FATHER AND SON

NOW THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER, MANDO AND BABY YODA WILL HAVE PLENTY TO KEEP THEM OCCUPIED IN SEASON THREE - AS THE MANDALORIAN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER RICK FAMUYIWA EXPLAINS

- RICHARD EDWARDS

THE YEARS BETWEEN 1980 AND 1983 were a cruel time to be a Star Wars fan. The Empire Strikes Back left Han Solo on ice while Luke Skywalker pondered his parentage, and there wasn't even the dubious treat of a Holiday Special to tide everyone over until Return Of The Jedi.

Fast forward 40 years and The Mandalorian's season two finale created a similar state of limbo, as Force-sensitive sprog Grogu (you know him as Baby Yoda) went off with Luke Skywalker (yes, that Luke Skywalker) to learn the ways of the Jedi. The eponymous Mando, Din Djarin (The Last Of Us's Pedro Pascal), was left heartbroken, and the rest of us shared his pain, as Star Wars' most successful double-act since C-3PO and R2-D2 was tragically torn apart.

Even in an era when there's enough new Star Wars content to fill a space cruiser or two, the two-and-a-bit years since that fateful episode have felt like an eternity. But the Star Wars gods (otherwise known as series creator Jon Favreau and Lucasfilm's executive creative director Dave Filoni) were smiling upon us, and used their divine influence to ensure the wait wasn't quite so long.

The final three episodes of spin-off show The Book Of Boba Fett subsequently morphed into The Mandalorian 2.5, as Djarin learned some painful home truths from his Mandalorian brethren (more on that later) and Grogu decided that Jedi school probably wasn't for him after all. The duo were reunited and all felt well with the galaxy - an admission, perhaps, that The Mandalorian's hotly anticipated third season could never really have functioned without the odd couple who form the series' core.