At last, after seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu is bringing Star Wars back to the big screen in May. Speaking at the New York Toy Fair while launching new Star Wars movie merchandise, director Jon Favreau promised we’d be getting some more clues about the plot soon. Now, fans are becoming convinced they’ve already spotted one – on the cover of an official tie-in for The Mandalorian and Grogu, no less. Lucasfilm’s The Art of The Mandalorian and Grogu releases on November 3, and the cover shows Din Djarin and Grogu against a mysterious, shadowy backdrop.
It hasn’t taken Star Wars fans long to guess what this backdrop is: Nal Hutta, the Hutt homeworld. The design matches perfectly, and may even be the capital city, Bilbousa.
There’s a sense in which this shouldn’t be seen as a surprise; the first trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu showed Din Djarin battling in a Hutt arena, while other shots revealed he was attempting to break into a Hutt vault. At the same time, though, it’s actually very surprising to see a character visit Nal Hutta itself; situated in the Outer Rim, this swampworld only has a handful of spaceports because most business takes place on the planet’s so-called “Smuggler’s Moon,” Nar Shaddaa.
Why Is Din Djarin Going to Nal Hutta?
Play video
It’s one thing for Din Djarin to go into Hutt space, perhaps to the Smuggler’s Moon. But the idea he’s actually travel to Nal Hutta is quite shocking; it suggests The Mandalorian and Grogu will take its heroes into the literal heart of the galaxy’s underworld, the crime equivalent of Coruscant itself. Most viewers will only remember Nal Hutta from a handful of stories set during the Clone Wars, given we’ve literally never seen it in live-action before.
This raises massive questions about The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s mysterious plot. Din Djarin is supposed to be hunting down the Imperial Remnant, not digging deep into the underworld. The most likely explanation lies in The Mandalorian Season 3, where dialogue hinted at an alliance between the ruling Imperial Shadow Council and pirates operating near the Hydian Way. It’s possible there’s a deeper conspiracy than viewers previously suspected, with the resurgent Empire working with the Hutts.
The Hutts prospered greatly during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, but this came to an end shortly before Return of the Jedi. Many Hutt leaders were killed, an event that Jabba used to ensure his clan rose to a position of dominance, but Jabba himself died just a few months later. It’s entirely possible Jabba’s successors, the Hutt twins who appeared in The Book of Boba Fett and who have appeared on posters for the movie, have decided to form an alliance with the Empire in the hopes of restoring the Hutts to greatness once again.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
