Nevarro: What You Need To Know About The Star Wars Planet From The Mandalorian

The "Star Wars" galaxy is nothing if not vast. Through three film trilogies, several spin-off movies, and quite a few TV shows, we've visited a number of worlds throughout a galaxy far, far away. There are some very memorable planets in the "Star Wars" galaxy, too, going back to Tatooine, where Luke Skywalker hung his hat before setting off on an adventure that would change the course of galactic history. But the franchise has managed to remain relevant, in part, because it's willing to go to new places.

That's precisely what "The Mandalorian" did when it became the first-ever live-action "Star Wars" TV show in 2019. The series took us to more than a few planets over the years, some familiar and others not. But few have been as important to the show as Nevarro, the world where we first met the titular Mandalorian, aka Mando, aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and Grogu, aka Baby Yoda.

"The Mandalorian" favored a less-is-more approach to its worldbuilding, which was very effective, especially through its first two seasons. Show, don't tell, is another way to put it. Indeed, Nevarro showed us what this corner of the galaxy looked like during a period of relative lawlessness after the fall of the Galactic Empire in "Return of the Jedi," with the New Republic still being established in many ways.

Nevarro, in turn, became a prime example of what the "Star Wars" universe, particularly somewhat less civilized worlds, was like after that power vacuum was created. With Imperial rule largely eradicated, this planet became a hub through which this show's action flowed. But it's more than just a plot device. It's a planet with an interesting history that has yet to be fully explored on screen.

It's a little difficult to picture what the "Star Wars" galaxy actually looks like, given that it's so vast and folks travel between planets like they're hopping a train to the next town over. But Nevarro is based in the Outer Rim, meaning it's located far outside the so-called "core" worlds. As such, it's further removed from the grasp of the New Republic's attempts to establish order after the fall of the Empire.

Nevarro is one of the very first planets we see in "The Mandalorian" Season 1. That establishes its importance as a primary location for the series. Din and Grogu are forced to leave after Din rescues the youngling from an unnamed client (played by Werner Herzog) who's clearly associated with the Empire. But the action does circle back to Nevarro pretty frequently throughout the show's three seasons. The "Mandalorian" Season 3 finale even sets up the future by having Din and Grogu establish a more permanent home on Nevarro.

The planet itself is volcanic in nature, covered in vast fields of lava. It's not quite as lava-laden and hot as Mustafar, that planet that was featured in the climax of "Revenge of the Sith" and eventually housed Darth Vader's castle (as seen in "Rogue One"), making it much more functional as a hub for certain organizations. But its dry, born-from-volcanic-ash look does suit the seedy nature of the world as it exists within the framework of "The Mandalorian."

Overall, Nevarro is a far cry from a polished, city-wide planet like Coruscant. It's closer to Tatooine, more specifically Mos Eisley. The fact of the matter is, any "Star Wars" planet we visit, we only ever get a small taste of. Few are explored thoroughly beyond a handful of locations.

Nevarro has a bit of unexplored history, given that it was once under the Empire's control. We haven't seen much of that, but we do know that Imperial remnants still exist there around the time that "The Mandalorian" begins. They eventually materialize when Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his stormtroopers ambush Mando and his pals in "The Mandalorian" Season 1 finale, "Redemption."

Largely, though, the show reveals that the New Republic era Nevarro is a haven for bounty hunters. In the first episode of "The Mandalorian," Din returns there after successfully nabbing a bounty and meets up with Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), who is one of the heads of the Bounty Hunter Guild that runs trade on the planet. What's more, the world itself operates as something of a home base for bounty hunters, who've always operated in the grey dating back to the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

The Galactic Empire's grip on the planet was weakened once Palpatine seemingly died during the events of "Return of the Jedi." Hence, the bounty hunters of the galaxy decided it was a good place to set up shop. Beyond that, as we come to learn in the early episodes of the show, the Mandalorians also used the planet as a temporary home, given that Mandalore, their actual home planet, was no longer an option.

Nevarro isn't exactly lawless at this point, but it's not a go-to destination for law abiding citizens either. Rather, it's more suitable for the "scum and villainy" types during this point in its history.

Quite a bit of time passes between seasons of "The Mandalorian," particularly between Season 2 and Season 3. It's not crystal clear, in terms of years, how much time went by, but enough that Nevarro was able to undergo a pretty significant transformation. After the Empire was excised from the planet, Greef Karga was put in charge, and he turned it into an independent haven for trade in the galaxy.

Greef, once a respected figure in the seedy world of bounty hunting, transformed the rough-and-tumble world with the help of Marshal Cara Dune (Gina Carano). Nevarro was totally rehabilitated as a more peaceful planet for its citizens and even got a school for its youngsters. When we return to the planet in Season 3, it's no longer gritty and grimy. Rather, it's clean, polished, and with a clear leadership structure.

Problems occurred because Greef kept Nevarro as an independent world. Thus, when Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie) goes full pirate on Greef's city in "The Mandalorian" Season 3, Episode 5, he has to turn elsewhere for help. That help comes from the Children of the Watch, the clan of religious extremists of sorts who follow the Way of Mandalore. They help Greef liberate the planet once again and, as a result, are granted land from it.

That's where things stand when the film "The Mandalorian and Grogu" begins. "The Mandalorian" Season 4 will probably never happen, so the future of this planet will either lie with movies, other TV shows, or elsewhere in the "Star Wars" universe, such as comics, novels, video games, and so on.

"The Mandalorian" is streaming now on Disney+.