‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Officially Confirmed to Take Place a Decade After ‘Return of the Jedi’

Star Wars has always played loose with exact dates, letting fans piece together the timeline through context clues rather than on-screen text crawls. That approach has worked well for over four decades, but it also leaves plenty of room for lingering questions about exactly when a given story fits into the galaxy’s sprawling history.

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu‘ arrived on Disney+ this month following its theatrical run, bringing Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventure to streaming audiences for the first time. Alongside the film’s release, Lucasfilm also debuted a companion podcast series hosted by writer-director Jon Favreau, featuring in-depth conversations with the cast and creative team behind the movie.

During the first episode of that official podcast, titled “Growing Up,” Sigourney Weaver, who plays Colonel Ward in the film, offered fans a clear placement of the story within the broader Star Wars timeline. Speaking about her character’s role in the New Republic, Weaver explained the story sits “between the Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens,” adding, “so it’s in that 30-year spread. We’re about 10 years into it,” according to Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Official Podcast.

That timeline detail came up as Weaver discussed her character’s background and how Colonel Ward’s military service connects to the wider galaxy’s political situation. Weaver noted that she imagined her character had served alongside Leia, who remains active during this stretch of the timeline, framing Colonel Ward as someone stationed to help protect the fledgling New Republic as it works to stabilize the galaxy following the Empire’s collapse.

Favreau built on that context during the same conversation, drawing a comparison to George Lucas’s influences from World War II films, particularly “Dam Busters” and “Battle of Britain.” He noted that the New Republic’s scattered military structure mirrors the trope of soldiers stationed at a remote outpost, cut off from the tight-knit unit they once relied on, a dynamic Weaver said felt like a meaningful transition for Colonel Ward compared to her wartime service.

That framing helps explain why Colonel Ward operates independently rather than alongside a larger unit when she first crosses paths with Din Djarin in the film, having spent years adjusting to a New Republic that no longer offers the same camaraderie she once had during active conflict.

Beyond the timeline reveal, Favreau and Weaver spent much of the podcast discussing how ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ was designed to invite new audiences into the franchise. Favreau explained that stepping outside the show’s established context gave the story “an opportunity to invite a whole new audience,” particularly younger viewers who might not have watched all the Disney+ series.

Weaver echoed that sentiment, describing how removing the characters from their familiar television setting and placing them in new circumstances created a fresh entry point for viewers, much like her own experience discovering Star Wars as an 11-year-old in 1977. That intentional accessibility appears to be a core part of why the film leans into classic western influences that Favreau said helped shape both the original ‘Mandalorian’ series and this new theatrical chapter.

Throughout the podcast, both Favreau and Weaver emphasized that despite the film’s larger galactic stakes involving Imperial remnants and the fragile New Republic, the emotional core remains Din Djarin and Grogu’s evolving relationship. Weaver described watching that dynamic shift in the film, noting that Din Djarin, who has spent seasons protecting Grogu, now finds himself occasionally needing protection in return as Grogu grows more capable.

With the timeline now firmly established roughly a decade after the fall of the Empire, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ continues expanding the post-‘Return of the Jedi’ era of Star Wars storytelling that Favreau and Dave Filoni have built out across multiple Disney+ series.

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