Din Djarin and his Force-sensitive little partner will return to screens on May 22, following their 3-season arc in The Mandalorian. Instead of a fourth season, the continuation of their story will be a theatrical release, marking the first Star Wars film in seven years.
This long hiatus is not the only record The Mandalorian & Grogu is breaking. Lucasfilm officially confirmed that Embo, the Kyuzo bounty hunter introduced in The Clone Wars in 2010, will serve as the main villain of the film, breaking a franchise record, spanning several decades.
The first trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu delivered the reveal. Embo appears in the rain, approaching a hut on Nevarro that looks like Din Djarin’s. According to reports, Embo's arc will involve two Hutts contracting him to kill Rotta the Hutt, Jabba’s adult son, played by Jeremy Allen White.
On the other hand, the New Republic simultaneously recruits Din Djarin to protect Rotta. Din Djarin and Embo are set on a direct collision course, with Rotta’s life in the middle.
Star Wars Breaks 49-Year-Old Tradition With Embo’s Live-Action Debut
The first Star Wars film opened on May 25, 1977. In the decades that followed, the franchise built some of cinema’s most iconic antagonists, like Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Maul, Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Kylo Ren. All of them were either conceived for film or debuted in live-action. After the first trilogy and the prequel trilogy, Star Wars delved further into animation in 2008, introducing fans to even more compelling villains and characters.
Despite The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and other animated projects being hits, none of their amazing main villains made it into a theatrical Star Wars film. The animated bad guys lucky enough to crossover into live-action all featured on the small screen instead. Embo just broke this unfortunate run, and his timing is perfect.
Embo's live-action debut in a theatrical Star Wars film comes at a time when the franchise needs to score a big win. There aren’t many better villains to keep fans on the edge of their seats like Embo can. The bowcaster-wielding bounty hunter is as menacing as can be. He doesn’t speak much, just gets straight to shooting and causing chaos.
Embo debuted in The Clone Wars Season 2, Episode 17, "Bounty Hunters". In that episode, one would recall that Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano crashed on the planet Felucia and teamed up with a group of bounty hunters to defend local farmers from Hondo Ohnaka’s pirate gang. Embo was arguably the standout character in that episode, moving like a ninja and snapping pirate necks like pretzels.
It's no surprise how agile he is. Embo is a Kyuzo, a humanoid species known for their athleticism and precision. Embo fights with a bowcaster and a wide, disc-shaped hat that he throws, blocks with, and rides like a sled.
Embo’s casting represents a step in the right direction for animated Star Wars characters. Although it took so long for a main villain to feature in a theatrical Star Wars release, Lucasfilm brought a decent number of such characters to live-action via TV shows.
Ahsoka’s arc, for example, is the most illustrative. Created by Dave Filoni and George Lucas for the 2008 animated Clone Wars film, she grew into one of the franchise’s most beloved characters over the years of television. Rosario Dawson stepped into the role for The Mandalorian in 2020, then carried her own series in 2023, and is set for a second season.
Then there's Grand Admiral Thrawn, whose path to live-action is unique. Timothy Zahn created him for the Legends novel Heir to the Empire in 1991, making him one of the most popular non-film Star Wars characters ever conceived.
After Legends was retired, Thrawn entered official Disney canon through Rebels, voiced by Lars Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen reprised the role in live-action in Ahsoka, where the series set him up as a threat in the New Republic era.
Cad Bane is another memorable character who made one of the most exciting animated-to-live-action transitions of the streaming era. When he appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, he was brought to life physically by Dorian Kingi. His menace translated well into live-action, making the wait for his transition worth it.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
