This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1.The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1 brought back a legendary Star Wars creature, the Mythosaur. Prophecies have been a crucial part of Star Wars since the days of the prequel trilogy, which meant many viewers paid particular attention to the Armorer’s words in The Book of Boba Fett episode 5 when she mentioned a prophecy of a Mandalorian Chosen One. “The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore,” the Armorer declared, before noting the Mythosaur is the stuff of legend – even among the Mandalorians. Still, the plot direction seemed obvious; the Mythosaur was clearly coming, most likely in The Mandalorian season 3.
The Mandalorian headed to Mandalore in search of redemption, and it didn’t take him long to cross paths with a Mythosaur. The only real surprise here was the speed; The Mandalorian season 3 is rushing through the anticipated plot surprisingly quickly, meaning there are surely some major twists on the way. Whatever the future may hold, though, it clearly involves Mythosaurs – and here’s everything viewers need to know about these monstrous creatures.
What Star Wars Canon Has Revealed About Mythosaurs
Little is known about the Mythosaurs in Star Wars canon. Even the Armorer – possibly the most devout of all the Mandalorians – considered them nothing but a legend. Still, she proudly displayed the symbol of the Mythosaur skull at her Forge in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1. Just as in the old Expanded Universe, the Mythosaur skull is clearly the symbol of the entire Mandalorian race – the symbol around which the clans unite.
The legend of Mandalore’s Mythosaur seems to have crossed the galaxy. In The Mandalorian season 1, episode 1, Kuiil teased Din Djarin for struggling to ride his blurrg. “Your ancestors rode the great Mythosaur,” he quipped. “Surely you can ride this young foal.” He, at least, seemed to believe the Mythosaurs were real – a rich irony given the Mandalorians themselves had lost belief that the Mythosaurs even existed.
Mythosaurs’ History In Star Wars Legends
The Armorer claimed the Mythosaurs only existed in legend, and there’s a sense in which she was right – because they are a well-established part of Star Wars Legends, the technical name given to the old (now non-canon) Expanded Universe. According to the Mandalorian Expanded Universe lore, the Mythosaurs were a native species to the planet Mandalore. They were the apex predators, some growing to the size of an entire city, but their power made them a target for the Mandalorians.
The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2 is the first time a Mythosaur has been seen alive in the present day – even counting Legends. In fact, until now, there has only been a single image of the creatures; a picture seen in Daniel Wallace, Jason Fry, and Ryder Windham’s The Bounty Hunter Code: From The Files of Boba Fett. This episode really is history in the making.
How The Mythosaur Went Extinct
There’s a tragic reason the Mythosaurs have never been seen before; they were previously thought to be extinct. The history of the Mandalorians is one of violence and conflict, with the various tribes waging war on one another. Mandalorians who rode Mythosaurs naturally wound up battling others on similar mounts. Meanwhile, younger Mandalorians began to hunt Mythosaurs, demonstrating their skill and prowess as warriors by bringing them down. In Legends, all this ultimately wiped the Mythosaurs out. The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1 confirmed their fate has been rather less drastic in canon; they’ve been slumbering beneath Mandalore’s surface for untold generations.
Why The Mythosaur Is So Important To The Mandalorians
The Mythosaur is one of the most important symbols of Mandalorian identity, explaining why the insignia of a Mythosaur skull is considered so sacred. Such symbols are particularly important in the aftermath of the Night of a Thousand Tears, with Mandalorian culture dependent on such icons to survive. But there’s clearly another dimension to the Mythosaur; according to the Armorer, there are ancient prophecies foretelling of the Mythosaur’s return, speaking of them as harbingers of a revival of Mandalore. The prophecy seems to hint of a new generation of Mandalorians, now united and riding the Mythosaurs once again.
What The Mythosaur In The Mandalorian Season 3 Means
The glimpse of the Mythosaur is an important moment in the history of the Mandalorian race. The Empire clearly failed to destroy Mandalore, with plentiful life surviving beneath the planet’s war-ravaged surface. Even Mythosaurs survived – which presumably means the Mandalorian Chosen One prophecy really is in play. Din Djarin only knows a little about this prophecy, but both the Armorer and Bo-Katan Kryze will know far more. It will be thrilling to see how this prophecy comes to pass in The Mandalorian season 3 and beyond.