Even just five years after its premiere,The Mandalorianhas already been retconned quite a few times byStar Wars. Now thatThe Mandalorianhas cemented its place not only as one ofStar Wars’best TV shows, but also as one ofStar Wars’most successful sub-franchises, there have been multiple spin-off projects that have started to change the original story that was told back in 2019. This is especially true now that the upcomingThe Mandalorian & Grogumovieis on the way.
The Mandalorianitself has been a major source ofStar Warsretcons, most notably for the way it builds a bridge between the events of the originalStar Warstrilogy and the sequel trilogy. This is also the case with its new Mandalorian lore, which has rewritten a lot of whatStar Warsaudiences thought they knew from bothStar WarsLegends (previously the Expanded Universe),Star Wars: The Clone Wars, andStar WarsRebels. In the years since, however,The Mandalorianitself has also been retconned, and here are the 8 biggest ways in which that has happened.
But His Family Name Was Registered There
It’s revealed by Din Djarin himself inThe Mandalorianseason 3 that he had never been to Mandalore before embarking there on his quest for redemption. Din explains to Grogu that he was raised on Mandalore’s moon,Concordia, and so he only ever saw Mandalore from a distance. This helped him to empathize with Grogu, who was understandably frightened by the swirling atmosphere of Mandalore’s damaged surface after theGreat Purge. This, however, completely changes one line from season 1 for the worse.
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Din identifies Moff Gideon inThe Mandalorianseason 1 finale because of the ISB officer’s knowledge of his family name, and the only record of his family name was kept in the registers of Mandalore - which Gideon would have had access to during the Purge. This makes no sense after season 3, sincethere would be no reason for Din’s name to be registered on Mandalore if he himself had never even been there. It could be retconned later on that Din was referring to Concordia here and not Mandalore, but as it currently stands, it’s utterly nonsensical.
7The Armorer & Paz Vizsla Weren’t The Only Children Of The Watch Left
A Whole Group Reappeared After The Book of Boba Fett
The Mandalorianseason 3 continues its pattern of retconning by changing something that had only just been established a year earlier inThe Book of Boba Fett- and even earlier inThe Mandalorianseason 1. Season 3 opens with a ceremony that sees Ragnar Vizsla swearing the Creed and receiving his helmet, which happens in the audience of many other members of the Children of the Watch. This is the first viewers see of Paz’s own foundling, and the covert as a whole, aside from a few brief scenes in season 1.
The Book of Boba Fett, however, had previously revealed that the Armorer and Paz Vizsla were the only members of Din Djarin’s covert left after the events of season 1. It was shown thatmany members of Din’s covert had perished on Nevarro after they revealed themselves to save him from Greef Karga’s bounty hunters, andThe Book of Boba Fettreinforced that by showing the Armorer and Paz rebuilding from the ground-up on the Glavis Ringworld. In season 3, however, they have somehow grown their ranks immensely in a very short period of time.
6Grogu Never Actually Wanted To Train As A Jedi
He Told Luke Skywalker He Wanted to in Season 2
“Choose your path” has become a defining slogan for Grogu andThe MandalorianafterThe Book of Boba Fett, when Grogu actively chooses to return to his father and learn the Mandalorian Way rather than take the path of a Jedi. Luke Skywalker has Grogu make this choice after observing that Grogu’s heart hasn’t been in his Jedi training, something that he, as a son who never got to reconcile with his father until it was too late, would certainly understand. This alters the course for Grogu’s future, but it also changes the entire meaning ofThe Mandalorianseason 2.
Grogu
Grogu is a former Jedi youngling who is now training as a Mandalorian apprentice under his adopted father, Din Djarin. A survivor of Order 66, Grogu was hunted by the Empire for his blood amidst their cloning experimentation. Rescued by Din after initially being his bounty, Grogu went on to be trained briefly by Luke Skywalker as a Jedi Padawan, but has ultimately chosen the path of the Mandalorians instead to remain with his father. Grogu is now traversing the galaxy with Din to fight the Imperial Remnant and learn the Mandalorian Way.
Din Djarin spent the entire season trying to find a Jedi who would train Grogu, something that became more difficult after Ahsoka Tano declined and sent them to Tython. At that point, it seemed like Grogu didn’t really want to train as a Jedi, but he ultimately did reach out to Luke on Tython andtold Din, through Luke, that he wanted his father’s permission to pursue Jedi training. This clearly showed that Grogu did want to train as a Jedi, even thoughThe Book of Boba Fettand season 3 have since established that this was never truly the case.
5The Armorer Is The Only One Of Her Kind
She is No Longer Just “A Mandalorian Armorer”
The Armorer’s role has been something of a mystery ever sinceThe Mandalorianfirst began, but season 3 adds some key context to her character. She is treated and regarded as someone in a revered position that goes back for generations, not as one of many but rather as one-of-a-kind. This is what qualifies her to be not only the leader of the Children of the Watch, but also a figure that evenBo-Katan Kryzerespects - despite the latter’s initial uncertainty about the former’s religion.
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The Mandalorian season 3 has further deepened the lore of the Mandalorian Armorer, with season 3, episode 5 only continuing this in various ways.
