Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 5.
Star Wars continues to set up Ranges of the New Republic in The Mandalorian, even though the spinoff series is no longer in active development. While not every live-action Star Wars TV show is part of the Mandoverse, multiple Star Wars stories have been spinning off of The Mandalorian. This includes The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew – shows that would have been joined by Rangers of the New Republic.
The New Republic was destroyed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, right after being mentioned for the first time in a Star Wars movie. As a result, it was up for other Star Wars canon material to fill in the gaps and properly explain what the New Republic was, how it came to be, and how the war against the First Order began. Though The Mandalorian‘s season 3 timeline is closer to the Battle of Endor than The Force Awakens, the show has provided a lot of insight into the New Republic.
The Mandalorian’s Adelphi Rangers Seem Like Clear Spinoff Setup
The Mandalorian season 3, episode 5 “The Pirate” continues the show’s setup for a Rangers of the New Republic story, even though the series is no longer in development. “The Pirate” was heavily focused on Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), an Adelphi New Republic Ranger introduced in The Mandalorian season 2 and who has been a bridge between Mando’s story and the broader New Republic plotline. The latest The Mandalorian episode joins the list of moments in which New Republic Rangers were given a significant amount of screentime in the show, which always pointed to a spinoff focused on them.
Considering how successful The Mandalorian season 1 was, it was only natural that season 2 would leave the door open for potential spinoffs set after Return of the Jedi. Ahsoka Tano debuted in live-action, played by Rosario Dawson, just ahead of the Ahsoka series announcement. Likewise, less than two months after The Mandalorian season 2 premiered bringing Carson Teva and other New Republic Rangers into the fold, Rangers of the New Republic was revealed. It was also confirmed that The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic would culminate in a Star Wars event series. Now that Rangers is no longer in development, the New Republic teases fell a bit misplaced.
The Mandalorian’s Coruscant Subplot Could Set Up The Spinoff’s Villains
Having New Republic Rangers appearing from time to time is not the only way The Mandalorian has teased Rangers of the New Republic. The Mandalorian season 3’s Coruscant subplot, which began with Elia Kane (Katy M O’Brian) tricking Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) into restarting his cloning research for the Empire, has been very disconnected from Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu’s story. Though Elia Kane, who most likely still works for the Imperial Remnant, tried to prevent the New Republic from helping Nevarro with the pirates, there has been no intersection between the cloning research storyline and what Din Djarin has been up to.
Kane is not working alone, and whoever is behind her actions in The Mandalorian season 3 is a major threat to the New Republic. There is no shortage of candidates – Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) or Thrawn, for example – but any organized Imperial resurgence should be enough to set off a conflict in which the New Republic would have to intervene. Carson Teva called out the New Republic’s slowness, warning that it will be too late by the time they realize that events like Gorian Shard’s attack on Nevarro and Moff Gideon’s escape are connected. The New Republic’s failure to act might have been further explored in the Rangers spinoff.
Could The Rangers Of The New Republic Spinoff Happen?
Around a year after Rangers of the New Republic was announced, Lucasfilm confirmed that the show was no longer in active development. Earlier in 2021, Gina Carano was fired from Star Wars, raising the question of what would become of Cara Dune. After debuting in The Mandalorian season 1 as a former Rebel soldier, Cara Dune was expected to be one of the main Rangers of the New Republic characters. In fact, The Mandalorian season 2 saw Dune being joining the New Republic as a marshal. Still, even though Cara Dune has been written out of The Mandalorian, there is no reason why Rangers of the New Republic cannot happen in a different form.
It must be noted, though, that early ideas for the Rangers of the New Republic spinoff were going to be absorbed by The Mandalorian. This was confirmed by Kathleen Kennedy at the end of 2021, and it can be noticed during The Mandalorian season 3. What could have been setups for a larger New Republic story are now secondary plots in The Mandalorian, although they could still lead to something bigger. If Thrawn is The Mandalorian’s villain working from behind the scenes, for instance, then the New Republic subplot could lead into the Ahsoka series or a future crossover event set in the Mandoverse.
New episodes of The Mandalorian release Wednesdays on Disney+.