“It Can’t Just Mirror What We’ve Seen Before”: Star Wars’ Mandalorian Movie Promises More Than Just The Republic Versus The Empire

Star Wars‘ Dave Filoni has teased a bigger conflict beyond the fight between the New Republic and the Empire in his upcoming The Mandalorian movie. First announced at 2023’s Star Wars Celebration, the freshly minted Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer was revealed as the director of an as-yet-untitled movie that would serve as the conclusion to the interconnected stories of The Mandalorian and its spinoffs, including The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Given its place in the timeline, it is widely expected that Filoni’s movie will explore a clash between Republic forces and the Imperial Remnant before the formation of the First Order.

However, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Filoni hinted that he is working toward a vastly different conflict than what audiences have already seen. Suggesting that his movie “can’t just be the Empire versus what looks like the Rebellion”, the director has intimated that his movie will not simply mirror previous franchise installments and will be visually different. Check out his comments below:

I’m setting up what it seems to be a larger conflict with the Imperial remnant. That conflict can’t just mirror what we’ve seen before. It has to take on a different shape. It can’t just be the Empire versus what looks like the Rebellion, or even the Republic. It has to be visually different.

Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni Appears To Be Hiding Something

Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise have a long and proven history of keeping important story details firmly under wraps until their movies are released. Despite Filoni’s apparent openness in discussing the approach to his movie, his comments do potentially hint at a bigger secret yet to be revealed. While many may take his words at face value, the disclaimer that he is setting up what “seems to be” a conflict with the Imperial remnant may also subtly hint at the existence of another foe hiding in the shadows.

While the events of Ahsoka season 1 saw the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn and his legions of fanatically loyal Night Troopers to the greater galaxy, the show’s finale also teased the return of the Mortis Gods, who had seemingly been calling to Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll. As the embodiment of the Force incarnate, the three Mortis Gods include the Daughter (Light side), the Son (Dark side), and the Father (balance between the two). In Legend’s continuity, however, a fourth being known as the Mother, or Abeloth, represented the forces of chaos in opposition to the Father’s balance.

It may even be possible that while Filoni appears to be setting up a major conflict between a floundering New Republic and an Imperial Remnant bolstered by Thrawn’s return, he secretly has a much more powerful enemy waiting in the wings. Should Filoni’s movie see the full force of Abeloth’s wrath unleashed upon the galaxy at large, it may even require both Republic and Imperial forces to cease their hostilities and work together to defeat a bigger threat. What Filoni has planned for his The Mandalorian movie remains to be seen, but it is clear he has far bigger plans than what he has already revealed.