This, however, is a stark contrast to what Din Djarin told Peli Motto inThe Mandalorianseason 2. When explaining his quest to her,he informed her that it was “a Mandalorian armorer” who had sent him on this journey, which evidently implied that the Armorer was simply one of several others. Season 3, however, has challenged this idea completely. The Armorer seems to be the only one that Din truly knows, despite what he told Peli Motto, and the same goes for all the other Mandalorians. This has made the Armorer a mystic figure, which has increased her mystery.
4IG-11 Has Come Back To Life
IG-11 Previously Died on Nevarro
One of the most controversial aspects ofThe Mandalorianseason 3 arrives when Din Djarin attempts to resurrect IG-11, the beloved bounty-droid-turned-nurse from season 1. Din does this on the grounds that IG-11 is the only droid he trusts, which is fair given how serious his droid trauma is from the attack on his homeworld as a child. While this initial attempt isn’t successful, IG-11’s body is used by Grogu later on as a mech suit, before Din finds another IG head and has the Anzellans bring IG-11 back to serve as Nevarro’s Marshal.
This has completely rewritten the sacrifice IG-11 made inThe Mandalorianseason 1. In one of the season’s most emotional moments, IG-11 acknowledged that he could not survive in any possible scenario, and that he was going to die saving the Nevarro crew rather than die by trying to survive with them. Even Din was moved by IG’s sacrifice, with the droid analyzing his tone and detecting sadness.Now that IG-11 is back, however, this moment feels more meaningless, though IG’s new iteration has yet to truly unfold.
3Din Djarin’s Helmet Rule Is Back To Its Status Quo
Him Breaking the Rule in Season 2 Didn’t Change Anything
Another one of the most controversial retcons inThe Mandalorianseason 3 is the way it treats Din Djarin’s helmet rule - and the character arc that comes with it. Season 3 sees Din seeking redemption for removing his helmet in season 2 by going to theLiving Waterson Mandalore, as the Armorer had told him to inThe Book of Boba Fett. Din not only accomplishes this incredibly difficult feat, but he also sticks to his rule the entire season, making it the first in the TV show’s history to exclude even a single helmet-less Din Djarin scene.
Din Djarin
Din Djarin was once a lone bounty who has since tasked himself with raising his adopted son and Mandalorian apprentice, Grogu. Born on Aq Vetina and raised on Concordia by the Mandalorian faction the Children of the Watch, Din is an orphan and Mandalorian foundling who has risked both his life and his Mandalorian Creed to protect Grogu. Djarin has become an important part of the galaxy’s fight against the Imperial Remnant that lingers in the wake of the Empire’s fall, as he is now working under-the-table for the fledgling New Republic’s rangers.
This wouldn’t have been a problem ifThe Mandalorianseason 2 hadn’t implied that things were going to be different for Din after he chose to remove his helmet. This is because he did it not just once, but twice, both times putting Grogu’s needs and wants ahead of his own. It was also after he met other Mandalorians for the first time, those who could actually remove their helmets without consequences.Rather than leaning into this change and story potential, however, the show went back to the helmet rule’s status quo, making these choices feel less important.
2The Great Purge Happened During The Galactic Civil War
The Purge’s Date Has Been Retconned Several Times
While it wasThe Mandalorianseason 1 that introduced the Great Purge intoStar Warslore, it’s season 3 and otherStar Warsproperties that have since gone into depth on what actually happened, and when it happened. Curiously, the video gameStar Wars Outlawsprovides the most recent update on when the Purge took place, confirming thatit happened at some point in 3 ABY - just a year before the Battle of Endor. This means the Mandalorians were under siege and scattered during the events of the Galactic Civil War.
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The Purge’s timeline, however, has been retconned many times in the last five years. Though season 1 never established a firm date, it seemed as if it had certainly happened before the war, possibly just after Bo-Katan Kryze had been given theDarksaberby Sabine Wren. It was in theAhsokaseason 1 finale that thedroid Huyangsaid the Purge had happened after the war, which vastly changed what audiences thought they knew about it. Now, it’s been placed in the middle of these two extremes, but there’s precedent for that being changed again.
1The Mandalorian’s Timeline Has Been Retconned Several Times
Star Wars Cannot Decide When This Series Unfolds
The Great Purge isn’t the only important piece ofThe Mandalorianthat has been repeatedly retconned. Thetimeline forThe Mandalorianas a whole has been somewhat infamously changed time and time again, with creatives and officialStar Warssources constantly contradicting one another. As it currently stands, according to theStar Wars: Timelinesbook,everything fromThe Mandalorianseason 1 throughThe Book of Boba Fettall happens in the year 9 ABY. This, however, cannot possibly be the case.
Series creator Jon Favreau has stated before that the distance between the events is the same, or at least very similar, to that which the viewers experienced in real-life, essentially meaning that each season (includingThe Book of Boba Fett) is just about a year apart from one another. This fits much better with the show as a whole; Nevarro’s radical changes alone couldn’t have taken place in just a single year’s time. Still, as it stands,The Mandalorianhas taken place entirely in 9 ABY, though it will hopefully be retconned again later on.
The Mandalorian
Cast
Released on July 12, 2025 The Mandalorian follows a lone gunfighter navigating the galaxy’s outer reaches after the Galactic Empire’s fall. As a skilled bounty hunter, he operates in a lawless universe, undertaking various missions on the fringes of the New Republic’s territories.
