Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Mandalorian & Grogu
The Mandalorian & Grogu delivers Din Djarin and Grogu’s first big-screen Star Wars adventure, providing everything I was expecting and more. Featuring Imperial Remnant warlords, Hutt gangsters, epic creature battles, and solid emotional moments between Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and his adopted son, the movie is a very entertaining time across the board.
At the same time, I do have some lingering questions about Din Djarin and Grogu’s future, as well as the future of the New Republic Era. Although The Mandalorian & Grogu is a fairly self-contained Star Wars adventure, it is still connected to the overarching New Republic narrative that’s been unfolding in The Mandalorian series, Ahsoka, and eventually Dave Filoni’s upcoming New Republic movie that’s expected to bring about the full return of Grand Admiral Thrawn as a major galactic threat.
Keeping that in mind, here are some of the biggest unanswered questions I have after watching The Mandalorian & Grogu during its opening weekend.
What Happened To Rotta The Hutt After The Clone Wars?
One of the movie’s biggest surprises is the return of Rotta the Hutt, Jabba’s son and sole heir, who was first introduced as a baby back in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie. Now fully grown, Rotta makes his live-action debut as a physically imposing gladiator fighting in the arenas on Shakari. While Rotta’s benefactor Lord Janu intended for the son of Jabba to die in his final fight rather than free him as promised, Din Djarin helped Rotta escape, becoming allies after Lord Janu’s brutal Dejarik Match.
However, even after Rotta allies with Djarin, all he says about his past is that he was alone and had to fend for himself when he was Grogu’s age. As such, this raises a pretty big question: what exactly happened to Rotta after Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano rescued him from the Separatists during the Clone Wars?
While Jabba seemed to love his son very much in the Clone Wars movie, Rotta indicates in The Mandalorian & Grogu that he hated living in his father’s dark shadow, wanting to be cheered as his own man rather than be feared as Jabba was. Seeing as how Rotta is nowhere to be found during the original trilogy (like when Jabba was killed in Return of the Jedi), there’s more than likely an untold Rotta story between his childhood and becoming a fighter for Lord Janu.
Hopefully, Lucasfilm will eventually reveal more of Rotta’s full history between the Clone Wars and the New Republic Era, especially since he’s now one of the last surviving members of Jabba the Hutt’s entire family bloodline.
What Else Did Commander Coin Reveal To The New Republic?
Lord Janu is ultimately revealed to also be Commander Coin, a major Imperial warlord wanted by the New Republic. Thanks to Din Djarin, Coin is placed in the New Republic’s custody, where it’s revealed in The Mandalorian & Grogu’s ending that Coin confessed that the Imperial Remnant was secretly working with The Twins, and that the Hutts were feeding the New Republic false intel. Keeping that in mind, one has to wonder what else Coin might have admitted to.
After all, Commander Coin was a member of the Imperial Shadow Council, as seen in The Mandalorian season 3, where the various warlords discussed Grand Admiral Thrawn’s planned return, the larger Imperial Remnant structure, and even Project Necromancer. As such, the New Republic might be more prepared for Thrawn’s return in Ahsoka season 2 than previously assumed. As such, Coin’s capture could easily serve as some solid setup for future New Republic projects.
What’s Next For Din Djarin & Grogu?
Surprisingly, The Mandalorian & Grogu ends without any obvious set-ups or post-credits teases for Din Djarin and Grogu’s future. The final scene simply shows Din and Grogu jumping into hyperspace aboard their brand-new Razor Crest, continuing their adventures and Grogu’s training as Din’s apprentice.
However, one has to wonder how Lucasfilm will move forward with Din Djarin and Grogu’s future. Depending on how well the movie performs at the box office, a sequel feels likely. At the same time, it’s just as possible that the iconic duo could return to streaming with a fourth season of The Mandalorian. Jon Favreau has previously confirmed that he’d already written scripts for The Mandalorian season 4 before Lucasfilm chose to pivot toward a full-feature movie. Regardless of the exact format, there’s no way this is the last we’ve seen of Din Djarin and Grogu by any means.
Has The Hutt Syndicate Been Fully Destroyed?
By The Mandalorian & Grogu’s ending, the Hutt Syndicate seemingly suffers a devastating collapse. Not only are The Twins eaten by their own dragonsnake, but their Nal Hutta fortress is bombed by the New Republic’s Adelphi Rangers, presumably taking out many of the additional Hutts who were shown to be living in the palace earlier in the new Star Wars movie.
Likewise, Rotta has no interest in inheriting his father’s criminal empire, seemingly leaving the Hutt Syndicate without clear leadership for the first time in thousands of years. Then again, it’s not fully confirmed what the consequences of this attack might be in the future, or whether the Hutt Syndicate was wiped out completely.
Will Rotta The Hutt Return In Future New Republic Projects?
Rather than inheriting Jabba’s empire, The Mandalorian & Grogu’s ending sees Rotta considering joining the New Republic. Zeb even offers him a New Republic uniform that might fit him. Overall, it’s pretty evident that Lucasfilm put a solid amount of effort behind Rotta’s return to the Star Wars galaxy, so it’d be somewhat weird if he were never seen again in the New Republic Era. Likewise, the door is now open for a future live-action reunion between Rotta and Ahsoka Tano, something longtime Clone Wars fans would no doubt love.
What Is The Exact Relation Between The Twins & Rotta?
In The Book of Boba Fett, the Twins were explicitly described as Jabba’s cousins. However, The Mandalorian & Grogu has the Twins repeatedly refer to Rotta as their nephew, while Rotta calls them his aunt and uncle. Technically, that doesn’t fully line up.
If the Twins truly are Jabba’s cousins, Rotta should be their first cousin once removed (not their nephew). Was this a retcon? It certainly seems like it. While Hutt family trees may simply work differently in the Star Wars canon, it feels more likely that the decision was made to simply the relationship on-screen. Either way, the exact relationship remains somewhat unclear.
What’s Going On With Bo-Katan Kryze & Mandalore?
The Mandalorian season 3’s ending saw Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze finally uniting the galaxy’s scattered Mandalorians and reclaiming Mandalore from the Imperial Remnant occupation led by Moff Gideon.
However, Din Djarin is notably the only Mandalorian featured throughout the entire film. Djarin and Grogu never travel to Mandalore either, instead taking on jobs and living on their homestead on Nevarro. As such, the future of Bo-Katan and Mandalore remains unclear, though one would hope they’d show up in future New Republic projects like Dave Filoni’s upcoming crossover film.
What’s Going On With Embo’s Star Wars Timeline?
Embo’s live-action debut is one of The Mandalorian & Grogu’s coolest elements. While he was working for the Twins, the fan-favorite Kyuzo bounty hunter from the Clone Wars survives his rematch with Din Djarin, escaping the Nal Hutta fortress before the New Republic blows it up. However, it would be interesting to know how this latest job factors into his greater arc in the official Star Wars timeline.
Thanks to canonical novels and comics, we know Embo eventually received a full pardon from the New Republic after the Battle of Jakku, though he eventually returned to bounty hunting before settling down as a farmer on Felucia during the New Republic Era. Keeping that in mind, was The Mandalorian & Grogu the job that finally convinced Embo to leave bounty hunting behind for good, or could he appear again in future Star Wars projects before settling down?
The Mandalorian & Grogu is now playing in theaters from Lucasfilm.
- Release Date
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May 22, 2026
- Runtime
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132 Minutes
