What differentiates the Mandalorians from the Jedi? The conflict that lasted thousands of years

By the time “The Mandalorian” appears, there are very few surviving Jedi from Order 66 and Mandalorians who escaped the Empire’s bombardment of their planet, but despite this both groups remain enemies.

In the series starring Pedro Pascal as Mando/Din Djarin, it has been said on several occasions that the Jedi and Mandalorians have been in conflict for generations.

This is also why Dean Jarrin initially had doubts about handing over Grog (Baby Yoda) to his sworn enemies. However, when he meets Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), he sees that they are not as bad as he thought.

Now, in an interview with Screen Rant on March 7, 2023, “The Mandalorian” director and creator Jon Favreau explained how Mandalorian culture and Jedi beliefs differ, but also have similarities.

What differentiates the Mandalorians from the Jedi? Your conflict explained

According to Favreau, the two factions are some of the most important because of their beliefs and cultural practices, but it is in the third season of “The Mandalorian” that they will explore their differences and similarities.

The Jedi are Force-sensitive, emotion-controlled beings and keepers of the peace, while the Mandalorians are a race of warriors driven by honor and battle.

The metal armor and Beskar weapons used by the Mandalorians are made specifically to fight the Jedi with their lightsabers and powers.

‘The Mandalorian’: story between Mandalorians and Jedi in Star Wars

Within the current Star Wars canon there is very little information about the war between the Jedi and the Mandalorians, but producer Dave Filoni has slowly expanded the history of their enmity and incorporated things that are considered “legends”.

For example, the war between the Mandalorians and the Jedi is set thousands of years before the events of ‘The Mandalorian’, as in the video game ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ the conflict was a central part of the story.

The Mandalorians, with their martial beliefs and practices, initially did not understand the Jedi and even considered them witches (as mentioned by Armorer in the first season of ‘The Mandalorian’).

Speaking in 2017 to Comicbook.com, Dave Filoni said that he envisions the start of their war as a response by the Mandalorians to protect themselves from a group they didn’t understand and saw as a threat.

Perhaps one of the most important points in the history of the Mandalorians and the Jedi, which also highlights their greatest similarity, is the creation of the Darksaber by Tarre Vizsla.

This character was the first (and so far only) Force-sensitive Mandalorian to be part of the Jedi Order. With his black lightsaber he managed to unite all the Mandalorians and showed that they could have things in common.

When Tarre Vizla died, the Darksaber was kept in the Jedi Temple, but during the fall of the Old Republic, the Mandalorians ransacked the temple to reclaim the sword they believed belonged to them.

In the series “Star Wars Rebels” Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) confirmed to the young Mandalorian Sabine Wren (a character who debuted in animation and will make the jump to “live action”) that the Jedi won the war against Mandalore.

Up until the Republic era in the Star Wars prequels, the Jedi even served during the Mandalorian Civil War as protectors of rights, as Obi-Wan Kenobi did with Duchess Satine Kryse.

Due to the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire, both factions were driven to near extinction, but even in the days of “The Mandalorian” their animosity is known.

Since Grogu trained at the Jedi Temple and with Luke Skywalker, as well as being a Mandalorian by adoption thanks to Dean Jarrin, his future could be to end the animosity of both groups once and for all.

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