Image: Francois Duhamel / Lucasfilm Ltd
The Mandalorian won’t return until early 2022, but that gives us another year to speculate about Season 3. The Star Wars show from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni went deeper into wider canon with its second season, and with that and the departure of our favorite little friend, Season 3 could look very different.
The Star Wars universe is rich and extensive, so Season 3 could really go anywhere. But based on what we’ve seen so far, here are some of our ideas for The Mandalorian Season 3.
Mandalore
The Mandalorian is moving back to Mandalore in “The Mandalorian” Season 3…we think.
Image: Justin Lubin / Lucasfilm Ltd.
For starters, our titular Mandalorian is finally going back to Mandalore — but it’s complicated. After striking down Moff Gideon and taking the Darksaber, Din Djarin can now lay claim to ruling the planet. Of course he has no interest in this, but as we saw in the Season 2 finale he can’t simply hand the saber back to Bo-Katan Kryze. Mandalore has a long history of war and combat, and Bo-Katan’s acquisition of the saber in any way other than combat would be seen as illegitimate.
So Din is returning to Mandalore with maybe not an enemy (yet), but certainly a fraught alliance. We also know that Bo-Katan has a complicated history with Death Watch, the subgroup of Mandalorians who espoused violence and warfare.
Then there’s the continued headache of the Darksaber, a prized heirloom of the Mandalorian clan Viszla, which supported Bo-Katan for many years. It once previously belonged to Sabine Wren from Star Wars: Rebels, but she offered it to Bo-Katan, whom she believed was more fit to rule. Interestingly, none of the rules of power transfer that Gideon mentions in “The Rescue” seemed to apply with Sabine and Bo-Katan, so either the situation is more nuanced than it was in Rebels or we’re looking at some classic Star Wars retconning.
Tatooine
I demand at least one cantina scene in “The Mandalorian” Season 3!
Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.
It isn’t written in any Lucasfilm bylaws that Tatooine must appear in all major Star Wars properties (lookin’ at you, new trilogy), but The Mandalorian has now visited the Skywalkers’ home planet multiple times. It’s where we met Peli Motto, Cobb Vanth, and Fennic Shand, who led us to Boba Fett (or rather, led Boba to us in “The Tragedy”).
The Book of Boba Fett guarantees Tatooine’s sustained presence in the Star Wars spotlight, so maybe Mando will take some time off from visiting his favorite desert planet. Then again, Boba might just be one of the many people who likes to call Din up for a favor.
Mando’s old life
I don’t need more Mayfeld unless we get to find out where in the galaxy he got that accent.
Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.
The Season 2 finale kind of threw everything we’re used to about The Mandalorian out the window. We’re looking at a Season 3 with potentially no Grogu and maybe no more adventure-of-the-week structure anymore — or at least, an adventure confined to Mandalore and not traversing the whole galaxy. Will Din lose touch with Cara Dune and Greef Karge (“MANDOOO”), or will they join him as he attempts to lead a whole planet? And what of Mando’s possible criminal past, the company that led him to Mayfeld and others featured in Season 1’s “The Prisoner?” When they hear that he now rules Mandalore, Din’s enemies could form a long line to exact their revenge.
A little show called Rebels
Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in “The Mandalorian” Season 2.
Image: disney / lucasfilm
Hey uh, in case you hadn’t picked up on it by now, you should probably watch Star Wars: Rebels. The four-season animated series takes place in the years leading up to A New Hope and follows a ragtag group of resistance fighters on missions around the galaxy.
We aren’t confident that more of these characters will show up in the live-action Star Wars universe, but Rebels gives The Mandalorian a whole lot of context. At the end of Rebels, Sabine and Ahsoka set off to find Grand Admiral Thrawn, who fought the Rebels crew relentlessly and disappeared with young jedi Ezra Bridger. If Ahsoka or Sabine show up, they could enlist Din and his followers to help hunt down Thrawn and eventually find Ezra.
Ezra himself opens up new possibilities; unlike Ahsoka, who doesn’t consider herself a jedi, Ezra discovered his Force sensitivity after the Old Republic’s fall, when the Jedi Order had been destroyed. He demonstrated constant excitement for learning the ways of the Force and an intense desire to connect to the Jedi’s history in any way he could. Ezra would’ve agreed to train Grogu in a heartbeat, and if he returns to join Luke, he could do just that.
The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+.