Dave Filoni Hints That The Mandalorian May Not Take Place After Star Wars Rebels

Dave Filoni has an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars lore, and could probably even give George Lucas a run for his money when it comes to trivia surrounding the most minute details of a galaxy far, far away. The 46 year-old is certainly living the dream as a lifelong fan of the franchise who was hand-picked for a job at Lucasfilm, before rapidly working his way up the ranks to become the architect behind the entire animated arm of the mythology.

Given his extensive experience living, breathing and working in the realm of Star Wars, it wasn’t surprising when Filoni became integral to the creation and development of The Mandalorian as one of Jon Favreau’s closest collaborators. After all, the second season of the Disney Plus show has roped in several characters from The Clone Wars and Rebels, tying the live-action and animated canon together in stunning fashion.

When Ahsoka Tano showed up in last week’s episode “The Jedi” and revealed that she was looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn, most viewers assumed that the timeline has moved chronologically and The Mandalorian picks up after the events of Rebels. However, in a recent interview, Filoni admitted that the continuity might not be quite as straightforward as it seems.

“That’s not necessarily chronological. I think the thing that people will most not understand is they want to go in a linear fashion, but as I learned as a kid, nothing in Star Wars really works in a linear fashion. You do Episodes IV, V, VI and then I, II and III . So in the vein of that history, when you look at the epilogue of Rebels you don’t really know how much time has passed. So, it’s possible that the story I’m telling in The Mandalorian actually takes place prior to that. Possible. I’m saying it’s possible.”

We know that The Mandalorian is set roughly five years after Return of the Jedi and over two decades before The Force Awakens, and Rebels‘ closing monologue made it clear that the finale happens after the conclusion of Episode VI. However, technically Mando and Baby Yoda’s adventures could be unfolding in the timeline prior to the final episode of the animated hit, which may also serve to drive the storyline of Ahsoka Tano’s widely rumored Disney Plus spinoff to fill in even more of the gaps.