30 Years Later, Star Wars Is Officially Making One of the Best X-Wing & Empire Stories Canon Again

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As a huge Star Wars fan, I’m incredibly excited to see The Mandalorian and Grogu finally hit the big screen in May! It’s going to be amazing to experience Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventures in a cinema. While they’re keeping most of the story details under wraps, even after releasing a few trailers, we do know Din Djarin is still tracking down remnants of the Empire. It seems he also gets mixed up with the Hutts for reasons we don’t know yet. Apparently, Jonny Coyne is playing an Imperial commander named Janu, though Jon Favreau has teased that the character’s real name might be a surprise we’ll all enjoy when we find out!

The Odeon UK website has published official character profiles for The Mandalorian and Grogu, and they hint at a story lifted straight from the old Star Wars Expanded Universe. According to Odeon, Coyne’s character (unnamed in their summary) is a fighter pilot ace and rival for Dave Favreau’s Trapper Wolf. This moves us straight into the era of starfighter dogfights and pilot vendettas, as seen in Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston’s dearly-loved X-Wing novels from the old Star Wars Expanded Universe. Here’s the summary:

Jonny Coyne portrays a hardened survivor from the old Galactic Empire, now leading a dangerous faction. Facing him is Dave Filoni, a producer on ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Grogu,’ who plays Trapper Wolf, a skilled X-Wing pilot for the New Republic. This epic aerial battle will determine who prevails.

Star Wars Continues to Honor the Old Star Wars Expanded Universe

When Disney took over Star Wars in 2014, they declared the older stories and materials – a vast collection of books, comics, and games – as non-official, labeling them “Legends.” However, Dave Filoni, a key creative at Lucasfilm, recently stated that many elements from those original stories will still be used. Speaking at Star Wars Celebration 2025, he explained that upcoming storylines, like the Grand Admiral Thrawn plot in Ahsoka Season 2, are intentionally designed to pay tribute to the Legends material. Filoni views certain key parts of Star Wars history as essential and wants to remain true to them, which is why the new stories often align so well with the older ones.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I’ve always considered the novels by Stackpole and Allston to be among the very best. What I loved about them was that they moved away from the usual Jedi vs. Sith stuff and focused on gritty military action after Return of the Jedi. They followed this awesome group of pilots fighting for the New Republic against the remains of the Empire, and they really felt like the fate of the galaxy rested on their shoulders. Now, it seems like the Adelphi Rangers we’re seeing – the starfighter pilots led by Sigourney Weaver’s Colonel Ward and including Trapper Wolf – are basically the official canon version of Stackpole and Allston’s famous Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, and honestly, that’s incredibly exciting!

The series The Mandalorian and Grogu is getting more interesting, especially since it’s drawing inspiration from beloved stories from the old Star Wars Legends collection. Plus, it looks like exciting spaceship battles will be a big part of future Star Wars projects—Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter is coming out next year, and while it’s set in a different era, a clear pattern is developing.

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2026-04-01 15:10