When Does The Mandalorian and Grogu Take Place? The Star Wars Timeline, Explained

As excited as we are for The Mandalorian and Grogu, there’s definitely a bit of fuzziness over where this movie fits into the overall Star Wars timeline. 

We know on a broader level that Mando and Grogu’s story arc takes place in the New Republic era. This particular section of that era, also known as the MandoVerse, comes a few years after the events of Return of the Jedi. However, when you bring two other TV shows (Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett) into the mix, it’s unsurprising that things might get a little confusing. Luckily, ahead of your next jaunt to a galaxy far, far away, we’re here to clear everything up for you.

So, read on. This is the way (to clarity).

When Does The MandoVerse Start?

The Mandalorian Season 1 takes place in 9 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). In turn, Return of the Jedi took place in 4 ABY. So, the show picks up five years after the events of the original trilogy’s climax.  

After the Empire was overthrown, the New Republic worked to restore order to the galaxy, and by the time we meet Din Djarin, they have somewhat achieved this goal. I say ‘somewhat’ because it should be noted that there are still a few notable outliers like Imperial warlord Moff Gideon and other Empire loyalists lingering about.

It is also commonly argued that The Mandalorian Season 2 takes place in 9 ABY, too — but that might not necessarily be the case. It is here that things start to get a little messy. But the most confusing part is probably the ‘gap’ between Season 2 and 3. 

How Does The Mandalorian Timeline Progress?

Between The Mandalorian Seasons 2 and 3, a lot of stuff goes down. Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano both show up in Season 2. The events that unfold in The Book of Boba Fett, in which Mando, Grogu, and Ahsoka all appear, essentially bridge the gap between Season 2 and Season 3. However, the thing people can’t seem to agree on is how much time passes during the events of The Mandalorian.

Some claim that the entirety of The Mandalorian (and, by extension, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka Season 1) takes place in 9 ABY. Canon published material related to the MandoVerse, like the book Star Wars: Timelines and articles from Star Wars Insider, implies that Moff Gideon’s demise, which happened at the end of Season 3, took place in 9 ABY.

And just to make things even more complicated, it is widely accepted that Ahsoka Season 1 took place concurrently with The Mandalorian Season 3. So, are we really expected to believe that everything that has ever happened in the MandoVerse took place in just one year?

A Wrinkle In (Star Wars) Time

It can also be argued that Star Wars TV architect Jon Favreau contradicts this condensed timeline. In a podcast interview in February 2023, he said that Grogu had spent “many years” with Mando, and then had two years of training with Luke before returning to him. 

However, in a subsequent interview with Variety, Favreau backtracked somewhat, saying that the time Grogu spent with Luke was between “zero and two years.” While this is perhaps a bit of a cop-out, the idea that Grogu and Din’s whole story arc took place in the same year doesn’t feel all that feasible. The Variety answer also doesn’t clear up Favreau’s earlier comment about the “many years” Grogu supposedly spent with Djarin across Season 1 and Season 2 of The Mandalorian. 

So, in terms of the timeline between The Mandalorian Season 1 and The Mandalorian and Grogu, the only thing we know for a fact is that everything started in 9 ABY. From then on, it really depends on what you want to believe; whether it be the condensed, year-long timeline that’s arguably set out by the accompanying Star Wars literature, or a more expansive, multiple-year timeline that, at one point at least, Favreau himself appeared to endorse. 

Another thing we can know for sure is that we haven’t seen any crazy time-jumps so far, and based on the movie’s trailer, we won’t be getting a big time-jump between Season 3’s end and the movie’s beginning. So, even if we are years ahead of 9 ABY by now, it won’t be by a dramatic amount. 

The only way to know for sure is to watch the movie, which, I suspect, was probably the idea all along.