After the rollercoaster finale of The Mandalorian Season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett finale, fans have been eagerly waiting to see the next chapter of the hit Star Wars series. The wait might be a little longer than initially expected, but The Mandalorian Season 3 does promise to be worth your patience.
First launched in November 2019, The Mandalorian follows the adventures of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), the titular hero and a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Over the course of the first two seasons, we saw the Mandalorian develop a bond with the young force-sensitive child Grogu (better known among fans as Baby Yoda). He’s faced criminals, monsters, and the remnants of the evil Empire and there’s no telling where exactly his story will go from here.
That said, we do have some details about the Disney+ show’s upcoming Season 3. So warm up those blasters and read on for the full details.
Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on June 3, 2022, to include news from Star Wars Celebration.
Is There a The Mandalorian Season 3 Trailer?
There is not a trailer for The Mandalorian Season 3 yet. Unfortunately, the new season has not begun filming yet and it could be awhile before it does. Disney has a lot of Star Wars content lined up right now so it will take some time for The Mandalorian to blast off again. Keep an eye on this space though because we will be bringing you trailers and teasers as and when they become available.
Is There a The Mandalorian Season 3 Release Date Yet?
The Mandalorian Season 3 is currently slated to premiere on Disney+ in February 2023. While that still may feel like a ways away, there are still plenty of other new Star Wars shows to enjoy on Disney+ in the meantime, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the forthcoming Andor series, as well as the new season of the animated Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy had announced during December 2020’s Disney Investor Day presentation that the next chapter of The Mandalorian would arrive in time for Christmas Day 2021. However, showrunner Jon Favreau later clarified that she was talking about The Book of Boba Fett, a spinoff series set up in the finale of Season 2.
Who Is in The Mandalorian Season 3 Cast?
We have yet to receive an official confirmation on the cast for The Mandalorian Season 3, as is tradition for this show (remember how each guest star in Season 2 was a surprise?). Fans can obviously expect Pedro Pascal to return as the gunslinging protagonist but there’s no word yet on who else will be returning.
Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the main villain Moff Gideon in the first two seasons, has teased that we will see more of him in the coming seasons. So he’s probably going to be there in Season 3. Carl Weathers may also return as Mando’s friend Greef Karga.
Katee Sackhoff will return as the popular character Bo-Katan Kryze. The character has a lot further to go in her journey and she will reportedly be a major force in Season 3.
It’s currently unclear whether Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett and Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano will be back in Season 3 after the events of The Book of Boba Fett. If Boba Fett does return, it’s quite probable that he will bring Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) with him.
New cast members this season include Christopher Lloyd and Tim Meadows in unspecified roles.
The only thing that is certain about Season 3’s cast is that Gina Carano will not return to play Cara Dune. Disney and Lucasfilm have cut all ties with the actor after she made some problematic social media posts. As it stands, it doesn’t look like the character will be recast, although that is a possibility.
The big question fans are asking is whether Grogu will return in The Mandalorian Season 3. Those who watched the finale for The Book of Boba Fett know that everybody’s favorite Jedi infant has returned to Din.
When Is The Mandalorian Season 3 Filming?
We at Collider exclusively reported that The Mandalorian Season 3 won’t begin filming until late 2021. This may partly be because Pedro Pascal was working on the TV adaptation of The Last of Us for HBO, which is filming now. But the main reason is that the cutting-edge LA soundstages where The Mandalorian is shot are currently being used for other projects.
Lucasfilm wascommitted to finishing production on The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi before they go to work on The Mandalorian Season 3. Filming on The Book of Boba Fett wrapped on June 8, 2021, and Obi-Wan Kenobi on September 19, 2021.
Season 3 finally began filming on October 13, 2021 and wrapped on March 29, 2022.
When Is The Mandalorian Season 3 Set?
It’s possible that at least a few months may have passed between the end of The Book of Boba Fett and the start of Season 3.
In relation to the movies, The Mandalorian is set five years after Return of the Jedi. Considering the next film in the franchise’s timeline, The Force Awakens, is set thirty years after that point, there’s a lot of room for the show to expand.
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have only covered a short part of that timeline so far. So a quick time jump wouldn’t necessarily hurt. We will, however, have to wait for official confirmation on this.
How Does The Mandalorian Season 3 Connect To The Book of Boba Fett?
As many fans already know The Book of Boba Fett shifted gears in a big way in its fifth episode “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian” which felt much more like a back to basics episode of The Mandalorian rather than an episode of the Boba Fett fronted series. Regardless, Din’s appearance in the last three episodes of the series tied up some of the loose ends that were left unresolved in the Season 2 finale, including Mando gaining a new ship, reuniting with Grogu, learning more about the Darksaber’s history, and being cast out of his tribe after revealing that he removed his helmet. He also learns that the only way he can atone for his sins is to come into contact with the water in the mines of Mandalore, which likely be a big part of Season 3.
What Is The Mandalorian Season 3’s Story?
The biggest plotline looming over Season 3 is the struggle for the Darksaber. This legendary Mandalorian weapon is a symbol of power and its wielder is the rightful ruler of Mandalore.
The Darksaber was in the possession of Moff Gideon until Din Djarin won the weapon in combat at the end of Season 2. He then offered the Darksaber to Bo-Katan but she refused to take it from him. It appears the only way she can take the weapon and claim the throne is if she defeats Din Djarin in battle.
That’s going to be a problem in The Mandalorian Season 3. Din Djarin himself has no interest in being a ruler but he can’t just chuck the Darksaber into space either. Furthermore, Ahsoka already name-dropped Thrawn, so that EU character could come into play somehow as well. And it looks like Mandalorian politics may be a plot point once the show comes back.
And speaking of Mandalore, we’ve yet to properly see the Mandalorian homeworld on the show. The planet was devastated by an Imperial attack known as the Great Purge before the events of the series.
Most people in the galaxy, including the Mandalorian, consider Mandalore to be a cursed world. But Bo-Katan is hellbent on retaking the planet and bringing the Mandalorians together as one nation again.
It seems rather likely that we might see something of Mandalore in the coming season. While the Mandalorian will probably continue his nomadic ways, it’s possible that he will have to return to the homeworld at some point.
Another plotline that fans would be very interested to see is Grogu’s return. The little green child is the breakout star of the series so it would be a shame if he wasn’t involved in Season 3.
It also seems very possible that the Mandalorian will have further adventures against the Empire. Moff Gideon may have been defeated but there are still other Imperial remnants out in the galaxy. At some point, we are going to see how those pieces fit together and it’s inevitable that the Mandalorian will find himself in the center of the action, whether he likes it or not.
