accepted back into the Mandalorian group he was once part of. He was banished from the order in Book of Boba Fett by the Armorer for the crime of letting someone else see his face during his mission to rescue Grogu from the Empire.
But the Armorer’s Tribe are extremists even among the Mandalorians, as Din Djarin learned in The Mandalorian season 2. There, he encountered another group led by Bo-Katan Kryze, a Mandalorian rebel who opposed the Empire – and whose rebellion led to an event known as Star Wars‘ Great Purge, in which Mandalore was left uninhabitable. Bo-Katan had scoured the galaxy hunting for Moff Gideon, aiming to win the Darksaber from him in a duel so she could become the ancestral leader of the Mandalorians and reunite her people. Unfortunately for Bo-Katan, Din Djarin defeated Moff Gideon first.
Lucasfilm released footage from The Mandalorian season 3 at Star Wars Celebration 2022, and it showed one shot of Bo-Katan apparently ruling Mandalore and another with her locked in a duel against Din Djarin. This raises the possibility the two will be enemies rather than allies, with Bo-Katan attempting to undermine Din Djarin and ultimately defeat him in combat so she can regain the Darksaber. Din Djarin has already offered the blade to her, but she insisted it must be won through combat – meaning Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls would need to engineer a scenario where they would fight it out. This may well provide context for another scene, in which Bo-Katan grabbed Grogu and teased him; “Did you think your dad was the only Mandalorian?” Threatening Grogu would certainly motivate Din Djarin to fight her.
Bo-Katan originally made her debut in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and she was always portrayed as fiercely ambitious and morally ambiguous. She joined a terrorist group called the Death Watch during the Clone Wars, launching a spate of attacks to undermine her sister Duchess Satine. Her Nite Owls were betrayed by Darth Maul, and she led an unsuccessful counter-insurgency before seeking the help of the Republic in a military attack that became known as the Siege of Mandalore. Bo-Katan became a rebel during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, but her methods were undoubtedly questionable.
All this means Bo-Katan would serve as the perfect villain for The Mandalorian season 2, with Din Djarin forced to confront a painful truth; that sometimes the best person to have power is the one who does not want it. Bo-Katan’s lust for power has always meant there are few lines she will not cross, meaning he is now surely her target given she wants to possess the Darksaber. The curious question is whether The Mandalorian season 3 will see Din Djarin decide to challenge her for himself, or whether he will seek to find some other worthy leader.
Key Release Dates
Rogue Squadron
Release Date:2023-12-22
