What happened to Ezra Bridger? The Mandalorian space whales explained

One of the more visually striking scenes during The Mandalorian’s season 3 premiere was the first live-action appearance of the lore’s space whales and we explain how they connect to Star Wars Rebels character, Ezra Bridger, and what happened to him at the end of the series.

Disney Plus‘ official synopsis for season 3 reads: “The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.”

Created by Jon Favreau and starring Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, The Mandalorian follows Din Djarin who is hired to track down a child known as Grogu – more commonly Baby Yoda – but ends up doing everything he can to protect him from Imperial forces.

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Who is Ezra Bridger?

Ezra Bridger was the protagonist of the animated series, Star Wars Rebels, debuting as a force-sensitive Jedi in training.

We are introduced to Ezra living in Capital City on Lothal, under the Imperial’s rule, before he is taken on as Kanan Jarrus’ apprentice and evolved to be a part of Ghost’s rebellion against the Empire.

The main plot line of Rebels saw the rebellion attempt to take down Admiral Thrawn, which required a plan of Ezra’s that backfired on him. 

How does Ezra Bridger connect to The Mandalorian’s space whales?

The space whales of Star Wars, otherwise known as purrgil, were officially introduced in the Rebels series – after only being mentioned before in Star Wars canon.

The purrgil are somewhat sentient and sport all the designs of a regular whale with added tentacles and purple skin. Traveling in groups, these space whales can travel through hyperspace without the need for a hyperdrive, making their species a quick escape when you’re caught between a rock and a hard place. 

Ezra and his band of rebels orchestrated a plan to use the purrgil to transport Admiral Thrawn to a faraway location in the galaxy, where he can no longer be an adversary.

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What happened to Ezra Bridger?

As the space whales were being used to pull Admiral Thrawn to a mystery location in the galaxy, the plan backfired and Ezra ends up being transported with the villain.

The Rebels series concludes with Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren’s efforts to go and locate Ezra, wherever he is, and his location has been a mystery to Star Wars fans since the show’s end.

However, the inclusion of space whales in The Mandalorian’s season 3 debut, combined with the knowledge that we will be getting an Ahsoka series later this year, teases the eventual reveal of where Ezra is in the galaxy – and we’ll also see the character in live-action who is confirmed to be played by Eman Esfandi.

Since live-action Star Wars has done a great job in filling in the blanks of the franchise’s canon – including what happened to Boba Fett in the Sarlacc pit – it seems reasonable to believe that we’ll get an explanation of where Ezra’s been this whole time.

The Mandalorian episode count and release schedule

The Mandalorian season 3 is confirmed to have eight episodes, following the episode count of its previous two seasons.

Season 3 will follow the pattern of most Disney Plus shows and release weekly, in this case, every Wednesday.

Each installment typically lasts between 30-50 minutes in length and the below release schedule confirms the season 3 finale will take place on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Season 3’s full release schedule outlines when you can catch every new episode of The Mandalorian until the finale.

By Jo Craig – [email protected]

The Mandalorian season 3 is now streaming on Disney Plus.