How Star Wars: Squadrons sets up Hera Syndulla for The Mandalorian

Despite the fact that Star Wars: Squadrons is set just a few years before The Mandalorian, there actually isn't that much crossover between the Disney+ show and EA's exciting new flight combat game. But one of the main characters from the Star Wars Rebels show does appear in Squadrons, indicating that she's probably still around by the time Mando teams up with Baby Yoda.

The last we see of this character in Squadrons is also at a point that makes an appearance on The Mandalorian seem more likely than ever.

Hera Syndulla appears in Squadrons alongside a familiar cast of faces. The character first appeared in Star Wars Rebels, a Disney XD successor to Star Wars: The Clone Wars that debuted in 2014, where she plays a pivotal role in the early days of the Rebellion.

Hera is also referenced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where you can hear a Rebel call for a "General Syndulla" over the intercom during one scene. She's also popped up in comics and books like Alphabet Squadron that have been released in the Disney Star Wars era.

While Hera is a minor character in the grand scheme of the game's story, she still plays a pivotal role that highlights her importance in the galaxy after the Battle of Endor. By the start of Squadrons, she's the General in charge of the Starhawk Project, tasked with creating a fleet of Starhawk ships with super-powerful tractor beams.

These Starhawk ships are supposed to be the New Republic's secret weapon against the remnants of the Empire that will allow them to win once and for all. Ultimately, the first Starhawk Hera builds is destroyed during one of the final missions of Star Wars: Squadrons, but she survives. The game's ending confirms that "General Syndulla sacrificed one Starhawk for the chance to build a fleet."

The ending of Squadrons indicates that Syndulla will continue leading the Starhawk Project. Despite that, this is the first we've heard of Starhawk in Star Wars' lore, and these ships definitely weren't present during the events of The Force Awakens. As such, this Starhawk Project is rife with potential for future exploration in Star Wars media, and Hera Syndulla can be its center.

While this could just happen in extended universe books or comics, it also wouldn't be surprising to see this plot point make the jump to The Mandalorian. Over the course of the show, which is set around five years after Squadrons, the titular character is continually getting wrapped up in the galactic conflict between the emerging New Republic and the remnants of the Empire.

In fact, characters that appeared in Star Wars: Rebels like Ashoka Tano and Sabine Wren are poised to appear in the show's second season. As such, the inclusion of Hera Syndulla would not be a stretch if Din Djarin encounters members of the New Republic. If that's the case, it's possible that he'll meet Hera and be exposed to the Starhawk Project that was established in Squadrons.

While the show is unlikely to hit that point during Season 2 as we know much of its casting already, it's clear that The Mandalorian could introduce Hera sometime in its future. When that happens, her actions and associations with the Starhawk Project may prove to be vitally important to The Mandalorian's endgame.

The Mandalorian Season 2 begins on October 30, 2020.