Mandalorian Season 3 could solve one of the oldest Star Wars mysteries

What’s the weirdest moment in Star Wars? Is it Luke kissing Leia? Jar-Jar Binks? Everything that happened in The Rise of Skywalker? If you really think about it, one of the weirdest scenes in Star Wars history is Luke’s vision in the cave on Dagobah.

40 years later, we still don’t really know what was up with that cave. However, there’s one forgotten character from Star Wars Legends who could set the record straight, and The Mandalorian may be setting him up to return to canon in Season 3.

The Mandalorian Season 3’s big problem

The Disney+ series faces a daunting challenge. In the Season 2 finale, Grogu was separated from his adoptive father Din Djarin in order to train with Luke Skywalker. But the farewell was bittersweet, and it’s clear the Clan of Two won’t be able to stay separated for long. So what will Din Djarin do to get his son back? One non-canonical Star Wars character could solve this issue and explain the weirdest part of the original trilogy.

It’s no mystery The Mandalorian takes some clues from Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. They both occupy the same time span in Star Wars canon and feature a crumbling Empire trying to remain relevant. Within the first book in the trilogy, Heir to the Empire, there lies a key moment that could reveal both Luke’s future and Din’s.

In the story, Luke returns to Dagobah five years after Yoda’s death. He senses a strong signal inside the Cave of Evil — the same cave where he experienced a vision seen in Empire Strikes Back that involved fighting Darth Vader, only to see his own face beneath the mask.

The signal within the cave was actually a beckon call brought there by a Corellian smuggler known as Jorj Car’das (first name pronounced like “George” and you’ll see why in a minute). Car’das often worked alongside the Hutts but got caught up in interplanetary politics when he was held captive by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who forced Jorj to teach him to speak Basic — don’t worry, Thrawn taught him Chiss in return.

The adventures of Jorj Car’das

Over his many adventures in the galaxy pre-Heir to the Empire, Car’das went to Dagobah twice. The first time, a rogue Dark Jedi (the pre-prequels term for Sith) forced his ship to land on the planet. Thankfully, Yoda was there to heal him through the Force. The second time, years later, Yoda refused to heal him again and took his blaster and the beckon. The Jedi Master thought he used his second chance at life unwisely. (Seems kinda petty to us.)

Because of this encounter, Jorj decided to take the Force seriously. He retreated with the Aing-Tii monks for more than a decade, learning the ways of the Force even though he wasn’t even Force Sensitive.

Jorj Car’das in Mandalorian Season 3?

Jorj Car’das would make the perfect addition to The Mandalorian for a number of reasons. First, once Luke has picked up his new “Baby Yoda” apprentice, it stands to reason he would take him to Dagobah, where one of his kind taught a young Luke. There, he could find the beckon call — and experience another Cave of Evil vision.

Secondly, Car’das could assist Din Djarin in learning about his son’s unique talents. During the era The Mandalorian is set in, Car’das is about 60 years old. This means he could connect with Mando as they both established themselves in a less-than-moral way, but ran into someone who made them take the Force seriously. Car’das could give Din pointers on how he could support Grogu’s Force training without having to be Force-sensitive.

On top of all these reasons, Car’das also has one more resonant meaning to the Star Wars universe — certain depictions of him were modeled after a young George Lucas. So while he could help explain the Cave of Evil and help a new dad understand his kid’s hobby, he could also pay tribute to the father of Star Wars itself.

Lost Legends is an Inverse series about the forgotten lore of our favorite stories.