The Mandalorian and Grogu: Upcoming Star Wars could offer a new clue about Grogu’s survival after Order 66

The upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu is going to make a major comeback to the Star Wars universe, and the latest batch of official updates and fan speculation has already started to stir excitement.

Lucasfilm has announced that the feature film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, will have a world premiere on May 22, 2026. This marks Star Wars' first theatrical release after the 2019 movie The Rise of Skywalker. The film is helmed by Jon Favreau, who has collaborated with Dave Filoni on writing the script.

The film will likely carry on the saga of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu right after the conclusion of The Mandalorian Season 3. Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White are part of the cast, which increases the fans' curiosity regarding the story that is already being moved from Disney+ to the big screen.

Apart from the excitement over the film's release, Lucasfilm might reveal a mystery that has been a part of Star Wars lore for a long time: how Grogu, the adorable and Force-sensitive foundling, came to survive the Jedi purge known as Order 66. Several sources, like Screen Rant and Youtini, have pointed out that the film is likely going to focus on Grogu’s “lost years” after the Jedi massacre, with fan communities and official media hinting at a reveal.

Still, it is all speculation until Lucasfilm or the creative leads, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, officially acknowledge the plot details of The Mandalorian and Grogu. However, the speculation is based on reasonable narrative development and the present direction of the franchise.

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Could The Mandalorian and Grogu offer a new clue about Grogu’s survival after Order 66?

The moment The Mandalorian Season 2 unveiled Grogu’s ties to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the fans of the series began to be very curious about finding out the truth behind the little one’s survival during Order 66. That galaxy-wide extermination of the Jedi was a campaign of the then Emperor Palpatine and his forces.

Now, The Mandalorian and Grogu could delve into the same mystery, as new clues infer that Grogu’s rescue may not have been an easy one.

An article published by ScreenRant in October 2025 says that the ever-growing Star Wars universe is opening up the possibility for the movie The Mandalorian and Grogu to delve into Grogu’s enigmatic history further. The article suggests that the franchise’s present narrative path, consisting of new visual material and background tie-ins, might allow for divulging a lot more about Grogu's life during the period of the Jedi Order’s downfall.

Although there is no official announcement, the movie is in a good place to cover the plot points that were left hanging in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian Season 3.

The Book of Boba Fett had shown the audience some fragmented memories from the perspective of Grogu. The Jedi protectors of Grogu were killed by clone troopers. The memory froze just as the troopers turned towards him. It was done in a very creative way, and the details were left open for further exploration.

Since then, fan theories have varied widely, ranging from Anakin Skywalker himself sneaking Grogu to the idea that clone troopers apprehended him on Palpatine’s orders for being used in his early cloning experiments.

In the r/StarWarsSpeculation discussions, one of the popular theories is that Grogu was “captured” rather than “saved” or “killed”. The fan theory points out that the clones in Grogu’s Order 66 flashbacks had “lowered” their blasters when they reached him instead of shooting. This might signal that special orders might have been given for getting him alive.

This situation is very similar to Emperor Palpatine’s known and later revealed in The Rise of Skywalker and The Bad Batch, obsession with Force-sensitive beings. The notion that Palpatine wanted to use Grogu’s midichlorian-rich blood as part of his Sith Eternal cloning efforts fits into the overall Star Wars timeline.

The theory further strengthens the evidence from Grogu’s current storyline: the Imperial warlords in The Mandalorian were after Grogu's DNA for “experiments,” that is, they referred specifically to “blood with a high M-count” in Season 2.

Now, The Mandalorian and Grogu might close that narrative loop by confirming that Palpatine had orchestrated Grogu’s survival right from the start, a startling revelation that would connect the prequel, original, and sequel trilogies via Grogu himself.

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Din Djarin and Grogu’s story so far

Ever since he first appeared in The Mandalorian in 2019, Grogu, fondly referred to as “Baby Yoda” by his admirers, has won over the hearts of the Star Wars audience. The emotional aspect of the story has been his combined journey through the galaxy with Din Djarin, which has brought the audience closer to the old and new elements of the franchise.

When Grogu was first introduced, it was as the bounty target that Din Djarin retrieves in Season 1, ignorant of the fact that the child is Force-sensitive. At first, their relationship is that of a mercenary and an asset. But then it gradually develops into that of father and son.

This is especially evident in The Mandalorian Season 3 when the Armorer of the Mandalorian tribe officially proclaims them as “a clan of two.” The mudhorn is adopted as their sigil, representing their companionship and the fights they have shared.

Their adventures have taken them across the galaxy, from the remnants of the Imperial under Moff Gideon to the hiding places of the Jedi with Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker. When Luke proposed that Grogu should be trained in the Jedi’s ways, Grogu finally decided to go back to Din, which reinforced the saga’s main theme of family over destiny.

The Season 3 finale ended with Nevarro being peaceful, where Din took the legal step of adopting Grogu as his son, but the narrative is still ongoing. At the end of the series, after Moff Gideon’s defeat, Din Djarin officially asks the Armorer to take Grogu as his apprentice. The Armorer replies with a ritual, publicly announcing Grogu as a Mandalorian foundling and Djarin’s son:

“Let it be written in song that Din Djarin is adopting this foundling as his son. You are now Din Grogu, Mandalorian apprentice.”

The Mandalorian and Grogu, which was detailed at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025, is set to continue right after the above events. More precisely, the galaxy is in the process of rebuilding itself after the Empire’s fall. Din and Grogu are now unofficially agents of the newly formed New Republic.

Sigourney Weaver’s character is said to be the one who sends them on the missions, whereby they fight against the criminal underworld figures, and the most among them is Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), Jabba’s adult son. Favreau told Games Radar that the duo will undergo moral and political trials, which will bring their relationship to the test like never before.

At the same time, several fans are looking forward to The Mandalorian and Grogu, where the loose ends of The Mandalorian, such as Moff Gideon’s experiments, the rumors of Thrawn’s return from Ahsoka, and the question of Grogu’s full potential and best uses as a Force wielder, will all be intertwined.

According to the current path that Lucasfilm is following, The Mandalorian and Grogu might very well connect different time periods, beyond the Skywalker saga and right into the next era of the Force as perceived through a father and child’s perspective. For those who want to know how Grogu could withstand the darkest time of the galaxy, this film may at last make it clear that the miracle of his survival was, in fact, a part of the plan.

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Also Read: The Mandalorian and Grogu: Hidden details in the new Star Wars movie trailer, revealed