Disney has cast a Mandalorian and Grogu villain, which points to further ties with the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy and infamous return of Emperor Palpatine.
As reported by Deadline, Jonny Coyne will reprise his role from The Mandalorian Season 3, where he played a villainous Shadow Council member only known as Imperial Warlord.
He appeared in an Episode 7 scene alongside Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon and the rest of the Shadow Council, discussing some major Star Wars lore including Grand Admiral Thrawn and something called Project Necromancer, which is all but confirmed to be the revival of Emperor Palpatine.
While Coyne's character isn't involved directly in this process, which leads to the events of Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker, it does confirm that The Mandalorian and its feature film sequel aren't done with the Shadow Council storyline.
The only other Star Wars film or TV show to expand on this storyline is Ahsoka, which brought back Grand Admiral Thrawn proper, and given it's directed by Dave Filoni, co-creator of The Mandalorian and producer on The Mandalorian and Grogu, and this film is directed by his fellow co-creator Jon Favreau, all signs so far point to Star Wars delving deeper into this storyline.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars film since Episode 9 and hits theatres on May 22, 2026. Only a few cast members have been revealed so far, but alongside Coyne stars Sigourney Weaver and, reportedly, The Bear star Jeremy Allen White as Jabba the Hutt's son.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
