The Mandalorian is finally back on our screens as the hit sci-fi series returns for a third season. The hotly anticipated first episode dropped on Disney+ on Wednesday (March 1), allowing fans to catch up with the adventures of bounty hunter Din Djarin and his little green friend, Grogu.
The series takes place within the Star Wars universe that began in 1977 and has gone on to spawn a massive multimedia franchise. It now encompasses not just films and TV shows, but novels, comic books, and video games, too.
But all this Star Wars content means it can be hard to keep track of the franchise’s ever-expanding timeline – especially considering it constantly jumps from prequel to sequel, and back again. So exactly where does The Mandalorian fit into the Star Wars timeline and how does it relate to the other films and shows?
READ MORE: The Mandalorian fans reveal one thing viewers need to know before watching season three
When is the Mandalorian set in the Star Wars timeline?
Time works a little differently in a galaxy far, far away, with years anchored around a particular event. The Star Wars timeline revolves around the Battle of Yavin, otherwise known as the destruction of the Death Star by Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars film, A New Hope.
This momentous occasion takes place in the year 0 BBY. BBY stands for Before the Batte of Yavin, while ABY stands for After the Battle of Yavin.
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For wider context, the first Star Wars prequel film – The Phantom Menace – takes place in the year 32 BBY, while the first of the sequel trilogy – The Force Awakens – takes place in 34 ABY. The Mandalorian is set somewhere in the middle of all this, picking up nine years after A New Hope in the year 9 ABY.
This means it is set five years after Return of the Jedi, following the fall of The Empire but before the rise of The First Order in The Force Awakens. There has also been a slight time jump for The Mandalorian’s latest season.
In an interview with the Skytalkers podcast, series creator Jon Favreau confirmed two years has passed between the season two finale and season three opener, meaning the latest series of The Mandalorian opens around the year 11 ABY.
If that’s all a bit confusing, then here is the full timeline of Star Wars films and TV shows according to Lucasfilm:
- The Acolyte, ~132 BBY
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, ~68–5 BBY
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 32 BBY
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, 22 BBY
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 22–19 BBY
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch, 19 BBY
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, 19 BBY
- Solo: A Star Wars Story, 10 BBY
- Obi-Wan Kenobi, 9 BBY
- Star Wars: Rebels, 5 BBY
- Andor, 5 BBY
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 0 BBY
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, 0 BBY
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, 3 ABY
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, 4 ABY
- The Mandalorian, 9–11 ABY
- The Book of Boba Fett, 9 ABY
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, 34 ABY
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, 34 ABY
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, 35 ABY
Episode one of The Mandalorian is available to stream now on Disney+.
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