Warning! SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 1 finale ahead.
The new information revealed about Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian season 1 finale might be setting up Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7. The Disney+ series wrapped its eight episode first season with a finale that resolves the immediate threat to Baby Yoda, but also teases new adventures for the child and its de facto father, the Mandalorian hunter whose name is now confirmed to be Din Djarin.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an animated series that ran for five seasons on Cartoon Network and covers events between Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Following the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm, its future was put on hold before returning for a season 6 on Netflix consisting of the show's remaining produced episodes. Since then, The Clone Wars season 7 has been announced for a revival on Disney+, premiering in February 2020. It will consist of 12 episodes and will cover the storylines from the show's originally planned final season. These will include episodes covering the Siege of Mandalore, a defining moment from the final days of the Clone Wars.
The Mandalorian was created by Jon Favreau, but Dave Filoni, supervising director for The Clone Wars and its sequel series, Star Wars Rebels, is also an executive producer in addition to director and writer. Filoni's fingerprints are on The Mandalorian as much as Favreau's, and Moff Gideon and his ties with Mandalore could very well be setting up whatever new information The Clone Wars season 7 reveals about the Siege of Mandalore.
Clone Wars Season 7 Is About The Siege Of Mandalore
The Siege of Mandalore is an event from the final days of the Clone Wars that saw the Galactic Republic attack Mandalore in an attempt to oust control of the planet from the former Sith Lord, Maul. The attack is led by the former Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, and the clone trooper Captain Rex. They work with Bo-Katan Kryze and her Death Watch faction (relabeled the Mandalorian Resistance following Maul's takeover) to target Maul while fighting breaks out across Mandalore. Maul is eventually captured and Bo-Katan is named ruler, but not long after, Chancellor Palpatine initiates Order 66. The ensuing chaos allows for Maul to escape, but so do Ahsoka and Rex. In the end, the newly christened Galactic Empire gains control and occupies Mandalore.
As part of its final season, The Clone Wars was always going to explore this conflict as well as others that lead directly into the events of Revenge of the Sith and the rise of the Empire. Currently, all we know about the Siege of Mandalore comes from brief mentions across Star Wars media - in the novel Ahsoka, on Star Wars Rebels, and here again on The Mandalorian - as well what's been revealed in interviews about The Clone Wars final season following its initial cancellation. Now, however, the siege itself will finally be featured in The Clone Wars season 7, and the introduction of Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian could be helping to set up whatever new information is revealed.
Moff Gideon Has Been To Mandalore
Only recently introduced as the main villain of The Mandalorian, Moff Gideon is a mysterious and clearly dangerous character. A former Imperial Security Bureau officer, it's Gideon who is really hunting the Child for some as of yet unknown but undoubtedly devious reason. When confronting Djarin, Cara Dune, and Greef Karga on Nevarro, he makes his connections to Mandalore known early on, sharing such details as the Mandalorian's real name - something that could only have been learned by searching through records on Mandalore.
It trasnpires that Gideon is also in possession of the Darksaber, a black lightsaber that originally belonged to the first Mandalorian Jedi, Tarre Vizsla, but has since become a highly regarded weapon among the Mandalorian clans. It was last seen in the possession of Bo-Katan during Star Wars Rebels, given to her by Sabine Wren after she reclaimed it first from Dathomir (where Maul left it) and then again from Gar Saxon, the puppet ruler of Mandalore installed by the Empire. Exactly how Gideon is now in possession of the Darksaber remains a mystery, but knowing he was also involved in the Empire's Great Purge of Mandalore, it's likely he took the blade then, perhaps even from Bo-Katan or another of her clan.
But Gideon may have also been to Mandalore prior to the Great Purge because he makes mention of the Siege of Mandalore in The Mandalorian season 1 finale. Granted, he only refers to songs written about the siege, but his reference could very well be a clue to his involvement. After all, the Empire grew out of the Republic and many who served the Republic continued to work for the Empire once it emerged.
Moff Gideon Could Have Fought In Siege Of Mandalore
There are many details still unknown about the Siege of Mandalore, but it's generally described as the Republic sending their forces to liberate and not occupy the planet. However, seeing as the Republic is in the final throes of becoming the Empire during the Siege of Mandalore, liberation was probably never really an option. In The Mandalorian season 1 finale, Gideon speaks of a horrific event call The Night of a Thousand Tears in where Mandalorian recruits are gunned down with an earlier version of the E-Web blaster seen in the episode. Such a tragedy sounds more in line with the Empire's tactics than the Republic's, and it may be that Mandalore is one of the first planets to endure the Empire's cruelty - especially if a ruthless character like Gideon is in anyway involved.
It's hard to say exactly when The Night of a Thousands Tears takes place, and over the course of the Siege of Mandalore, there are various factions vying for control of the planet. If The Night of a Thousand Tears occurs while the Republic is fighting those Mandalorians loyal to Maul, then the massacre makes a certain amount of sense and could be chalked up to a regrettable tragedy of war. But if The Night of a Thousand Tears comes after Palpatine executes Order 66, then it's more likely that the Mandalorian recruits killed are those standing up against the Empire's takeover. The line between Republic and Empire is blurred during this time, but such a brutal move is exactly the kind of thing the Empire would do to quell any remaining unrest and restore order on Mandalore. And given how The Mandalorian establishes Gideon as being who relishes cruel punishment, it wouldn't be surprising to learn he's somehow involved.
The transition between Republic and Empire happens frighteningly fast, and it creates opportunities for those willing to do anything to rise in the ranks. A person like Gideon would do very well in such a situation, easily pivoting away from liberating Mandalore and restoring Bo-Katan as its rightful leader, to helping the Empire secure its hold on a valuable planet. If this is the case, and Gideon is not only present for the siege but plays an important role in capturing Mandalore for the Empire, then him having a continued presence on Mandalore makes sense. It would explain not only how he knows who Din Djarin is, but his involvement in the Great Purge, and even his possession of the Darksaber. Only Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 can reveal what really happens during the Siege of Mandalore, but it's certainly possible that The Mandalorian's Moff Gideon had a role to play.