The Season 2 finale of Disney+ series The Mandalorian provided even more clues about when in the Star Wars timeline this TV show is set. The Mandalorian Season 2 final episode, "The Rescue," contained some major twists. In a bid to rescue Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, from Moff Gideon's (Giancarlo Esposito) clutches, titular Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) organized a rescue mission with Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks). Once Grogu was safely back with Din Djarin and Moff Gideon was officially captured, the young Luke Skywalker (a digitally de-aged and CGI'd Mark Hamill) revealed himself as the Jedi answering Grogu's call to all surviving members of the Jedi order from Episode 6, "The Tragedy."
The cameo from Luke helps us get even clearer on when The Mandalorian is set within the larger Star Wars timeline. It also helps us piece together events only spoken about that take place offscreen, as we've heard about them in previous Star Wars Skywalker saga movies. Previously, Season 1 confirmed The Mandalorian was set shortly after the fall of the Empire in Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi. Specifically, The Mandalorian is set five years after the events shown in the 1983 movie, in 9 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). Additionally, we knew The Mandalorian was set 25 years before 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, which is set in 34 ABY. In general, this also means The Mandalorian is set during the reign of the New Republic, the galactic governing body established by the Alliance that arose following the destruction of the Empire. As a final note, The Mandalorian Season 2 picks up very close to the Season 1 finale, which means not too much time has passed in between seasons.
Luke's cameo at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2 confirms this Disney+ show is set 19 years before Luke's nephew, Ben Solo (Adam Driver), destroys Luke's Jedi academy. This event is depicted in 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi in a flashback sequence. The event is a life-changing and pivotal one in the lives of both Luke and Ben. Ben was one of the many young Jedi training at Luke's academy, which was established in an effort to rebuild the ranks of the Jedi order. But as Ben felt the pull of the Dark Side (a pull he succumbed to, eventually transforming him into Kylo Ren), Luke sensed the disturbance and attempted to kill his nephew. Ben survived, as we all know, and in a reactionary moment, he destroyed the entire academy and all of the young Jedis-in-training housed there.
The implications of Luke taking charge of the care and training of Grogu at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2 are intense. It would be very grim to assume that Grogu is a casualty of Ben Solo's, but with no clear answer from The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau, executive producer Dave Filoni, or anyone else involved with the show, it's worth entertaining that possibility. However, we should remember that Din Djarin also promised Grogu he would see him again in the future before the two parted ways at the end of Season 2. This provides a more optimistic possibility that Grogu and Din Djarin will reunite and the young Jedi will leave Luke's academy before Ben Solo destroys it.
While The Mandalorian Season 2 has provided a clearer picture on when the events of the show take place, we still don't know when in the Star Wars time The Mandalorian story will end. That will depend on how many seasons the show will get as well as the direction Filoni and Favreau intend to take this spinoff tale. As such, we'll have to wait to see what The Mandalorian Season 3 has in store and keep an eye out for any other Star Wars character cameos that could give further clarification on when this show is taking place.
The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2 are now available to stream on Disney+. For more, check out the Mandalorian Season 3 theory involving Boba Fett we can't stop thinking about.