It might feel like we've been waiting ages for The Mandalorian season 3, but the good news is we're one step closer to the Star Wars spinoff returning to Disney Plus. Carl Weathers has said the third installment starts filming in the next month, which makes a 2022 release seem very likely.
That doesn't mean the third season is a total mystery, though. We've rounded up all the information out there about the next batch of episodes, including quotes from Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni. There's also an update on everyone's favorite green baby (Yoda), Grogu, with Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito suggesting the Child has some pretty awesome Force powers. Then we've got speculation on what the storyline could cover, including the problem of the Darksaber now that Din Djarin is the rightful owner, and not Bo-Katan.
So, without further ado, scroll on to check out everything we know about The Mandalorian season 3.
The Mandalorian season 3 release date speculation
During Disney’s Investor Day stream this December, Kathleen Kennedy announced that "the next chapter" in The Mandalorian story would be Christmas 2021. However, creator and producer Jon Favreau has since confirmed that The Book of Boba Fett – a separate entity to The Mandalorian season 3 revealed in The Mandalorian season 2 post-credits scene – will come in December 2021.
The Mandalorian season 3, which entered pre-production as The Book of Boba Fett entered production, therefore looks to set to arrive in 2022, once the Fett spin-off has stopped airing.
"What we didn't say [during the Disney investors' call] is the next show coming up is The Book of Boba Fett," Favreau said on Good Morning America. "And then we go into production right after that on season three of The Mandalorian, back with the main character that we all have known and loved. That will be pretty soon following [Boba Fett]."
Variety reported in April 2020 that Favreau has been beavering away on the scripts for The Mandalorian season 3. Deadline floated the idea of Mando filming in "late 2020," though that series has since been confirmed to be The Book of Boba Fett, rather than Mandalorian season 3.
Pedro Pascal told Ewan McGregor that "we haven't shot a third season" back in June, but a report from Collider indicated that the third season should start filming in late 2021 or early 2022. It seems 2021 is the case, as Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito revealed at Galaxy Con: "They just finished shooting Boba Fett, and soon they will start on season 3 of Mandalorian." (H/T WRAL).
Greef Karga actor Carl Weathers also gave an update at Steel City Con in August. "We're gonna start a new season of The Mandalorian, within the next month," he said. "Yeah. And I get to be in front of camera again, and I get to direct again." (H/T ComicBook.com)
The Mandalorian season 3 cast
At this early stage, The Mandalorian season 3 cast is anything but set in carbonite. We can expect Pedro Pascal to return as Din Djarin, though Grogu's presence is currently uncertain thanks to him being whisked off by Luke Skywalker. Pascal is also set to star in the upcoming HBO series The Last of Us TV series, which takes precedence over The Mandalorian season 3 – and reportedly doesn't finish production until June 2022. Don't be too worried, though – with Mando's face usually covered, Pascal can provide the voice for the character while someone else wears the Beskar onset, so there's no reason these two series should clash. Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito also said at GalaxyCon that "we never have to wait on Pedro," so it's safe to assume The Last of Us won't be causing any disruption.
Esposito also revealed during an interview with EW that Gideon will likely have more of a presence in the third installment: "I have a feeling you'll see more of me next season. More than likely you're going to see a lot of Moff Gideon." How very ominous…
Sophie Thatcher, best known for When the Streetlights Go On, is another name linked with joining The Mandalorian season 3, though it's unknown who she will play. She may also appear in The Book of Boba Fett – it's slightly unclear which.
Carl Weathers is back as Greef Karga, and will also be directing again, as he confirmed at Steel City Con.
After The Mandalorian season 2 ending, we can expect Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan to return, especially with how the Darksaber is now in Din's hands. Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka could be back, though she also has an upcoming spin-off.
One person who will definitely not be appearing in the series is Gina Carano's Cara Dune. The general consensus was that she would be one of the main characters in the upcoming Rangers of the New Republic spin-off. However, LucasFilm has cut all ties with Carano following her social media activity. She will therefore not be appearing in The Mandalorian season 3.
