Five years after the Mandalorian history, with the orbital bombardment of Mandalore scattered its people all across the galaxy in its wake. Though Mandalorians have since reclaimed their world, little is still known about this tragedy, such as its timeline - though that has since become clearer.

In the new video game Star Wars Outlaws, it's revealed in a conversation with stormtroopers that the Great Purge happens in 3 ABY, or just three years after the destruction of the first Death Star. This means it takes place an entire year before the Battle of Endor, as seen in Return of the Jedi, and thus well before the Galactic Civil War officially ended at the droid Huyang in Ahsoka, who said these events happened after the war, but also reopens a massive Mandalorian plot hole.

The Purge Of Mandalore's Date Causes A Major OT Problem

Where Were the Mandalorians During the OT?

One of the biggest questions The Mandalorian had to answer straightaway was why the Mandalorians weren't around during the events of the original Star Wars trilogy. Save for Boba Fett, who doesn't even consider himself to be a Mandalorian, no one else with Mandalorian armor is ever seen during that time. Of course, the real-world explanation is that Mandalorians simply hadn't existed then the way they do now, but Star Wars has long since needed to create an in-universe explanation for why that is - and the Purge was meant to be that explanation.

The Purge happening near the end of the Galactic Civil War still begs the question of why they weren't around from the beginning of the war until that point.

Now, however, Star Wars can no longer use the Purge as an excuse for why the Mandalorians are missing during that time. The Purge happening near the end of the Galactic Civil War still begs the question of why they weren't around from the beginning of the war until that point. Mandalorians were, and still are, regarded as the greatest warriors in the galaxy, and they had their own qualms with the Empire that would motivate them to take action. Why, then, wouldn't they have been fighting against the Empire, or at least been more active on other worlds?

This new timeline for the Purge thus reopens this massive original trilogy-era problem for Star Wars, making it even more unclear what exactly the Mandalorian were up to until this point. This isn't the only consequence of this new, confirmed date for the Purge, either, as it also raises questions about other Star Wars events and characters around this same time. Nevertheless, it's still exciting to have some more confirmation about something as new to Star Wars lore as the Purge, proving how The Mandalorian has truly changed Star Wars in the last five years.