Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/ShutterstockThe Mandalorians were once the most mysterious group in the Star Wars canon, limited only to a line in The Empire Strikes Back audiobook about a group of people who were defeated during The Clone Wars. Flash forward to today, and the Mandalorians are one of the groups we know the best, especially thanks to The Mandalorian and The Mandalorian and Grogu. The mercenaries of the galaxy, the Mandalorians, are a warrior race who have been present since ancient history. Their story in the non-canon Legends timeline is long and varied, and involves mystical masks, plenty of internal conflicts, and poorly-aged video game graphics. But it does make you wonder what The Mandalorian and Grogu could have been if it had embraced its own history. When Boba Fett was first introduced in Star Wars, he was meant to be a lone bounty hunter, like a mysterious villain in a Western. In fact, when Boba was depicted in the Star Wars comics in 1982, Boba is heard thinking with a Southern drawl, including phrases like “There’s the grubber what’s got the controls to them cursed energy links!” Boba Fett had a much different personality in the older Star Wars comics. | Marvel ComicsBut over time, the Mandalorians evolved into an ancient species dating back thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars movie. They began as the grey-skinned, yellow-eyed Taung species on the planet Coruscant, but were driven out by the humans on the planet and migrated to the planet Roon. It’s there that the fearsome nature of the Mandalorians began. Under the rule of Mandalore the First (a title that derived from the word Mand’alor, which translates to “sole ruler”), the Taungs slowly conquered planet after planet along the Outer Rim, naming their first conquest “Mandalore.”It’s there that the newly-named “Mandalorians” established a galaxy-wide reputation for being terrifying warriors. This first generation of Mandalorians, known as the Mandalorian Crusaders, lived in (relative) peace in their own sector of the galaxy, but that would all change with the Great Sith War, the first conflict between the Jedi and the Sith. The Mandalorians took the side of the Sith, and the leader, Mandalore the Indominable, actually fell while trying to retreat on the moon of Dxun. But without missing a beat, another crusader took the Mask of Mand’alor from his body, therefore becoming the next leader. Basically, the Mandalorians in this era operated using The Santa Clause rules. Twenty years after that war came another one: The Mandalorian Wars. The Mandalorians continued conquering worlds, and the Jedi had to consider whether or not to intervene. Yes, they were the rulers of the galaxy, but they didn’t consider themselves warriors. But that didn’t stop Jedi Revan and his Jedi Crusaders from taking on the Mandalorians themselves. With the help of a superweapon called the Mass Shadow Generator, Revan was able to eviscerate Mandalorian fleets. Revan even took the Mask of Mand’alor, so the Mandalorians that remained couldn’t declare a new leader. It’s in this era that the Mandalorians took up the practice of freelance bounty hunters, though others became pirates or bandits. The original Mandalorians were the Taungs from the planet Coruscant. | Del ReyAfter the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Revan had a bit of a change of heart and told his ally, ex-Mandalorian Crusader Canderous Ordo, to take the mask and reunite the rest of the Mandalorians. On his quest, Ordo encountered one of the last remaining Taungs, who reminded Ordo of the traditional Mandalorian ways and even bequeathed his armor to him. However, Ordo wasn’t entirely successful in his mission, as the Mandalorians remained fractured and scattered. The Mandalorians remained mercenaries and warriors in different levels of organizations for millennia, playing supporting roles in countless conflicts, including the Cold War and the New Sith Wars, where they actually fought against the Sith. After these wars came the New Mandalorians, who rejected the violent ways of their forefathers and tried to craft a new reputation of being peaceful, exiling those who refused to the moon Concordia, and those Mandalorians went on committing atrocities for the highest bidder for centuries. A little more than 50 years before the events of the Original Trilogy, another rift divided the Mandalorians. This one was led by Jaster Mereel, the Mand’alor who enacted a new code of conduct for Mandalorian mercenaries entitled The Supercommando Codex. But this emphasis on honor and ethics was decried by Tor Vizsla, who wanted to bring back the barbarism of the Mandalorians at their most brutal. Jaster Mereel rescues Jango Fett and adopts him into the Mandalorians. | Dark Horse ComicsJaster Mereel’s “True Mandalorians” and Tor Vizsla’s Death Watch became the two sides of The Mandalorian Civil War, while the New Mandalorians remained neutral. It’s here that our beloved bounty hunter, Boba Fett, starts to play a role. During a battle on Concordia Dawn, Tor Vizsla murdered a farmer named Fett and his wife. His son, Jango, was rescued by Jaster Mereel and became a Mandalorian foundling, just like Din Djarin. The True Mandalorians emerged victorious, and Jango Fett was groomed to become the next Mand’alor after his adoptive father passed away. That brings us up to date with Star Wars canon — after that, Jango was recruited by Darth Tyranus, aka Count Dooku, as the ultimate warrior to clone into an entire army. Across three seasons and a movie, The Mandalorian has only scratched the surface of the thousands of years of Mandalorian history that lie within the Legends timeline. In fact, the closest tie has been in The Mandalorian Season 2, where we see Jaster Mereel’s name in Aurebesh embedded in Boba’s armor. Perhaps in Din Djarin’s future, we’ll see this rich lore finally get its due in canon. The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters.