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When does The Mandalorian take place in the Star Wars timeline? Thanks to The Book of Boba Fett and its Grogu-shaped crossover, that’s something we’ve been asking more and more. Characters from the Original Trilogy, prequels, and spin-offs keep colliding around The Mandalorian’s stories, to it makes sense to take stock of everything so far and uncover where The Mandalorian takes place on the Star Wars timeline.
It’s worth pointing out before we begin, however, that the Mandalorian timeline isn’t as complex as it seems. We’re tucked in snugly between the Original Trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Given the multiple new Star Wars series on the horizon, knowing when The Mandalorian is set is the key to understanding the franchise’s past, as well as its future.
Warning: The Mandalorian timeline guide includes spoilers for seasons 1-2 and The Book of Boba Fett.
- Everything we know about The Mandalorian season 3
- Our The Mandalorian season 2 finale review
- How to watch the Star Wars movies in order
When does The Mandalorian take place in the Star Wars timeline?
Before anything else, it’s worth knowing that – like our Gregorian calendars in the painfully lightsaber-free real world – the timeline revolves around a single event. In this case, it’s the Battle of Yavin (otherwise known as the first assault on the Death Star in A New Hope). That’s referred to at 0 BBY – Before the Battle of Yavin.
The Mandalorian takes place in 9 ABY – nine years after A New Hope and, interestingly, five years after the Emperor’s defeat in Return of the Jedi. Here is the full picture of where The Mandalorian takes place in the Star Wars timeline – as per current canon.
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – 32 BBY
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – 22 BBY
- The Clone Wars – 22 BBY-19 BBY
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith – 19 BBY
- The Bad Batch – 19 BBY
- Solo: A Star Wars Story – 13 BBY – 10 BBY
- Star Wars Rebels – 5 BBY – 1 BBY
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 1 BBY
- A New Hope – 0 BBY
- The Empire Strikes Back – 3 ABY
- Return of the Jedi – 4 ABY
- The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 – 9 ABY
- The Book of Boba Fett – 9 ABY
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 34 ABY
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi – 34 ABY
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 35 ABY
The Mandalorian timeline: what does that mean for the show and The Book of Boba Fett?
The Mandalorian takes place in a period of time that’s been relatively untouched by Star Wars media. There have been books about the events between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, but few have told major stories about well-known characters. That means we’re treading on fertile ground for cameos – as we have already seen with appearances from Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano, and Luke Skywalker. Leia, Han, Lando, and Chewie are all out there somewhere and could make an appearance in the show.
There’s another quarter-of-a-century gap between The Mandalorian and the sequel trilogy, which means there’s room for a few longer stories to be told. We can expect The Mandalorian to tie in with a few other Star Wars spin-offs, and Mando’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett shows that the writers are not afraid of a crossover. Boba Fett’s series picks up directly after the Mandalorian season 2 finale, with Din Djarin wielding the Darksaber and without Baby Yoda, real name Grogu, by his side. Chances are that The Mandalorian season 3 will pick up after the events of Boba Fett’s show.
Other events worth noting: Grogu was born roughly 50 years prior to The Mandalorian, which means the creature’s basically the same age as Anakin Skywalker. We also know that 30 years before the show, Grogu was training on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. That means we now know his location during the prequels, specifically Revenge of the Sith.
There are also more potential tie-ins with the animated show Rebels ahead. We’ve already seen Ahsoka, and she mentioned Thrawn, but there’s a key scene in the series that will be addressed at some stage in the Star Wars shows. Rebels, while predominantly taking place before the Battle of Yavin, has an epilogue that takes place at an undetermined time in the future.
As explained to Vanity Fair (opens in new tab), Mandalorian writer and Rebels creator Dave Filoni said: “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.”
For now, though, The Way is clear for Mando to forge out his own path on the Star Wars timeline. For more on the franchise’s future, check out all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows coming our way soon.
If you’re yet to start watching The Mandalorian, be sure to check out the latest Disney Plus bundles. Because the Disney Plus free trial doesn’t exist anymore, that’s your best bet if you want to get a Disney Plus sign-up deal for less.
