Disney’s The Mandalorian has quickly become one of TV’s biggest hits over its first two seasons on Disney+, managing to dominate headlines and break streaming records while turning Baby Yoda (aka Grogu) into the Star Wars saga’s latest (and arguably most adorable) icon.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian concluded December 18, and the question now becomes: What’s next for Din Djarin and his Force-wielding traveling partner? Official details about the show’s next season remain scarce, of course, but there are some things we do know — and plenty we can speculate on — as we look to the future of The Mandalorian.
(The following article will include discussion of plot points from The Mandalorian season 2 finale, so consider this a spoiler warning.)
Premiere date
During the Disney Investor Day presentation held in December, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that the “next chapter in the story of The Mandalorian” would be available on the Disney+ service “for Christmas 2021.” While that was initially interpreted as the premiere date for season 3 of the series, a post-credits scene in the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian has made that premiere date for season 3 less certain.
The aforementioned scene from the season 2 finale revealed that a new series, The Book of Boba Fett, will premiere in December 2021. That left many fans wondering whether they’d need to wait considerably longer for season 3 of The Mandalorian — or if a third season was even planed for the series.
Several days after The Book of Boba Fett announcement, Lucasfilm concept designer Paul Bateman indicated on Twitter that season 3 of The Mandalorian was indeed happening, and that the third season of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett each have different shooting schedules (debunking speculation that The Book of Boba Fett would replace The Mandalorian going forward).
Totally different shooting schedule BFFC ;)
— Paul Bateman (@PaulRMQ) December 18, 2020
The first trailer
There’s no indication when the first trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 (or The Book of Boba Fett) will be released, but if Disney keeps to a similar schedule as season 2, fans will likely have quite a while to wait before the first footage from the next season emerges. The first trailer for season 2 of The Mandalorian premiered September 15, 2020 — just a month and a half before the season’s October 30 premiere.
Returning cast
At this point, the only cast member certain to return for season 3 of The Mandalorian is series star Pedro Pascal, who will continue to play the man under the mask (except when it’s one of his stunt doubles, of course). Given the events of the season 2 finale, however, we might have seen the last of everyone’s favorite egg-eating, Force-wielding, 50-year-old infant, Baby Yoda (aka Grogu).
With Disney’s initial announcement of two spinoff series from The Mandalorian, it’s reasonable to expect Rosario Dawson to make another appearance in the show’s third season as Ahsoka Tano before (or during) her transition to her own series. With the season 2 finale also serving to announce the mysterious project The Book of Boba Fett, there’s reason to believe we haven’t seen the last of Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett in one way or another.
Other likely candidates to return for the show’s third season include Gina Carano as Cara Dune, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand, and Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze.
The story
Nothing is known for sure about where season 3 of The Mandalorian will take Din Djarin and his allies — and enemies — as the show continues.
In September, Giancarlo Esposito — who plays series villain Moff Gideon — hinted at a much wider galaxy to explore in the third and fourth seasons of The Mandalorian, as well as the likelihood that some of the show’s biggest questions might finally be answered.
“We’re living in a universe that is huge and [that has] so much to explore,” he told People magazine. “So I think this show is going to start to lay the groundwork for the depth and breadth that’s going to come in season 3 and season 4, where you’re really gonna start to get answers.”
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian are available on the Disney+ streaming service.
