The Mandalorian: 10 Connections Between The Disney+ Series And The Rise Of Skywalker

When Episode 7 of The Mandalorian was released early, savvy fans sensed a disturbance in the Force, as though it had something to do with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hitting theaters. Grogu debuted a unique Force power that would later be seen in the Skywalker saga’s capstone movie, inextricably tying the two epic pieces of the Star Wars franchise together forever.

Just how much else of the Disney+ flagship series has made it into the movie so far? It turns out there are bits and pieces everywhere, because Jon Favreau, David Filoni, and the rest of the Lucasfilm Story Group have been hard at work connecting it to every aspect of the Star Wars Universe, including the Sequel Trilogy. By being set decades before The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian has been able to lay a steady stream of breadcrumbs that lead up to its exciting finale.

10 Force Healing

One of the most significant Force abilities Grogu has shown in The Mandalorian is to help heal others, such as when he applied it to Greef Karga’s wound and saved his life. Its streaming debut coincided with the release of The Rise of Skywalker, not only making it canon but giving the series and the movie a strong connection.

While Force healing has existed for some time in Star Wars Legends, it’s a power that’s only been seen so far in media produced for the Star Wars Universe by Disney. The characters who can perform it so far have been Grogu, Rey, and Ben Solo.

9 Red Five

Star Wars fans rejoiced when they saw a familiar X-wing appear in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. There was only one person flying Red Five at that time, and he happened to have a green lightsaber, a black gloved hand, and a boyish haircut. That’s right – franchise veteran and hero Luke Skywalker had come to save the day and train Grogu.

His famous starfighter would make another appearance decades later in The Rise of Skywalker, when just like in the swamps of Dagobah, Luke’s X-wing was at the bottom of the sea off Ahch-To. This time, he could lift it out himself, which he did in order to provide Rey a means to travel to Exegol and defeat the Emperor once and for all.

8 Using Force Sensitive Individuals For Palpatine’s Regeneration

In the very beginning of the series, The Client seeks out Grogu for his Force sensitivity, looking to extract part of his DNA to use in some mysterious experiment. Moff Gideon’s aim is very much the same, and in Season 2 he succeeds where the Imperial loyalist failed, acquiring some of Grogu’s DNA for some nefarious ends, which some fans believe may be to help in Emperor Palpatine’s regeneration.

The Sequel Trilogy already showed the First Order -itself an evolution of the Imperial Remnant- abducting Force sensitive individuals (like Finn) to fill its ranks. Finn leads a ground assault against a Star Destroyer because he has a “feeling”, and his Force sensitivity helps him strike a decisive blow against the Final Order fleet.

7 Snoke And Palpatine’s Transference of Consciousness

In exchange for repairs on Nevarro, Mando agrees to infiltrate an Imperial facility with Cara Dune and Greef Karga, but what’s supposed to be an old outpost is secretly a science facility. What they encounter makes it no stretch of the imagination to think the experiments at the facility tie into the events of The Rise of Skywalker. 

They come across a recording of Dr. Pershing, who mentions requiring a blood donor who has a “high M count,” a reference to midichlorians, the microscopic life forms existing in all living cells that help facilitate communication with the Force. That reference, when combined with the sight of several cloning-like vats, indicate this could be where bodies were grown for Palpatine to inhabit or control, like Supreme Leader Snoke.

6 Genetic Engineering And Cloning

When first interacting with Kuiil, Mando learns the Ugnaught had something to do with genetic engineering when he uses the word “strandcast” to describe Grogu. The way Kuiil explains it, Grogu is “too ugly” to be a strandcast, but the use of the new term in the Star Wars franchise does point towards the Imperials’ continued use of cloning going all the way back to the days of the Clone Wars.

In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine has returned through an inventive use of cloning, though not for his own body per se. He’s created various vessels for his consciousness to inhabit. Fans are specifically made aware Snoke was a clone because of the amount of unused Snoke clones bobbing in vats on Exegol.

5 Yellow Blaster Bolts

There have been a variety of blaster bolts used in the franchise, with the most common colors being red and green, their hue giving the ability to distinguish friend from foe. In the second season of The Mandalorian while on the planet Trask, Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves and her crew use yellow bolts, which seem to be both unique and rare.

While seeking the Sith wayfinder on Mustafar, Kylo Ren fights through throngs of pilgrims protecting Darth Vader’s castle, and the First Order infantry behind him fires yellow blaster bolts, perhaps indicating that 30 years after The Mandalorian such a hue is plentiful.

4 Blue Butterflies And Ben Solo

When Grogu and Din Djarin head to Tython, it’s with the hope the tiny Force user will be able to use the seeing stone to send a signal to any remaining Jedi in the galaxy. While Grogu sits on the stone and appears to go into a trance-like state of meditation, blue butterflies begin to encircle him. It’s possible he’s being reached out to by a very important Force adept.

The Rise of Skyualker introduces fans to Ben Solo after Kylo Ren casts off his Sith identity and embraces the light side. The movie may be the only time Ben appears on screen, but in a special episode of Star Wars Roll Out for the official Star Wars Kids Youtube Channel, Ben Solo is surrounded by blue butterflies. It’s possible that at 4 or 5 years old, Ben Solo was communicating with Grogu across space and time, much like he did with Rey.

3 Galactic Laws And Droid Reprogramming

During Mando’s time with Kuiil, the inventive scavenger is busy rewiring IG-11, a dangerous assassin droid he feels will make a perfect domestic, capable of keeping Grogu safe. He’s able to reprogram IG-11’s basic functions “under the charter of the New Republic,” implying the new governing body needed to rewrite some of the galactic laws after the fall of the Empire.

There was already precedent for governments dictating droid programming. In The Rise of Skywalker, C-3PO’s memory has to be given a reset in order to get him to be able to speak the language of the Sith. When the Empire was first created, Palpatine mandated no droids would be allowed to speak the ancient tongue, and their programming was changed accordingly.

2  Rey’s Hairstyle

In the Season 2 episode “The Siege”, which finds Mando an Grogu reuniting with their old friends Greef Karga and Cara Dune on Nevarro, Grogu is sent to spend time with some children at a school while Mando takes a side job in exchange for repairs to his ship.

As Grogu settles into the lesson, the humans around him react in various levels of maturity to the newest and greenest addition to their class. One little girl who’s sitting behind him wears her hair in the same three-bun updo Rey sports for The Rise of Skywalker, a look she hadn’t worn since The Force Awakens. 

1 Mandalorian Ships To The Rescue

Though fans might have to wait until Season 3 to see the Mandalorian’s homeworld, they’ve been getting pieces of Mandalorian history from various characters in the series, such as the Armorer, Bo-Katan, Moff Gideon, and of course, Din Djarin himself.

Though the Mandalorians and the Republic/Jedi have a history of bloodshed between them, when Lando Calrissian has to drum up Resistance allies to battle the Final Order, Mandalorians answer the call. As can be seen in several shots, a Mandalorian Fang Fighter is among the thousands of ships that come to the aid of Poe Dameron and the Resistance fleet.

About The Author

Kayleena Pierce-Bohen
(1344 Articles Published)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she’s particularly proud of. When she isn’t writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she’s working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

More From Kayleena Pierce-Bohen