Star Wars as a franchise has long since grown passed only having the films tell its stories. Between animated and live-action shows, comics, novels, and video games, there is no shortage of content to consume if you are a Star Wars fan. However, with so much media where characters are crossing over into different shows, it can be easy to miss key moments if you haven’t watched everything. The Mandalorian season 3 premiere is a prime example of this if you haven’t watched Star Wars Rebels or The Book of Boba Fett. If you are wondering why your friend is pointing at the screen in recognition or confused about why Din Djarin is on a new ship, we got you covered with three important details from the premiere.
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Time Jump
Timelines have always been a sensitive topic for Star Wars fans dating all the way back to The Empire Strikes Back. How long did Luke spend on Dagobah? How long did it take to get to Bespin without a hyperdrive? How long does Rey train with Luke on Ahch-To? To add to the growing number of questions, Jon Favreau threw fans into a frenzy after his comments at the roundtable talk earlier this week for The Mandalorian season 3.
Faveru essentially expressed that many years have passed between episode one of The Mandalorian and the season 3 premiere. Further, he mentioned that Grogu spent two years training with Luke. At its core, this adds a lot of weight to the events of The Book of Boba Fett. However, it isn’t very clear in its presentation. The Mandalorian season 3 premiere shows the time jump a bit clearer this a bit in a few different moments.
The Armorer and the Children of the Watch in The Book of Boba Fett were down to only three members after the events of The Mandalorian season 1. The opening moments of The Mandalorian season 3 premiere showed the sect has grown to at least a few dozen. Additionally, Navarro has a complete glow-up from a place for scum and villainy to being called the ‘Gem of the Outer Rim’ as Greef Karga tries to make it the first independent system in this new era. Further, Grogu clearly has a better handle on his Force powers. He can be seen levitating objects much easier than we have seen before.
Din Djarin’s New Ship
If you didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett, then seeing Din Djarin and Grogu riding around in an N-1 Starfighter might be a surprise in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere. After the destruction of the Razor Crest, Din worked with Peli Motto on Tatooine to repair and modify the Nabooian craft. If the ship looks familiar, it is the same model that Anakin Skywalker flies in The Phantom Menace.
The modifications made, make Din’s N-1 Starfighter one of the fastest and most formidable ships seen in live action. Larger laser canons in addition to the torpedo launcher make the starfighter terrific in aerial combat but also with enough firepower to defeat the giant turtle-dinosaur-like creature in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere. Further, the starcraft has the ability to jump to hyperspace without a hyperspace ring. In smaller bursts, Din can activate the sublight engines for quick getaways that even the New Republic Starfleet could keep up with. And of course, most importantly, Peli removed the astromech socket which fits Grogu perfectly.
Purrgil aka Space Whale
During The Mandalorian season 3 premiere While Din Djarin slept through their hyperspace travel en route to Navarro, Grogu saw giant beasts flying through the hyperspace lanes. For the unfamiliar, seeing something other than a ship in hyperspace can be frightening as seen by Grogu’s reaction. However, the purrgil, the massive semi-sentient space whales, are largely misunderstood in the Star Wars universe.
Purrgil made their first appearance on-screen appearance in the Star Wars Rebels episode “The Call”. While this isn’t the first space beast we have seen in Star Wars, the purrgil might be the most fascinating. They are the inspiration for the development of hyperspace technology with their ability to navigate hyperspace. They typically reached nearly 100 feet in length which is almost three times the length of Din’s N-1 Starfighter. Given their size and the dangers of hyperspace travel, many thought of the beast as a lumbering menace as they would unknowingly crash into vessels traveling in the same hyperspace lanes.
While the purrgil that Grogu saw were undoubtedly large, picture an Earth blue whale flying through space, they are nothing compared to the purrgil ultra. The purrgil ultra are significantly larger, completely dwarfing the normal purrgil. They are so large, they have the ability to fully ram and destroy Imperial Star Destroyers. Three were large enough to latch on a jump a 5,250-foot-long Imperial II-class Star Destroyer into hyperspace.
Despite being seen as a pest for many space travelers, the purrgil were integral in the Rebels’ defeat of Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels. As a semi-sentient species, Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger was able to connect with the purrgil and enlist their help. It is unclear if the appearance of the purrgil’s appearance in The Mandalorian season 3 premiere will foreshadow a connection to Star Wars Rebels or Ahsoka but wouldn’t it be great to see a purrgil ultra in live-action?
There are a few other moments in the season 3 premiere that could be explored as the series progresses. Din’s side mission to repair IG-11 could lead him to the notorious IG-88. Pirate King Gorian Shard’s ship has a striking resemblance to Eclipse-class dreadnought in Legends. And of course, Mandalore is looming in the distance. The opening sequence alone resembles the verd’goten, the traditional rite of passage in Mandalorian culture in Legends. This could be explored further as Din seeks redemption in the eye of the Children of the Watch. Until then, check out Star Wars Rebels and The Book of Boba Fett to get even more out of The Mandalorian season 3 premiere.
