There’s a lot of press and publicity about The Mandalorian currently going on ahead of its premiere on Disney+ tomorrow, and today some very interesting comments made by showrunner Jon Favreau got some attention. Skytalkers podcast posted the audio from a roundtable interview, and there was one point in particular that is worth noting.
Favreau was asked about Grogu’s journey and role in the show, and he responded (in part) by saying this:
“We know that he started off earlier in the Jedi Temple. We’ve seen flashbacks that speak to that. And then we know that he’s been rescued and spent many years with the Mandalorian. Went back with Luke, now we’ve been two years apart from him there training. What’s interesting is that as he chooses to return to his friend, the Mandalorian, because he’s developed an attachment, it’s interesting how that echoes in the way Luke’s path, when he was drawn to the attachment to his friends and how that helped shape the future.”
What’s most interesting about that is how Favreau seems to say that Grogu was actually with Luke for two years! That’s something we’ve never even heard hints of before. Now, before going any further, I think it’s worth providing a caveat that it’s entirely possible Favreau meant simply that it’s been about two years since the previous season of The Mandalorian. In another interview, with Gizmodo, it seems that’s what he’s getting at (“the two years between when the last episode aired of season two and [now] allowed for time to pass”). In an interview setting like this, it shouldn’t be expected that every answer is perfectly and clearly articulated, so there’s some room for grace here. Favreau might just mean it’s been two years since we last saw the show.
But there are two things that make that seem a bit odd, if that’s what he meant. First, it’s clearly within the context of him talking about Grogu’s history, so the most natural way it sounds is to take it as the character’s in-universe journey. Second, it actually hasn’t been two years since we last saw Grogu’s journey on-screen. It was basically a year ago when we saw Djarin, Grogu, and Luke in The Book of Boba Fett, and there’s already been enough pushback on the story continuing in that series (much of which is overblown, in my opinion) that this statement wouldn’t be that wise from Favreau. If he’s suggesting it’s been two years since we’ve seen the journey, but at the same time expecting The Book of Boba Fett to be a key part of that story, it just doesn’t add up at all. There’s just no way around that.
So even though I think it’s entirely possible that he’s speaking about our timeline, I think it’s also very possible he’s hinting at an in-universe timeline. And honestly, if we come to find out that Grogu has been with Luke for two years, I would really like it. I think it would give added weight to the events in The Book of Boba Fett, as well as the season two finale of The Mandalorian, if we learned it was actually for this considerable length of time. I think adding more time also leaves room open for future stories to be told down the road, and opens up a lot of other possibilities. But I would also be disappointed that absolutely nothing indicates that in the show. It’s not like we need them to spell it all out, but something to indicate the passage of time would be helpful. What in The Book of Boba Fett even remotely indicates the passing of two years’ time?
There’s nothing. So if there really was a two year gap, I wish the series would have showed us a little bit more of it, even if they still rushed through most of it to get Djarin and Grogu back together. But I also really like the storytelling potential of a longer period of time enough that I could get past it. Let’s just hope that there’s some clarity brought one way or another sooner rather than later.
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