A recent report indicated that Star Wars' version of Avengers: Endgame is still planned despite previous rumors that it had been shelved or may never happen. When Star Wars' Disney+ run began in 2019 with The Mandalorian, fans had no idea that it would lead to a major network of interconnecting projects that would play off of each other. After The Mandalorian Season 1 finished, what is now called the MandoVerse was established. Then, it was announced that Dave Filoni would be directing a feature film that would be the culmination of all of the projects within, serving as Star Wars' own Avengers: Endgame crossover event.
According to industry insider Daniel Richtman via Patreon, the upcoming MandoVerse crossover event depends entirely on how The Mandalorian & Grogu performs in theaters. If it hits its goals, it will continue as a movie. If not, according to the report, it will be turned into a Disney+ limited series. For reference, the crossover movie (which will apparently be titled Heir to the Empire) was previously thought to be cancelled or shelved because the MandoVerse projects were underperforming on Disney+:
"I hear that 'Ahsoka' Season 3 isn’t greenlit yet and may never happen. If The Mandalorian & Grogu movie flops, the planned 'Heir to the Empire' film will instead become a limited series."
The most notable part of this report isn't the fact that it could be a limited series or a feature film. Instead, the most important revelation is that it is still moving forward no matter what. As mentioned, many didn't know if it would ever get developed, but now it seems as though fans will receive the story one way or another.
This is a major moment for Star Wars as a whole. The brand has spent the past seven years building up to its own Avengers: Endgame moment, where all of the separate players come together and team up. When the leading theory was that the project may not even happen, it made it seem like a lot of the past seven years were a waste.
This also confirms that Disney and Lucasfilm still have a lot of faith in the MandoVerse and its respective projects, which is a good sign for Star Wars fans. Dave Filoni is now the co-president of Lucasfilm, which means he has a lot of pull when it comes to making decisions on which projects get greenlit, but Lucasfilm still answers to Disney. If Disney does not think a project will work, it does not matter what Filoni and Lucasfilm say; it just won't happen.
Therefore, Disney seemingly has a lot of faith in Filoni's plans for the MandoVerse crossover project. That is at least a sign that, based on what has been developed creatively so far, the story could be great.
As mentioned, Star Wars has never had a project like Avengers: Endgame before. Yes, the Skywalker Saga was all a connected franchise of films that told one big story, but this is the first time that Star Wars has ever had separate stories and characters all come together for one massive conclusion.
Will the MandoVerse Movie Faithfully Adapt the Heir to the Empire Book?
Heir to the Empire is not the official title for Filoni's MandoVerse project, but it is entirely possible that that title could be confirmed for it. If that is the case, the big question will be how much the movie or limited series will follow the 1991 Timothy Zahn novel.
For reference, Heir to the Empire was a book that was released as part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now known as Star Wars Legends). It was the first time Grand Admiral Thrawn was introduced to the world, and elements of the book were even brought into canon by George Lucas, such as the planet Coruscant.
It is highly unlikely that Filoni will faithfully adapt Heir to the Empire because there are tons of characters in the book that haven't appeared in the MandoVerse, and vice versa. For example, in the novel, there are important characters like Talon Karrde, Jorus C'Baoth, Han Solo, and Leia Organa.
Most likely, the MandoVerse project will loosely follow the overarching Heir to the Empire plot, which is centered around Thrawn waging war against the New Republic in an attempt to resurrect the defeated Empire.
One specific plotline that could be used revolves around cloning. In Heir to the Empire, Thrawn and the remnants of the Empire use Mount Tantiss as a base for cloning technology and other artifacts that were owned by Emperor Palpatine. Mount Tantiss was already featured in The Bad Batch (which isn't a part of the MandoVerse), setting it up for future use down the line.
Star Wars already established that Palpatine used cloning technology to create Snoke and to return in the sequel trilogy. It is possible that the MandoVerse crossover event will reveal that Thrawn played a part in bringing that to fruition.
Aside from that, other elements from the book, like the ysalamiri, could be used. Ysalamiri are reptile-like animals that are able to resist the Force. Essentially, if ysalamiri are around, Force users are unable to use Force abilities.
No matter what happens, it seems as though Star Wars fans will absolutely get to see Star Wars' own version of Avengers: Endgame. It may be a Disney+ series instead of a movie, but the story will seemingly be told.
