By George & Josh Bate
Ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu bringing Star Wars back to the big screen after seven years, DK has published a visual guide providing new insights into the world of Din Djarin and Baby Yoda.
Here’s everything we learned from The Mandalorian: The Visual Guide….
The Visual Guide provides a canon term for the sensor data and information overlays that Mandalorians see through the T-visor of their Beskar helmets – Mandovision.
The right pauldron of Din Djarin’s original armor in Season 1 was salvaged from a shoretrooper. Shoretroopers first appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and later appeared in The Mandalorian Season 2 and Andor Season 1.
The Client (played by Werner Herzog) wears a medal known as the Order of the Six-Spoked Roundel. This was a highly regarded honored bestowed for meritorious service to the Empire. The medallion could only be awarded by one of the Grand Moffs or the Emperor himself.
One of the Nevarro Covert Mandalorians is named Kort Bralor and is a member of Clan Bralor. In Legends, Cran Bralor was an ancient Mandalorian clan that first appeared in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
Another one of the Nevarro Covert Mandalorians is named Pen Varad and is a member of Clan Varad. Clan Varad and its leader Marvix were the main antagonists of the “Mandalorian Raiders” flashpoint in The Old Republic.
Another Nevarro Covert Mandalorian is named Emast Kelborn and is a member of Clan Kelborn. This clan was first introduced in Bioware’s MMORPG The Old Republic. It also shares its name with the character Kelborn from Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
The Visual Guide hints that The Armorer was once a member of Maul’s Shadow Collective. Next to a picture of The Armorer’s helmet. arrows point to the horns on the top and read: “Faux cranial horns, a reminder of the past.” Fans have speculated for years that The Armorer is actually Rook Kast, Maul’s first lieutenant seen in The Clone Wars and most recently in Maul – Shadow Lord. The Visual Guide provides the most concrete evidence yet that this fan theory is correct.
During the days of the Old Republic, Zygerrians enslaved entire Ugnaught tribes – from aged elders to helpless Ugletts – and the species was scattered across the galaxy.
Peli Motto has a scheme called “Grand Theft Jawa” in which she programs pit droids to alter a stolen speeder to appear as a different one to then sell to the original owner.
The New Republic correctional transport that Din and others stage Qin’s escape from is named Bothan-5. Bothans were a spy network that was first mentioned in Return of the Jedi and first appeared in canon in the novel Bloodline.
The rare black kyber crystal that powers the Darksaber was found on the icy world of Ilum.
Frog Lady is unfortunately not given an official name in The Visual Guide. The book confirms that her real name is unknown, as is the name of her husband Frog Man.
Frog Lady belongs to the ancient species Rybet. This is a reference to the sound frogs make, typically referred to as “ribbit.”
Greef Karga’s protocol droid assistant is named CU-28 in the book. Previously, the droid was identified as CW-24 through a preview of the Star Wars: Droid Factory figures (CW-24 being a tribute to Greef Karga actor Carl Weathers, who died in 2024). For some reason, the name was then changed to CU-28.
The Visual Guide provides some additional background about Gilad Pellaeon. The book states that he has over five decades of service and has worked with Thrawn for a while. Most interestingly, the book states that “the seasoned captain eagerly awaits word from Morgan Elsbeth on her efforts to ensure Thrawn’s return.” This aligns with Tales of the Empire, which shows Pellaeon and Elsbeth as longstanding followers of Thrawn. Presumably, Pellaeon has loyalty to Thrawn specifically and sees him as heir to the Empire, whereas the rest of the Shadow Council have different plans for reviving the Empire.
The Visual Guide provides some clarity on the motivations of Moff Gideon and the Shadow Council. The Shadow Council is a collective of former high-ranking Imperials determined to bring back the Empire. To do so, the Council commission Project Necromancer, a classified scheme to use advanced cloning techniques (presumably to revive Sheev Palpatine himself). Gideon, however, has “undertaken his own genetic research in private,” which seems to be centered (at least initially) around Grogu. Whereas Brendol Hux and the Shadow Council seemingly aim to clone or revive the Emperor, Gideon has his sights on using similar technology to create Force-sensitive soldiers for his army and to imbue himself with Force-sensitivity. The plans of the Shadow Council and Gideon, meanwhile, contrast those of Thrawn, who wishes to collaborate with the Dathomirian Nightsisters and launch a full-scale war against the New Republic.
Gideon was the person who masterminded the spread of misinformation around the galaxy that Mandalore was cursed, poisoned, and uninhabitable.
A tree outside of Din Djarin and Grogu’s new home on Nevarro is a Meiloorun tree. Meilooruns are a fruit that have featured in a variety of projects, including Star Wars Rebels.
The Visual Guide offers little bits of information about the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu.…
The book confirms that Mando and Grogu track a group of snowtroopers to a snowy planet where an Imperial remnant base is located. This seemingly occurs at the beginning of the movie.
The Visual Guide uses language that suggests there is a time jump between The Mandalorian Season 3 and The Mandalorian and Grogu. It makes reference to them having “grown quite comfortable on Nevarro between assignments” and them having “made a life for themselves.”
By the time of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the New Republic is still largely turning a blind eye to the possible reemergence of the Empire. However, New Republic forces on the fringes of the galaxy, including Carson Teva, Zeb, and Sigourney Weaver’s Conlonel Ward face a starker reality and actively try to root out Imperial holdouts.