The fan-favorite animated TV show,Star Wars: The Bad Batch, has come to an end, and that ending has helped me to predict how the story ofThe Mandalorianwill ultimately conclude, too. As of right now,The Mandalorianis far from over.Star Wars’first live-action TV show is about to make the leap to the big screen withThe Mandalorian and Grogumoviein 2026, beginning a new chapter for the beloved father-son duo, Din Djarin and Grogu.
But good stories don’t go on forever, and one day, Din Djarin and Grogu’s journey must come to an end. I don’t often like to think about the day my favoriteStar Warsproject will reach its conclusion, but I was forced to face that reality when the runner-up for that title,The Bad Batch, ended in 2024. In comparing my two favoriteStar Warsstories, I began to realize thatThe Bad Batchsesaon 3’s endingcould actually be a precursor toThe Mandalorian’s, as it follows a well-established pattern.
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Their Core Concepts Are Very Similar
First, it’s important to establish why I would even think about comparing these twoStar Warsstories and givingThe Bad Batchsuch strong weight in my predictions forThe Mandalorian’s future. The fact is that the story ofThe Bad Batchhas actually been parallelingThe Mandalorianever since season 1, with a few unique twists. Even their core concepts are virtually the same:weathered warriors become adoptive fathers to children who are, technically, older than them. It’s beautifully uncanny.
What started as subtle parallels inThe Bad Batchseasons 1 and 2 became even more evident in season 3.The Bad Batchseason 3’s entire storyline is based onOmega, the youngest member ofClone Force 99, having a high M-count, a term that was coined for Grogu inThe Mandalorianbased on the controversial concept ofmidichloriansfromStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.Project Necromanceris also key to this story, which was first introduced inThe Mandalorianseason 3.
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There are plenty of other subtle parallels between the two stories as well, from the destruction of theMarauderjust before Omega’s capture echoing the shock of theRazor Crest’s destruction before Grogu’s capture to the use of juggernaut vehicles during the search for the captured children, but the one I want to focus on takes place in season 1 of both shows. Early on,both Din Djarin and Clone Force 99 establish a goal for the children in their care.
They Want To Give Their Children A Better Life
We see inThe Mandalorianepisode 4 “Chapter 4: Sanctuary” that Din Djarin knows Grogu deserves a childhood that’s not spent on the run in the midst of his dangerous livelihood.“Traveling with me,” Din tells Cara Dune, “that’s no life for a kid.“This same sentiment is reflected when the Batch, namely Hunter, tries to send Omega off with Cut and Suu Lawquane in episode 2 “Cut and Run.““You two can give her something that we can’t,“the clone sergeant insists.
In both instances, we see that, ultimately, Din Djarin’s and Hunter’s reluctant efforts to leave the kids behind are in vain.
These words come from both men after they’ve been told by others that they should consider settling down and making new lives for themselves and the child in their care. Omera reiterates that to Din Djarin when he approaches her to ask about leaving Grogu with her, saying, “You can pack all this away in case there’s ever trouble. You and your boy could have a good life.” Similarly, Cut gives Hunter this advice in regard to safely hiding, telling him to “Put being a soldier behind you and make a new life for yourself.”
In both instances, we see that, ultimately, Din Djarin’s and Hunter’s reluctant efforts to leave the kids behind are in vain. Circumstances - a bounty hunter on Sorgan and Omega’s own desire to stay with the Batch, respectively - quickly lead to the warriors having their child back in their care. Whilewe haven’t seen the full evolution of this in Din Djarin’s story yet, we have for the Bad Batch. This moment in “Cut and Run” played an important part in it, too.
By the end ofThe Bad Batch, Hunter and his brothers have ultimately succeeded in achieving what they wanted: a peaceful childhood for Omega.The Bad Batchseason 2 planted the seeds for this by showing how Hunter’s decision-making began to revolve around doing what would lead to the chance to find a place where Omega wouldn’t be surrounded by war. Pabu wins them that chance, and they end up living most of their lives there in peace - andI think Din Djarin’s storyline could end up doing the same thing.
Din Djarin Has Already Learned That Peace Is Worth Fighting For
He Argued For It Himself In Season 3
Like Hunter and the Batch inThe Bad Batchseason 1, Din Djarin isn’t ready to give up his warrior lifestyle yet when he first confronts the idea of settling down, going so far as to suggest he doesn’t “belong here” on Sorgan. Being a Mandalorian is all he knows after losing his parents and being rescued, just like how the clone troopers only knew how to be soldiers.Din still, however, considers the idea of peace, and it’s a value he’s brought up again quite recently.
Being a Mandalorian is all he knows after losing his parents and being rescued, just like how the clone troopers only knew how to be soldiers.
InThe Mandalorianseason 3, episode 5 “Chapter 21: The Pirate,” Din Djarin gives a surprisingly moving speech to his fellow Mandalorians to encourage them to rescue Greef Karga and the rest ofNevarrofrom pirates. “Perhaps it is time for us to live in the light once again on a planet where we are welcome,” he says. “So our culture may flourish and our children can feel what it is to play in the sunlight.” This, at least to me, sounds like a value that’s very close to his own heart, especially as the camera pans to Grogu on “children.”
Din Djarin’s emphasis on peace can also be seen inThe Mandalorianseason 3’s ending, even as he establishes his gateway into his and Grogu’s next adventures: the Mandalorian apprentice journeys Grogu will have to complete. Rather than remaining on Mandalore,Din elects to accept the small parcel of land Greef Karga had offered him earlier in season 3, giving them a peaceful place of residence to rest in between adventures. This proves that such peace is certainly still in mind for Din Djarin.
Din Djarin Will Return To His “Sanctuary” When The Remnant Is Defeated
While Din Djarin may have found a small pocket of peacefulness in his cabin on Nevarro with Grogu, it’s still leaps and bounds from a true life of relaxation, as he’s still planning on bounty hunting with Grogu and training his adopted son to be a Mandalorian. This, however, is likely becauseDin knows there’s still a threat out there. This was the same for the Bad Batch, who had found Pabu in season 2 but couldn’t remain there because, as Hunter states, “Our mission is not over yet.”
Omega and Crosshair were both still in Imperial captivity, which continued the rest of Clone Force 99’s mission until they were all safe. Din still has to ensure that same future for Grogu, too, and verify that his son receives the proper training he needs to keep himself safe - just as Omega got with her brothers during the course ofThe Bad Batch. There is, however, another detail that ties these two ideas even more closely together:the word “sanctuary.”
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The Sorgan episode inThe Mandalorianis titled “Chapter 4: Sanctuary,” and the newly announcedThe Bad Batchnovel arriving this August is also titledStar Wars: Sanctuary.Both these stories take place at times when Din Djarin and Clone Force 99, respectively, are first discovering their titular sanctuary planets, and aren’t quite yet ready to settle there full-time. Now, however, we know that the Batch comes back to make their sanctuary their home.
I don’t think this is a coincidence in the slightest. It would be perfectly full-circle for Din Djarin to return to Sorgan one day and live out the rest of his life there, even if Grogu goes on to become a Mandalorian warrior just like his father. Grogu will have a long life beyond his father, after all, similarly to how Omega will likely far outlive her accelerated-aging brothers.The Mandalorianseems to be leading to this point, and to me, it would be the perfect way to end their story.
