Continuing the Star Wars saga beyond its wildly satisfying conclusion in Return of the Jedi has been Disney’s M.O. since first acquiring Lucasfilm. But where the sequel trilogy jumped ahead 30 years to the next evil empire’s tyrannical rise, The Mandalorian and its spin-offs are exploring the immediate aftermath of the original trilogy.
Mando’s bounty-hunting adventures take place in a lawless corner of the galaxy where the New Republic’s authority is slowly spreading. With The Book of Boba Fett and other Star Wars shows, Disney+ is carrying on the plot threads from Return of the Jedi in bold, interesting ways.
The Fall Of Jabba’s Criminal Enterprise
In the opening act of Return of the Jedi, the Rebels try and fail to save Han from Jabba’s clutches. They’re all flown out to be sacrificed to the Sarlacc, where R2-D2 gives Luke his lightsaber and they quickly turn the tables on the Hutt and his gangland cronies. Now that Jabba’s criminal enterprise has fallen, totalitarian control of Tatooine’s shady underworld is up for grabs.
As teased in The Mandalorian’s post-credits scene, Boba Fett will be seizing that opportunity in his own spin-off series, The Book of Boba Fett. The scene reveals that Bib Fortuna had assumed Jabba’s throne before Boba bursts in and takes it from him. The Book of Boba Fett will be a Godfather-esque gangster saga about the power struggle following Jabba’s demise. For the first time in decades, the Hutts aren’t in charge.
The Rise Of The New Republic
Naturally, set five years after Return of the Jedi, the Mando-verse is exploring the rise of the New Republic. It’s been interesting to see how the Rebellion reformed as the New Republic, albeit in brief glimpses, because the sequel trilogy skipped over that era to when it reformed back into the Rebellion under the fancy new name “Resistance.”
The New Republic has been shown to use all the technology and personnel from the Rebellion, but now acting as an official system of government as opposed to a struggling band of insurgents. X-wings patrol the galaxy. The Mandalorian’s first season has a prison break episode set on a New Republic prison ship floating through space. The rise of the New Republic was set to be explored further in the spin-off Rangers of the New Republic, but this series has been put on hold.
Lando’s Redemption
Lando Calrissian, introduced as an even cooler version of Han Solo, betrays the Rebels’ trust in The Empire Strikes Back. He invites them into Cloud City after selling them out to Darth Vader. But after seeing the error of his ways (and getting fleeced by Vader), Lando ends up joining the Rebels’ side and helping them escape from Bespin.
When Return of the Jedi picks up a year later, Lando has risen through the ranks to become one of the top Rebel generals. He’s crucial to the Empire’s defeat, redeeming any past misdeeds. Lando is getting his own series on Disney+ that will likely expand on his transformation from an antihero into a full-blown Rebel hero.
The Defeat Of The Empire
With the destruction of the second Death Star, the redemption of Darth Vader, and the defeat of the Emperor, Return of the Jedi’s glorious finale sees the Rebels triumphing over the Empire once and for all.
But the galaxy is full of Stormtroopers and Imperial officers who still believe in the Empire’s cause and plan to bring it back. In The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have been exploring the aftermath of the Empire’s defeat with the rise of the Imperial Remnants.
Boba Fett’s “Death”
One of the most controversial scenes in Return of the Jedi sees fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett being sent into the chomping jaws of the Sarlacc by accident. The Mandalorian rectified this by bringing back a badly scarred Boba for a supporting role in season 2 as a springboard into his own spin-off series.
Boba’s survival has yet to be explicitly explained, but The Book of Boba Fett might have a flashback showing how Boba managed to survive being eaten by the Sarlacc.
Luke’s Quest To Rebuild The Jedi Order
When the sequel trilogy catches up with Luke Skywalker, history has repeated itself. A young Jedi apprentice with Skywalker blood has been turned to the dark side by a Sith puppet-master atop a throne. He slaughtered all the Jedi and took over the galaxy as the ruler of a nefarious empire, leaving Luke once again as “the last Jedi.”
Luke’s early attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order are being explored in Star Wars’ Disney+ content. In the second-season finale of The Mandalorian, he took Grogu under his wing as an apprentice.
Vader’s Redemption
Hayden Christensen has been cast to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Ahsoka series. His scenes are assumed to be flashbacks, but since he played Anakin’s Force ghost in the Special Edition of Jedi, Christensen could be playing Anakin’s spirit appearing to Ahsoka after returning to the light side.
Vader’s redemption isn’t as simple as the original trilogy’s mythic storytelling portrays it. There’s bound to be some fallout – he has two decades of war crimes under his belt, including the murders of an entire generation of Jedi younglings. Ahsoka might not be immediately willing to forgive and forget as quickly as Luke.
