The Mandalorian season 3 premiered on March 1, 2023, and continued the adventures of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu after they were reunited in The Book of Boba Fett. Viewers will recall that Djarin and Grogu had a bittersweet parting at the end of The Mandalorian season 2. After a long journey with Grogu, Djarin learned that he has ties to the Jedi and had previously trained in the Jedi temple. As a result, he made the difficult decision to leave Grogu in the care of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) so that he could complete his Jedi training.
Fortunately, in The Book of Boba Fett, Grogu was permitted to choose for himself whether he wished to continue training with Luke or leave his training behind to go be with Djarin instead. He ultimately chose the latter. Grogy was reunited with Djarin in the season finale of The Book of Boba Fett. The two ended up flying into the sunset together in Djarin’s new N-1 starfighter ship, and The Mandalorian season 3 picked up with them continuing their journey through the galaxy.
Nearly two real-life years passed between the release of The Mandalorian season 2 and season 3. But in viewers’ minds, not too much time seemed to have passed between Grogu’s and Djarin’s parting and reunion. It seemed like Djarin spent maybe a couple of months searching for his fellow Mandalorians, getting a new ship, and helping Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) on Tatooine. Surely, his small adventure in The Book of Boba Fett didn’t take years … right?
How long was Grogu actually with Luke?
We were comfortable with the idea of Grogu spending a few months with Luke, mostly because it would break our hearts to think he was away from Djarin for longer. However, Jon Favreau threw this comfort and the entire Mandalorian timeline into question recently. During a roundtable interview with Skytalkers, Favreau said of Grogu:
We know that he started off earlier in the Jedi Temple, we’ve seen flashbacks … that speak to that. And then we know that he’s been rescued and spent many years with The Mandalorian, went back with Luke [Skywalker], now he’s been two years apart from him, training.
The statement circulated the internet quickly, as viewers questioned how two whole years had passed by. Not only did it make the separation between Grogu and Djarin sadder, but it also just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The biggest question is: if Grogu and Djarin spent two years apart, why don’t they have much to show for it? In two years, Grogu showed barely any mastery or advancement in the Force, and Djarin seemingly did nothing besides help Fett for a few episodes. During a red carpet appearance, Variety asked Favreau to clarify his statement. He did, but kind of didn’t.
Basically, he said that the time passage in The Mandalorian / The Book of Boba Fett corresponded to real-life time. So, The Mandalorian season 2 finale took place roughly 2 years ago, when Grogu and Djarin said goodbye. Then, The Book of Boba Fett premiered roughly 1 year ago, when Grogu and Djarin were reunited. Hence, Favreau implied the two spent a little over a year apart. That kind of explains why Grogu and Luke’s time together felt short.
However, if an additional year took place between The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian season 3, that leaves us with the same problematic question of what Djarin and Grogu did for a whole year. Viewers will just have to get accustomed to the fact that more time has passed in The Mandalorian than we may have expected. We may not get to see all of those years pass by onscreen.
(Featured image: Disney)
