With the third and final movie in the sequel trilogy about to be released, fans think there may be a Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker connection. The Rise of Skywalker will give the final chapter of Rey and Kylo Ren's story when it hits theaters on Dec. 20. But ComicBook.com reported how an eagle-eyed fan brought up a possible link between the Disney+ TV series The Mandalorian and the upcoming movie. Unfortunately, though, this theory far from guarantees a Baby Yoda cameo.
After The Rise of Skywalker "Fate" TV trailer dropped, popit123doe on Reddit pointed out that it looked like Kylo Ren was fighting someone whose weapon gave off yellow blaster bolts. There are many bolts of colors that blasters can shoot with the YouTube Channel Star Wars Explained citing red, green, blue, orange, purple, and yellow as all known colors. But DigitalSpy noted how yellow blaster bolts have only been used by Mandalorians within the Star Wars Universe. So could that mean there will be a warrior from the planet of Mandalore in The Rise of Skywalker? Or, better yet, could it be Pedro Pascal's Mando shooting behind Adam Driver's Kylo Ren?
While The Mandalorian hasn't revealed it yet, Mando's real name is Dyn Jarren and his story takes place after Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens. As Vulture reported, The Mandalorian is set in 9 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin) while The Force Awakens began in 34 ABY. It's possible if Dyn Jarren is in his 30s or 40s that he could still be fighting as a Mandalorian 25 years later. Maybe The Rise of Skywalker would even give fans a glimpse of Pascal's face — something the TV series has yet to have done.
Of course, there are other Mandalorians out there in the universe, so if this theory does pan out, it doesn't have to Pascal's character who shows up. For instance, some fans might be holding out hope that the original beloved Mandalorian — Boba Fett — could still be alive after he seemingly died in Return of the Jedi. Boba Fett was known to use a jetpack and so it could be no coincidence that DigitalSpy reported that Stormtroopers are using jetpacks in this movie clip shared on the Star Wars Instagram page. But it should also be noted that Mando had stated he needs to get a jetpack in "Chapter 3" of The Mandalorian after his fellow Mandalorians came to his and Baby Yoda's aid.
Another indication that The Mandalorian could tie into The Rise of Skywalker is the timeline of the TV series and the movie. New episodes of The Mandalorian have typically dropped on Fridays, but the seventh episode will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 18, seemingly not to compete with the film's release that Friday. Then, there is one last episode of Season 1 left, which will be available to stream on Friday, Dec. 27. That means if Mando does appear in The Rise of Skywalker, the Season 1 finale could possibly make the link definitive.
While any connection between The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker would delight fans, the real cherry on top would be an appearance by Baby Yoda himself. Baby Yoda is 50 and a baby in The Mandalorian, so he most likely would still be child-like 20-some-odd years later in The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps a glimpse of this precious creature in the upcoming film would comfort Mandalorian fans since a cameo would indicate Mando did lead him to safety.
Yet, The Rise of Skywalker has plenty of other storylines to focus on before wrapping up the trilogy, fans' best bet at learning Baby Yoda's fate is in the second-guaranteed season of The Mandalorian. But considering Baby Yoda's popularity, any hint of where he or Mando lands decades later in The Rise of Skywalker would be the ultimate treat for fans.
