The Mandalorian is the first of its kind as it’s the only live-action TV show to date to come from the Star Wars franchise. Set after the events of the Original Trilogy, it could really go someway to plugging a gap in the saga’s timeline that’s gone mostly unexplored so far – at least in canon – as well as tying together the separate parts of the SW universe. It sounds like the series will rise to the challenge, too, as some new intel is pointing to characters from previous animated shows turning up.
We Got This Covered has been told by our sources – the same ones who informed us that Jonah Hill would be joining The Batman and that Black Knight was coming to the MCU – that Star Wars Rebels characters are set to appear in The Mandalorian. It’s unclear right now which specific individuals are on the cards to drop by, but plans definitely exist to bring some of them into live-action on the show either in season 1 or season 2.
The Rebels series finale already flashed-forward to after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to tie the plots of the two shows together. Ezra Bridger remained missing by the end of Rebels and Kanan had died, but Sabine Wren, Hera, Rex and other members of The Ghost crew are still around.
It’s unknown if Ahsoka Tano could be one of these Rebels characters, even though she originated on The Clone Wars, but we’ve received other information saying Lucasfilm is keen to get her into live-action. Not to mention that a few leaks are pointing to the former Jedi Padawan having a presence in The Rise of Skywalker.
Showrunner Jon Favreau has previously teased that he wants The Mandalorian to cater to every different “flavor” of Star Wars as well. This was said in answer to whether any Legends characters would appear, but it could also be a hint that he’s looking to the animated series for inspiration, too. In any case, we’ll know soon enough, as the show premieres next month on Disney Plus.
