Din Djarin and Grogu are introduced to a new threat in the form of Gorian Shard in the latest season of The Mandalorian. The character is played by Nonso Anozie.
Din Djarin travels to Nevarro to meet Greef Karga and prepare for his journey to Mandalore. He sees a statue in remembrance of IG-11 and the droid’s sacrifice and decides that he wants to get IG-11 operational again to accompany him on his journey.
As he and Karga are discussing details, a few pirates enter the town and cause a disturbance. Karga talks to the head of the pack, Vane, asking him to clear out. Vane reminds Karga that he’s in this current position thanks to a donation in the past from Vane’s boss.
The pirate king
Vane is of course referring to a time when Nevarro was the home of scum and villainy and wasn’t the prosperous haven it is today. Karga built a saloon with funds from the pirate king Gorian Shard, but now that saloon is a school and Karga doesn’t want the pirates to disturb it.
He strongly advises that they leave and beats Vane to the punch as he shoots the weapon out of Vane’s hands. When Vane’s buddies try to retaliate, Djarin steps in and puts down the remaining pirates with Karga’s help.
He leaves Vane alive so that he can go back to his boss and spread the word that Nevarro is not to be trifled with anymore. This comes back to bite Djarin as he’s leaving the planet when he is ambushed by Vane and some other pirates in fighters.
They pursue him through an asteroid belt but Djarin is a much better pilot and manages to take down all of them except Vane. He closes in on Vane but is led to Gorian’s ship, where the pirate king himself is waiting to get revenge.
With a target lock on Djarin’s ship, he orders him to surrender for a chance at survival but Djarin uses this as a teaching moment for Grogu, telling him that it is never wise to trust a pirate. He then proceeds to hit the afterburners on his ship and escape.
Gorian cries out in frustration, but this doesn’t appear to be the last time they cross paths. This is the first appearance of Gorian Shard in the Star Wars universe, although pirates have appeared many times before, most notably the pirate Hondo Ohnaka and his crew.
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