Dave Filoni & Jon Favreau Reveal The Mandalorian Influences and Give Ahsoka Update

The Mandalorian season 3 brings Grogu and Din Djarin back together as Din struggles to reclaim his Mandalorian honor after removing his helmet in the second season. The season will explore new elements of Mandalorian culture as they meet other sects and return to their devastated home planet, Mandalore. Bo-Katan is also grappling with the loss of the Darksaber, which is now wielded by Din.

The Mandalorian features a star-studded cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi, and Amy Sedaris returning. Christopher Lloyd and Tim Meadows will also join the cast, adding to the excitement in store for Star Wars fans. The Mandalorian is executive produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, who also created the Emmy Award-winning series.

Related: Star Wars Theory Connects Mandalore, The Darksaber & The Force

Screen Rant spoke with Favreau and Filoni about the new season of The Mandalorian. Filoni explained the role of the Armorer in Mandalorian culture, while Favreau revealed the real-world warrior cultures that inspired Mandalorian beliefs and how they are different from the way of the Jedi. Favreau also shared an update on the post-production status of the highly anticipated Ahsoka series.

Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni on The Mandalorian Season 3

Screen Rant: First of all, thank you guys for all that you’ve done with Star Wars. The Mandalorian is an event in my household. Last year, Ahsoka’s episode “The Jedi” seemed to set up her journey of searching for Thrawn. Will we see Ahsoka tie into The Mandalorian more this season?

Jon Favreau: Well, the good news is there’s a whole Ahsoka show. [Laughs]

Dave Filoni: I like that you go right for it.

Jon Favreau: I’ll talk about it, so Dave doesn’t have to, but we’re in post-production. He’s done filming; the visual effects are starting to come in, and the music is starting to come in. Great cast, and what a rich legacy to build upon.

Ahsoka is a big part of what’s happening in this time period. The question of how the different stories, like Skeleton Crew and The Book of Boba Fett overlap? That is going to be something that’s ever-evolving, but there are strong stories that are being built concurrently within that world.

I love it. Now, why does the Armorer have such an important leadership role, outranking Mando even with the Darksaber?

Dave Filoni: She’s kind of the lore keeper of the group. She’s the person that knowledge is passed on through. We were talking about how there’s probably an Armorer that precedes this armorer, and it goes back through time. The songs of eons passed.

Mando is a warrior, and the warrior carries the sword. The shaman has a different role, and the wizard has a different role. Merlin guides Arthur to find Excalibur; Merlin doesn’t wield Excalibur.

Jon Favreau: The High Priest and the King or are separate in the Bible. So, we’re going back. We’re drawing from myths and archetypes in myths as George [Lucas] has done and instructed.

Grogu was the first Jedi Mandalorian since the Darksaber was forged by Tarre Vizsla. Is the Darksaber tied to Grogu’s destiny as well as Mando’s?

Jon Favreau: That’s interesting. That would be a smart literary device.

Dave Filoni: Yeah, interesting. These are very good questions.

Jon Favreau: That doesn’t happen that often, although I would argue that’s Sabine is maybe a little bit…

Dave Filoni: I don’t know if I’d call her a Jedi, though. The interesting question is how you define when someone is a Jedi. That’s the real question, because the Jedi is a way of training. It’s a way of philosophy and being.

Jon Favreau: Well, Grogu trained with a Jedi.

Dave Filoni: He trained when he was young, and [so did] Luke. Yoda didn’t confirm that he was a Jed remember? He says, “Oh, you think you’re a Jedi? Not so fast.” He had to pass the trials.

Jon Favreau: But he also said, “You’ll be the last Jedi when I’m gone.”

Dave Filoni: That’s interesting. We’ve seen a few more pop up. This is all we do, by the way, sitting around the table. Get the whiteboard! Roll the whiteboard in here, and let’s break it down.

Jon Favreau: We’ll drag other people into it. This is what we get paid for, and we’d be doing it the lunchroom in our high schools.

When it comes to The Mandalorian lore, are you guys drawing from any elements of the old Expanded Universe?

Jon Favreau: It’s somewhat ambiguous. I think we mention things. I think we draw from more than just within Star Wars, because they’re a warrior culture. The way of the warrior is bushido, and it’s shared by a lot of different cultures, like the Stoics.

We wanted to differentiate it from the definitely Eastern-leaning version of the Force and the teaching of the Jedi, and to create something that felt a little bit more rooted in the foundations of a warrior culture. Samurai and Romans and even the Greeks. You see that there are different combinations of more of a Western civilization’s spiritual underpinnings. But all of this is following in George’s footsteps; he looked at Joseph Campbell and [saw] the commonalities of all religions.

The differentiation is just enough to differentiate it from the Jedi to the Mandalorians, because they were historically enemies. But we do draw from a lot of things. Again, the study of myth and story within cultures all points to certain commonalities, and we try to draw from the same inspirations as George did.

Star Wars is huge in my household, and I have you two to thank for it.

Jon Favreau: We’d love this to be a story that could invite new people and families in, and that many generations could watch together. That’s something we take a lot of pleasure in, so thank you for that.

About The Mandalorian Season 3

In the new season, Din Djarin, once a lone bounty hunter, has been reunited with Grogu, a child of Yoda’s species whom he rescued and subsequently turned over to Luke Skywalker at the end of Season 2. As the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history, the Mandalorian crosses paths with old allies and makes new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.

Check out our interview with Katee Sackhoff about The Mandalorian season 3.

Next: Grogu’s Power In Mandalorian Season 3 Is Paying Off His Luke Story

The Mandalorian season 3 premieres on March 1, exclusively on Disney+.