There is a new Mandalorian in town, and Star Wars fans may get an even bigger glimpse at Pedro Pascal’s replacement in an upcoming Lucasfilm project.
This year the third season of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian hit Disney+. Following the events of The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2, as well as fellow “Mando-Verse” show, The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian Season 3 found Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) reunited with his Child, Grogu (later Din Grogu, AKA “Baby Yoda”), as the former sought redemption on Mandalore.
The Mandalorian Season 3 was also the stage in which Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze came out of solitude after losing the Darksaber to Djarin in the epic second season finale. Pascal’s Mandalorian bested Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) in combat and thus became the owner of the coveted Darksaber and rightful ruler of Mandalore, something Bo-Katan had long-searched for. Oh, and it also featured Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
The “Mando-Verse” will soon expand even more with the highly-anticipated addition of Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. Like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, both of these upcoming shows take place approximately five years after the vents of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983) when the New Republic was slowly rebuilding the galaxy.
Rosario Dawson first appeared as live-action Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian Season 2, where her hunt for Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) led her to the planet Corvus and the magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto).
The growth of this period of the Star Wars universe has proven popular for fans of the galaxy far, far away, with The Mandalorian often cited as the savior of the franchise after The Walt Disney Company’s troubled sequel trilogy. So popular, in fact, that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy officially announced that fans would be returning to the “Mando-Verse” again, except this time on the big screen.
At this year’s Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, Kennedy announced three new movies set in various places in the canon timeline. James Mangold will explore the Dawn of the Jedi, while Filoni and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will head up a story from The New Republic and the New Jedi Order, respectively.
Filoni’s film looks set to be an Avengers-level story featuring characters from across The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew, with Thrawn likely being the big bad of it all.
But just who will star in this upcoming movie, and could Pedro Pascal’s Mando replacement be the star of the show?
During The Mandalorian Season 3, it was evident that the title no longer just referenced Pascal’s Din Djarin. Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan became a prominent player in the machinations of the show, with the in-story plot placing her above Din Djarin as the owner of the Darksaber and the Armorer’s (Emily Swallow) choice to rejoin the many Mandalorian clans back together. Even executive producer and director Rick Famuyiwa confirmed that the Disney+ show was exploring “Who is the Mandalorian at this point?”
And now, Pascal’s Mandalorian replacement has weighed in on her thoughts of being featured in Filoni’s upcoming movie. The Battlestar Galactica star didn’t say much, but she said enough to make it clear that she is ready to lead the charge as the Mandalorian against Thrawn in the upcoming New Republic movie. Speaking to The Wrap, Sackhoff said:
“If my phone rings, great, if not, they know how much we all want to be a part of it.”
And not only was Bo-Katan featured prominently in the most recent season of The Mandalorian, but while Din Djarin was onscreen a lot, Pascal was not. The actor recently confirmed that the majority of his work for the role is now in a voice-acting capacity, with Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder doing the majority of the bodywork. A fourth season may prove pivotal in seeing where Pascal fits into the greater narrative.
There is also the case of Pascal’s star status. Alongside The Mandalorian, Pascal was working on HBO’s The Last of Us, where he stars as the lead character of Joel Miller alongside Bella Ramsey (Ellie). With The Last of Us heading for a second season, will Pascal even be around to step into the “Mando-Verse” movie?
If he isn’t, then there’s another Mandalorian already taking the lead.
