It’s fair to say that, with his work onThe Mandalorian, Jon Favreau savedStar Warsfrom certain doom. AfterSolobombed at the box officeand the sequel trilogy offered diminishing returns, Favreau’s streaming series proved there was hope for a galaxy far, far away after all. The story of Din Djarin’s quest to reunite Grogu with his people has captivated audiences across the globe and become the same kind of cultural phenomenon that George Lucas’ original movie was back in 1977.
One of the main issues with the sequel trilogy is that it undid a lot ofReturn of the Jedi’s emotional closure. Itignored Darth Vader’s redemption, resurrected Emperor Palpatine, and effectively made the Rebellion’s efforts in the original trilogy a waste of time. Favreau worked as an usher whileReturn of the Jediwas playing in theaters and saw it “dozens of times,” so it has a special place in his heart. InThe Mandalorianand its upcoming spin-offs, Favreau is slowly expanding on the post-Return of the Jediperiod thatThe Force Awakensskipped over, and unlike J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, he’s committed to honoringEpisode VI’s legacy.
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At the end ofReturn of the Jedi, Luke was all set to rebuild the Jedi Order, Leia was ready to turn the Rebellion into the New Republic, and Darth Vader had been redeemed and returned to the light side of the Force. Then, inThe Force Awakens, Luke was a self-exiled grump whose Jedi apprentices were all dead, the New Republic had fallen andLeia was once again leading a struggling rebellionagainst a mighty empire, and Vader was reframed as a villain as Kylo Ren worshipped him and promised to finish what he started for years without a peep from Anakin’s Force ghost.
Rather than taking an assignment from Lucasfilm, Favreau developedThe Mandalorianfrom scratch. Setting the story five years afterReturn of the Jediwas a deliberate choice to explore the immediate aftermath ofthe Rebels’ defeat of the Empire. Since the sequel trilogy skipped right over the post-Return of the Jedipeacetime to yet another galactic civil war, it’s been interesting to seeThe Mandalorianslowly fill in the gaps in the worldbuilding alongside its own standalone narrative.
While there are plenty of Easter eggs to point to throughoutThe Mandalorian’s first two seasons, its most obvious nod toReturn of the Jediwas Luke Skywalker’s appearance inthe season 2 finale “Chapter 16: The Rescue.”Fan service at its finest, the scene saw Luke pull into Moff Gideon’s command ship in an X-wing fighter and slaughter a bunch of Dark Troopers with effortless Jedi precision. From the black cloak to the gloved robotic hand to the glowing green lightsaber, everything about Luke’s wildly satisfying cameo was designed to evoke memories ofReturn of the Jedi.
All the story setups thatThe Force Awakensignored in favor of loosely remaking the original movie are poised to be rounded out in Disney Plus’Mandalorian-verse. Now that Luke has taken on Grogu as one of his first apprentices, Favreau’sStar Warsstreaming franchise can explore the Luke Skywalker-led Jedi academy that got burned to the ground before the events ofEpisode VII.Rangers of the New Republiccan explore how Leia turned the Rebellion into the New Republic before turning it back into a rebellion that uses all the same logos and uniforms, but now goes by the name “Resistance.” (TheRangersseries technicallyisn’t in active development at Lucasfilm, but that’s likely just to retool it to not include Cara Dune.) Ahsoka Tano’s search for Grand Admiral Thrawn in her own spin-off series could blow the Imperial Remnants storyline wide open.
Favreau has even usedThe Mandalorianto fix one ofReturn of the Jedi’s biggest problems. After Boba Fett quickly became one of the most popularStar Warscharacters following his introduction inThe Empire Strikes Back(a fact that George Lucas was unaware of), a lot of fans were disappointed by his lackluster death scene inReturn of the Jedi. InThe Mandalorian’s second season, Favreau rectified this by retconning Boba’s death and bringing him back for his own spin-off,The Book of Boba Fett.Boba’s return to action, directed by Robert Rodriguez inThe Mandalorianepisode “Chapter 14: The Tragedy,” was well worth the four-decade wait.
Return of the Jediis widely considered to be the worst entry in the originalStar Warstrilogy, but that’s largely because the first two movies are untouchable masterpieces and it’s hard to stick the landing withthe final installment of a popular trilogy. The Ewoks get a little annoying after a while and there’s a long action-free stretch in the middle act. But in its handling of Luke and Vader’s arcs, it’s a perfect conclusion to the original trilogy, and it’s been a joy to see Favreau explore its most exciting setups.
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