It has been more than three years since The Mandalorian released its first episode and the world fell in love with Baby Yoda. Since then, the show has answered several of the mysteries surrounding Baby Yoda, such as revealing that his real name is Grogu.
Other mysteries are gradually being answered, including how Grogu survived Order 66 and what Moff Gideon wants from Grogu. These questions seem like they will be further explored in season 3, with The Mandalorian season 3 trailers featuring a flashback to the Jedi Temple (presumably during Order 66) and multiple shots of the Imperial Dr. Pershing.
Yet, one lingering and partly forgotten Grogu mystery is why the Nikto mercenaries on the planet Arvala-7 had Grogu in the first episode of the series. The Niktos are presented as a difficult obstacle for Din Djarin and IG-11 as they try to reach the bounty that turns out to be Grogu, but The Mandalorian has never spent any time dwelling on why the Niktos had Grogu or what they planned to do with him.
Based on what Kuiil tells Din, bounty hunters have been coming to Aravala-7 for a while to try and obtain the asset that is Grogu, with Kuiil agreeing to help Din in the hopes that Din will bring a swift end to the violence and turmoil this hunt has brought to the planet. This indicates that the Niktos have had Grogu in their possession for a while.
It is possible that the Nikto mercenaries were just waiting to sell Grogu to someone who would pay a high price for the adorable green alien, which explains why they would want to keep him out of the hands of bounty hunters.
However, there is also a possibility that the Niktos were genuinely trying to protect Grogu. With everything Din and IG-11 have sacrificed and done to protect Grogu in later episodes, it is easy to forget that Din’s mission was to capture Grogu for the Client and IG-11 was there to kill Grogu. The Niktos could’ve been protecting Grogu from them, just as they protected Grogu from all the previous bounty hunters.
If all the Niktos wanted was to sell Grogu to the highest bidder, why wouldn’t they just give him to the Client? He could’ve paid them handsomely and wouldn’t have needed to hire multiple bounty hunters.
Grogu has helped some of the hardest and greediest individuals become better versions of themselves. Who’s to say he didn’t do the same with the Nikto mercenaries? It would also explain why all of the Nikto mercenaries willingly sacrifice their lives to try and stop Din and IG-11 from reaching Grogu, and why they took Grogu to such a remote location.
This could be the second time in the “Mandoverse” that Niktos were ultimately killed for the wrong reasons. In The Book of Boba Fett, the Nikto speeder bike gang known as the Kintan Striders were murdered by Boba because he believed they killed the tribe of Tuskens who took him in.
The Kintan Striders were far from innocent–they can be seen stealing water from a farmer’s homestead and being jerks to Luke Skywalker’s old friends Camie and Fixer earlier in the series–but they did not kill the Tuskens and were framed by the Pyke Syndicate.
Will The Mandalorian season 3 answer the Nikto mystery?
It is worth noting that both the The Mandalorian season 3 teaser trailer and the official trailer show Niktos on what appears to be Nevarro. They can be seen in the teaser trailer alongside a Trandoshan and a Klatooinian in one shot and in another shot are attacked by a Mandalorian. In the official trailer a Nikto is brought to the ground as a couple Anzellans gleefully watch.
Of course, these Niktos might be completely unconnected to the Niktos who had Grogu, but it would be interesting to connect back to the Niktos from the first episode. Perhaps these Niktos will want to take Grogu back from Din and fans can finally learn why they had Grogu in the first place. They may even confront Din to get revenge for their brethren that he murdered
The Nikto mystery is not as important as finding out what Moff Gideon and the remaining Imperials want with Grogu’s blood or how Grogu survived Order 66, but it would be interesting to finally get an answer, and the season 3 trailers tease that the answer might come sooner than you think.