A major change for Coruscant coming in The Mandalorian season 3 has been revealed to be in the works prior to the events of the original Star Wars trilogy. The capital of the galaxy underwent a significant amount of transformation over the span of 30 years due to the rise and fall of the Empire, altering the way much of society operated. The world quickly became the home of the new regime after Emperor Palpatine rose to power, leaving conditions untenable for rebellious protagonists. The situation on Coruscant following Return of the Jedi has largely gone unaddressed in the Star Wars canon.
After the Battle of Endor, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda went into hiding in the Imperial Palace, but Coruscant remained one of the few impenetrable worlds for the New Republic. The Aftermath trilogy depicts Amedda's ultimate surrender after the Empire's definitive defeat at Jakku, marking the end of the Imperial occupation of the world. New Republic Intelligence assets swiftly went to work going through the Emperor's databank preserved by Yrica Quell in Alphabet Squadron: Victory's Price, which contained information on every individual to ever serve the Empire. Military personnel were left at constant risk of capture and prosecution, but what became of the Imperial war machines was a mystery until recently.
The Mandalorian S3 Trailer Revealed Coruscant Has A Massive Shipyard
A shot in the version of The Mandalorian season 3 trailer uploaded to Disney+ reveals an enormous shipyard full of downed Imperial Star Destroyers. The context of the sequence is absent in the footage, but actions taken by the New Republic in other parts of the galaxy indicate what could be happening. Shortly after Endor, the New Republic began constructing Starhawk vessels, made of stripped Star Destroyer parts. The ships debuted in Star Wars: Squadrons and were critical in the Battle of Jakku, justifying their continued production to bolster the New Republic navy.
The New Republic is specifically mentioned in The Mandalorian season 3's synopsis, and the government's larger presence in the show suggests the Starhawks could appear. However, it may not be the heroes overseeing the Star Destroyers in the trailer. Moff Gideon is currently in captivity, but with his escape inevitable, the Imperial Remnant could make a move to liberate one of the command vessels to aid in a battle for Mandalore.
The Coruscant Shipyard Appears In The Bad Batch Season 2
It didn't take much time for the New Republic to find an area for a shipyard. The Bad Batch season 2 brings Clone Force 99 to a similar site, where Vice Admiral Rampart's Venator is undergoing renovations. It's safe to assume the changes in question will transform the command cruisers into the Imperial Star Destroyers while the Emperor simultaneously created the stormtrooper program, signifying a true end to the Clone Wars era. The shipyard itself came as a surprise, as there were no previous indications of such a massive area available on Coruscant for work on vessels of the Star Destroyers' scale.
One possibility is that the shipyard takes over the landing field seen briefly at the end of Attack of the Clones. That location was never featured in the films again and served as a staging area for the Clone army after Geonosis, but there would be no need for that after the end of the war. What looks to be the birthplace of the Imperial Star Destroyer in The Bad Batch may well be the burial site for the vessels that devastated countless worlds when the events of The Mandalorian season 3 take place.
The Mandalorian season 3 premieres March 1, 2023, on Disney+.