What are the Mandalorian Wars and are they part of ‘Star Wars’ canon?

After Disney’s 2012 acquisition of Star Wars, it can be hard to remember what aspects of the franchise’s lore are still considered canon. While there is a plethora of information on basically everything in the galaxy, much of what was considered undisputed fact is now part of Legends, the graveyard of old Star Wars ideas. Not to worry though, Dave Filoni has been open about how much he loved the original canon and has been trying to reincorporate some of the much-beloved mythos. The Mandalorian Wars is one of these pieces of Star Wars history that is about to be reinstated for The Mandalorian on Disney Plus.

The Mandalorian Wars: legend

Somewhere around 4000 years before the films, the universe was rebuilding after The Great Sith War, a conflict between the Sith and Jedi that had devastated much of the galaxy. A new government, the predecessor of the Republic, had only just begun to establish itself. Seeing the weakness, a Sith survivor went to the Mandalorians and convinced them that the new Republic was too weak to stop the warrior race from conquering nearby planets. Without hesitation the small but powerful Mandalorian armada began a rapid expansion conquering the worlds around them. It wasn’t until they reached Republic space that the fledgling government thought to act. Without the support of the Jedi, the new Republic — though strong in number — lacked the resources to withstand the Mandalorian onslaught. Unwilling to let all they had fought for be taken by the Mandalorians, several Jedi defected and — led by former Jedi Knight Revan — they pushed the Mandalorians back to Malachor V.

Revan defeated Mandalore the Ultimate in single combat, but his fleet attempted to flee. Before the Mandalorian ships could leave the planet, Revan’s troops activated the Mass Shadow Generator, a device that essentially maxed out the gravity on Malachor V and crushed everything inside of the planet’s atmosphere — including the planet itself — into non-existence. With the destruction of the fleet the first phase of the war was complete.

The fighting didn’t end there, however. Though not much is known about the in-between, the conflict would eventually fall back to the surface of Mandalore, where the Jedi — or the Republic— would use a weapon so powerful it made the surface of Mandalore toxic, forcing its inhabitants to live in bubble cities or out on the surrounding moons.

The Mandalorian Wars: canon

While we don’t know much about how Filoni and the writers will incorporate the old lore into the new, we do have a few breadcrumbs the Star Wars animated series and The Mandalorian itself have given us. Much of what is now considered canon for Mandalorian history was reintroduced during the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

The Mandalorians have been at war with the Jedi since the two groups first met. Frightened by their abilities and distrusting of their ways, the Mandalorians developed armor and weapons specifically for combat with the force sensitives. While the Jedi order would eventually accept Mandalorian Tarre Vizsla into their ranks, the overarching sentiment was negative between the rival factions. The Mandalorians may revere the Viszla’s Darksaber as the symbol of leadership, but their love does not extend to the Jedi. The surface of Mandalor is so damaged after years of war that it is uninhabitable, and the citizens live in domed cities to protect them, though this isn’t directly traceable to the Jedi.

The Jedi knight Kanan Jarrus tells Mandalorian Sabine Wren that in order to beat someone like him she can’t rely on her usual Mandalorian tricks, reminding her that the Jedi won the war. On Mandalore itself there is a mural of the conflict. In a style that takes elements of Guernica by Picasso, Mandalorians and Jedi can be seen attacking one another. Beyond that we don’t know much about the ancient feud. With so many animated characters making their live-action appearances in recent Star Wars media, hopefully we will get some more answers about the intriguing conflict.