Star Wars has revealed Marshal Cara Dune is technically the heir to the Jedi in The Mandalorian. Set five years after Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian has revealed the defeat of the Empire at the Battle of Jakku left the galaxy in chaos.

The New Republic’s power is centered at the Galactic Core; while the Outer Rim technically belongs to the Republic, this is only nominally the case, for they do not possess the forces to bring peace to the galaxy.

The Mandalorian season 2 revealed the New Republic is attempting to police the Outer Rim by hiring skilled operatives to serve as planetary Marshals. Cara Dune signed up as Marshal of the planet Nevarro, and she’s clearly doing a good job of cleaning the planet up.

Marshals appear to be quasi-autonomous, with remarkable powers; Cara Dune was even able to sign out a New Republic prisoner from a penal colony without any fuss. On the face of it, it’s quite surprising a new government would give such sweeping abilities to untested figures – but it seems they’re actually following a tried-and-tested model.

Lucasfilm’s latest transmedia initiative, Star Wars: The High Republic, has revealed the Marshal model is actually based on the Jedi themselves. These stories are set during the High Republic Era, some 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, when the Old Republic was first expanding into the Outer Rim and Hyperspace was still viewed as dangerous.

The Jedi Order expanded into the Rim alongside the Republic, establishing outposts on every inhabited planet they could, and Jedi Knights served as peacekeepers across this vast sector of space.

As Cavan Scott’s Star Wars: The High Republic #2 confirms, a Jedi who was placed in charge of an outpost was officially called a Marshal. Avar Kriss, who stars in Charles Soule’s novel Light of the Jedi, was officially the Marshal of Starlight Beacon.

It makes sense for the New Republic to base their models of government on ones that worked before. There is just one problem, however; at this point in time, there are precious few Jedi who could serve as Marshals.

Consequently, the New Republic has been forced to adapt and appoint skilled individuals such as Cara Dune to serve as Marshals for now. No doubt they hope Luke Skywalker will eventually train enough Jedi to take over in the end.

For now, though, it means Cara Dune is effectively an heir to the Jedi Order itself. Serving as a Marshal, she has the same kind of influence and autonomy the Jedi enjoyed in the past, which explains why she proved so useful to Din Djarin in The Mandalorian season 2. It will be interesting to see how she performs in this role in The Mandalorian season 3.