All you Star Wars fans need to catch The Mandalorian’s recently aired episode that dropped on Disney Plus when given the opportunity. With Bo-Katan Kryze progressing with her role among the covert and an impending shift of paradigm for her people, there’s really a lot to digest. However, as the main storyline becomes more immersive, one cameo appearance will delight Rebels fans. This piece will explore how that came about and how it affects the future of The Mandalorian series.
That massive Star Wars Rebels cameo in The Mandalorian explained
With Din Djarin’s continued focus on his covert operations, The Mandalorian season 3 episode 5 focuses mainly on a storyline initially conceived in a previous chapter. In episode 1, Greef Karga and Din take Vane, a Nikto pirate, out of the equation, after causing unrest in Nevarro. This drives Vane’s pirate boss, Gorian Shard, to pursue Din but his attempts deem futile with the latter’s continued quest to locate the Living Waters beneath Mandalore’s surface.
Shard launches an offensive strike on the self-sufficient Nevarro in retaliation to Karga’s onslaught on his troopers. The planet’s high magistrate consequently reaches out to Captain Carson Teva requesting assistance to repel the continued incursion on their system. However, Nevarro’s deterrence to be governed by the New Republic results in its forces restraining from safeguarding the system.
In a last-ditch effort, Teva journeys to the covert’s location after acquiring it from R5-D4. Din Djarin assembles other Mandalorians seeking support following the New Republic’s captain’s relay of Karga’s request for assistance. Shard is managed to be defeated, and his forces are rendered incapacitated following the covert’s forces’ arrival on Nevarro, much to the relief of its inhabitants. The success of halting the incursion prompts Karga to gift a sizable stretch of land to the Mandalorians on the outskirts of the city to call their own.
Just prior to Teva delivering Karga’s message to the Mandalorians, he has a brief encounter with a towering ape-like alien while having a drink at a New Republic base. A prominent character from the Star Wars Rebels series, Zeb Orrelios, the beloved bruiser of the Ghost crew, makes an appearance in a live-action adaptation for the first time as he cautions Teva regarding petitioning New Republic support for Nevarro.
Chronologically, in this timeline, Zeb is apparently a fully integrated part of the New Republic’s armed forces after his participation in the rebellion that took down the Empire. This event also chronicles the first time a crew member of the Ghost appeared in a live Star Wars project, potentially hinting at the beloved animated series’ leap in the future.
What this Star Wars cameo means for The Mandalorian
Since the premiere of The Mandalorian back in 2019, it’s quite evident that there’s an overall story being developed to revitalize Star Wars. After the Sequel Trilogy received mixed reviews, it seemed that the responsibility of carrying the weight of the franchise fell upon the Beskar-plated shoulders of Din Djarin and Grogu. For the time being, it seems like the pair is doing a pretty decent job of bringing new stories to the screen that will intrigue fans to tune in to Star Wars’ offerings on Disney Plus.
