Jon Favreau Explains Why THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Left Out Ahsoka and Thrawn
Fans walking into The Mandalorian and Grogu probably expected to see a few familiar faces pop up from the larger Star Wars universe.
After all, the Disney+ era has become increasingly interconnected, with characters bouncing between shows like they’re hopping hyperspace lanes. But two major players are completely absent from the movie: Ahsoka Tano and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
In the lead-up to the film’s release, Jon Favreau has repeatedly talked about wanting The Mandalorian and Grogu to work as its own adventure instead of feeling like “Season 4” of the TV series. While the movie absolutely continues Din Djarin and Grogu’s story, Favreau didn’t want audiences to feel like they needed homework before buying a ticket.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker explained why characters like Ahsoka and Thrawn didn’t make the cut:
“It’s not always about character crossovers, I’ll say that. It’s about the characters and what they’re experiencing. We brought Ahsoka into The Mandalorian originally because she would be a great character to explain [to] Grogu a bit more about his history. So when we find the right reason to have characters intersect, we definitely do it.”
That approach makes a lot of sense considering how The Mandalorian originally used Ahsoka. Rosario Dawson’s Jedi warrior wasn’t dropped into the series simply for fan service.
She played an important role in Grogu’s journey by revealing his name and shedding light on his past while Din wandered across the galaxy trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do with the tiny green chaos machine.
Thrawn was always less likely to appear. While Lars Mikkelsen’s Imperial mastermind looms large over Ahsoka, his connection to The Mandalorian has mostly stayed in the background. The character gets mentioned a couple of times in the series, but he never actually shows up onscreen.
Favreau went on to explain that the shift from television to theatrical storytelling changed the entire creative approach:
“When we were discussing doing a fourth season of [The Mandalorian], which was put on hold, and then the idea of doing a theatrical presentation… It changed the way we approached how interconnected things should be.
“A fourth season of a show would have assumed that you saw three seasons previously and, frankly, everything else on Disney+. That’s the nature of a serialized long-form TV story.”
That comment probably says a lot about where Lucasfilm is heading with its Star Wars movies moving forward. The studio clearly wants these films to be accessible to casual audiences instead of exclusively catering to viewers who’ve watched every animated series, live-action show, and random side quest on Disney+.
What’s interesting, though, is that Favreau still included characters like Zeb Orrelios from Star Wars Rebels and Embo from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. So where’s the line?
Favreau says it comes down to whether the character works for longtime fans and newcomers at the same time:
“I think somebody who’s never seen Zeb before totally gets it and thinks he’s cool, too. So that’s where we’re looking for the Venn diagram where those things overlap, and that’s a good example.”
That’s probably the smartest path forward for Star Wars right now. Hardcore fans get rewarded with familiar characters, while general audiences aren’t left feeling like they accidentally walked into the middle chapter of a ten-part saga.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters.