Star Wars Takes Its First Step Toward Retconning The Sequel Trilogy
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Published Apr 22, 2026, 5:15 PM EDT
Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers.
Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism.
After seven years, Star Wars is taking its first legitimate step towards retconning the divisive sequel trilogy. The sequel trilogy of Star Wars movies proved incredibly divisive when they were being released. Though The Force Awakens was met with almost universal praise, The Last Jedi created a huge rift in the fanbase, and The Rise of Skywalker was almost universally panned by critics and viewers alike.
The Mandalorian is largely about Din Djarin battling against the Imperial Remnants of the Galactic Empire. Through that story, Star Wars is giving viewers more context and information about how the Empire would eventually morph into the First Order by the time of the sequel trilogy. The Mandalorian also explored some aspects of Project Necromancer to give Palpatine's return even more context, and Ahsoka provided a deep dive into the state of the New Republic and the wherabout of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
For the most part, the Mandoverse has only been recontextualizing the sequel trilogy and not outright retconning it. All of these new story elements, from Project Necromancer to the Imperial Remnants, were added to make the sequels more sensible and easy to follow. They didn't really change anything about the sequels, they just added more context. The upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu, however, may be Star Wars' first legitimate attempt at retconning the sequel trilogy.
The "Main" Star Wars Canon Has Always Been The Movies
A big reason the Mandoverse wasn't capable of outright retconning the Star Wars sequel trilogy is because it consisted of television shows. The main Star Wars canon, however, at least in the eyes of general audiences, has always been the mainline Star Wars movies. It can be a bit hard for dedicated Star Wars fans to admit, but the franchise's shows simply aren't popular enough for the average viewer to see them as anything more than side adventures.
The vast majority of Star Wars shows haven't become mainstream hits. The Clone Wars, Ahsoka, Andor, and The Bad Batch were popular among dedicated Star Wars fans, but the average viewer hasn't seen them. The Star Wars movies, on the other hand, are culturally ubiquitous. Finding someone who has never seen a Star Wars film is a rare occurrence, and every entry into the sequel trilogy earned over a billion dollars.
Even a show like The Mandalorian that gained a huge following isn't really viewed as part of the main Star Wars canon by casual viewers. Din Djarin and Grogu are beloved characters who have reached the mainstream, but their stories are generally seen as side adventures that don't really affect the Star Wars movies. Star Wars, to most people, is the Jedi and the Skywalkers, not The Mandalorian.
Because of this view, The Mandalorian and other Star Wars shows could really only be supplemental to the main Star Wars movies. Everything in the Mandoverse and the other shows fits into the framework of the movies. There are obviously some changes and additions to canon, but they never make a big impact on the Skywalker Saga. You can watch the Star Wars movies without having seen any of the shows, but the reverse isn't true.
The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Bringing The Mandoverse's Recontextualization To The Big Screen
Credit: MovieStillsDB
It's important to note that the main Star Wars canon, as casual viewers see it, only relates to the franchise's movies because of the next Star Wars movie: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The Mandalorian and Grogu, as a movie, has a chance to actually change the way most viewers see Star Wars canon. The way it could change Star Wars canon would also change a lot about the sequel trilogy.
It's very telling that Star Wars' first theatrical release in the nine years since The Rise of Skywalker is set in the interim between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The Mandalorian and Grogu is a return to form, and it taking place before the sequel trilogy is a sign that Star Wars is trying to walk back the last chapter of the sequel trilogy, to an extent. It's a signal that the future of Star Wars is in Din Djarin's hands, not Rey Skywalker's.
Several recent and upcoming Star Wars projects are retconning the sequel trilogy by providing a brand-new story set after Return of the Jedi.
While that's good news for Star Wars fans who didn't like the sequel trilogy, fans of Rey's journey can also rest easy. It doesn't seem like The Mandalorian and Grogu will actually outright contradict anything in the sequels. There are also upcoming Star Wars movies that center around Rey and her story, such as the New Jedi Order movie and Simon Kinberg's yet-untitled trilogy.
Still, the fact that Star Wars is placing its proverbial eggs in the basket of The Mandalorian and Grogu instead of the sequel trilogy is telling. The next upcoming Star Wars movie, Starfighter, is also set in the New Republic era of the Star Wars timeline as well. All of this suggests a larger pivot away from the sequel trilogy and towards more classic stories like The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Credit: MovieStillsDB
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