The Mandalorian season 3 story: What could happen next?
Dave Filoni has given us our first tease at what we can expect in The Mandalorian season 3: "There's a lot of new adventures coming up. I have to be careful, I can't really say anything specific, but I think the Force will be strong with this, let's just say that." While this doesn't give anything away, it does sound like classic Mando.
If we're to ignore The Book of Boba for a moment, The Mandalorian season 3 could deal with a whole host of narrative threads, just waiting to be tied up.
Among them, Mando and Bo-Katan's claim for the Darksaber appears to be top of the list. During Chapter 16, Din inadvertently claimed the Mandalore weapon as his own by defeating Moff Gideon in combat. This meant that Bo-Katan, who wanted to reclaim it from Gideon, would now have to beat Mando in combat. This is despite a plot hole stemming from The Clone Wars which saw Sabine Wren literally hand over the Darksaber to Bo-Katan without any issues.
Of course, another major plot point revolves around Luke Skywalker training Grogu. It's the crossover we never knew we needed and, unless there's a major time jump between seasons 2 and 3, we can expect the upcoming season to deal with the Jedi Master refining the Child's Force abilities.
It does seem that Grogu's powers will indeed continue to be a major part of The Mandalorian. Moff Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito gave a hint as to why the villain wants to get hold of Baby Yoda so much: "I am going to get this child, and it's for a very different reason than many people think," he said at GalaxyCon. "This child has magic powers, 50 years old, and can see the future, and we want everyone to know, eventually on this show, that this child could save our universe." If that's the case, then it makes sense the Empire are still after the Child – and also makes it likely we'll be seeing the little green guy again.
Esposito also joked: "You're going to see me kill this baby. [Laughs] How about that? It's totally wrong, but you know what, I've got to hold out somewhere that I'm going to win." Here's hoping that doesn't come to pass...
While Gideon is no longer at large, he seemingly has one last plan left to play. Throughout the season, he has clearly been fed information from an unknown source, and it's something he explicitly brings up during the season 2 finale. It wouldn't be a surprise if the new season on Disney Plus explores that connection further. Could it be Thrawn? Or does the Empire have another major player we don't know about it?
Another possibility, if The Mandalorian season 3 is further off than we might like, is for these disparate pieces of narrative to be picked up again in the Star Wars spin-offs. An Ahsoka Tano series is heading to our screens in the next few years, and has been described by Kathleen Kennedy as being "interconnected" with Rangers of the New Republic (however, that series is no longer thought to be in development). Collider also report that The Book of Boba Fett will be more like "The Mandalorian season 2.5," with characters crossing over. We may not get a traditional season 3. Instead, events may play out over the course of several shows.
The Mandalorian season 3 trailer: When to expect a teaser
As far as we know, The Mandalorian season 3 hasn’t begun filming. No footage, no trailer, natch. However, the Star Wars series has followed pretty much the same path for its last two seasons – which means we can pretty much pinpoint when we should expect to see some footage.
The Mandalorian’s first season started shooting in October 2018 and aired its first episode in November 19. In the interim, we got the first trailer in late August 2019.
Similarly, The Mandalorian season 2 started filming in November 2019 for an October 2020 air date. The Mandalorian season 2 trailer was released on September 15, 2020.
Each trailer debuted 8-10 months after filming began. Given the current timeline, expect a trailer within that timeframe as soon as filming begins. The Mandalorian season 3 should start filming soon, which means a timeframe of around April 2022 at the absolute earliest for our first look at The Mandalorian season 3. Though, with The Book of Boba Fett coming in December, perhaps we can expect a first look at The Mandalorian to coincide with that series.
For more on the future of the franchise, check out all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows currently in the works.
Want to catch up with the series so far? You'll need a Disney Plus sign-up, because it's exclusive to the streaming service. Because the Disney Plus free trial isn't around anymore, check out the Disney Plus bundles in your area for the best deals.
