Season 1 of The Mandalorian has wrapped, and Star Wars fans are already calling it the series that saved the franchise. It premiered as the flagship of Disney+ in November, when support for Disney's sequel trilogy was at an all-time low, and managed to do what no one in the fandom thought possible; appease it. Creator Jon Favreau sought to bring in elements of the classic original trilogy, combined with the new storytelling methods of David Filoni from Star Wars: Rebels, to create a series that showcased the best the franchise had to offer.
With renowned directors lining up to put their personal stamp on a new episode every week, and fun cameos from veteran character actors like Amy Sedaris and Clancy Brown, the series about a lone Mandalorian gunslinger (Pedro Pascal) making his way in the frontier of the galaxy's Outer Rim couldn't fail. But what if 10 of these bad fan theories had come true?
THE CLIENT WAS A FAMOUS JEDI
When fans first got word that Werner Herzog was going to be portraying "The Client" soliciting the Mandalorian's services, they eagerly wondered if he might be Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Even when they learned he had ties to the Empire, they focused on him working with a doctor bearing a badge from Kamino, the planet where clones were made to populate the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars.
It was Sifo-Dyas who urged the Jedi Council to make a Clone Army, and even though he was reportedly killed by a bounty hunter in the employ of Darth Sidious, his body was never found. However, the likelihood of his remaining hidden throughout the entire unfolding of the Galactic Civil War would have been highly unlikely.
THE MANDALORIANS WERE DROIDS
Many Star Wars fans are aware of the Mandalore Purge, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Mandalorians and the near extinction of their way of life. This caused some Star Wars fans to wonder if the remaining Mandalorians seen in the Disney+ series were droids, not humans.
Being a Mandalorian isn't dependent on race, religion, age, or a variety of other factors, so being a droid and a Mandalorian is possible. This was compounded by the fact that the Mando never removed his helmet, but eventually, we do see under the helmet, so the droid theory goes out the hangar bay.
THE CHILD WAS A YODA CLONE
From the moment "The Child" appeared in The Mandalorian, fans were hooked. Many theories erupted around his appearance, as well as his Force sensitivity. He resembled a smaller version of Jedi Master Yoda, yet over the entire Skywalker saga, nothing had ever been revealed about the tiny green Jedi's species (only that he's over 900 years old and lived during the Clone Wars).
Fans thought perhaps he was a clone of Yoda, a thought given some credence when fans considered that Emperor Palpatine was returning for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, possibly with the use of cloning. Ultimately, Ugnaught Kuill laid those theories to rest, having had some experience with cloning in servitude to the Empire and declaring The Child to be free of genetic engineering.
THE CHILD HELD THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF ANOTHER JEDI/SITH
Pretty much the entirety of The Mandalorian, fans wondered exactly how the child could have such extensive Force powers being so infantile. It can Force heal like Rey and Force choke like Darth Vader, which made fans conclude it had to hold the consciousness of a famous Jedi or Sith.
Either Yoda had transferred his consciousness into it, or someone like Palpatine was using Baby Yoda to leapfrog into bodies on his way to Exegol. Season 1 didn't exactly disprove this theory, but it seems highly unlikely that a Jedi or Sith would choose to have their consciousness imprisoned in something barely a foot tall that requires being fed and changed daily.
BOBA FETT WAS THE REAL MANDALORIAN
For some Star Wars fans, there will only ever be one Mandalorian in their hearts, and that's Boba Fett. Arguably the most famous bounty hunter to wear Mandalorian armor, Fett is not tied to the ancient warrior brotherhood like the protagonist of the Disney+ series.
His father Jango Fett, another famous bounty hunter to wear beskar plating, was adopted by the Mandalorians when he was orphaned as a boy. Fans wanted very badly to see Fett appear in the series, especially when a mysterious stranger was teased in episode 5, but it isn't Fett's story, especially since he should still be being digested in the Sarlacc Pit.
OBI-WAN KENOBI SAVED THE MANDALORIAN
As many Star Wars fans know, Disney+ is expanding the galaxy far, far away with several upcoming live-action series. One of the most hotly anticipated of these focuses on Obi-Wan Kenobi between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars.
In order to connect the Kenobi series with The Mandalorian, fans had surmised that he's the one that saved Mando when his home was being attacked by Imperial battle droids. For that to be the case, he would have had to do it during the Clone Wars, when he was fighting off droid attacks with Anakin, and this seems highly unlikely.
THE FIRST ORDER APPEARED
Some fans theorized that, with The Mandalorian being set 5-7 years after Return of the Jedi, the first vestiges of the First Order would appear. Given that the Empire was destroyed and the Rebel Alliance needed to build the New Republic, it would make sense that the Empire would need to rebuild its fleet into something else.
However, the series takes place on the Outer Rim, and there wouldn't be any reason for the First Order to have anything to do with Mando or his bounties. Remnants of the Empire were still around, and it was more fun to see what had become of its dilapidated martial forces.
SEQUEL TRILOGY CHARACTERS SHOWED UP
As much as Star Wars fans wanted to see what Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa were up to after Return of the Jedi, their focus wasn't on places like Tatooine anymore but rebuilding the New Republic in the Core Worlds. And new sequel trilogy characters like Rey, Poe, Finn, and Kylo Ren were too young to be doing anything of consequence.
Besides, having sequel trilogy characters show up in The Mandalorian would have only eroded its appeal with the unnecessary guff from disgruntled fans. With them remaining in their own films, the show could remain insular and respected for its own merit.
THE MANDALORIAN WAS THE LAST OF THE CLONE TROOPERS
If you've watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels, you've seen much more of the clone troopers than in either Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones or Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, as the animated series often focused on the daily life of the soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic.
One of the most famous of the clone troopers was Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker's designated "first in command" and an exemplary soldier. He would eventually fight in the Battle of Endor, and be roughly in his mid-50's, making some Star Wars fans think that the Mandalorian could be a similarly scrappy clone trooper that survived the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.
CARA DUNE WAS RELATED TO PADME
Cara Dune is one of the most dynamic characters in The Mandalorian, and gave us a fascinating glimpse at a different side of the Rebel Alliance in Season 1. She was a shocktrooper who wasn't ready to lose the adrenaline ride after the Galactic Civil War was over, and parleyed her skills as a mercenary when Mando and the child found her.
Fans have known she would be appearing in the series since it debuted, but didn't know they'd have to wait until Episode 4 to meet her. Some speculated that she was going to turn out to be a distant relative of Padme Amidala's, or some member of a known aristocratic family in the Star Wars Universe, but we're personally glad she has no such ancestry and gets to make her own legacy.