It’s almost time to watch The Mandalorian season 3, and we’re mere days from its release. This new season finds Din Djarin back at home on Mandalore, but old enemies are still out there.
Season 2 closed out in spectacular and very surprising fashion, with a jaw-dropping return/cameo. The conclusion created a ton of questions about The Mandalorian season 3 and where its central characters, the titular bounty hunter and the Force-wielding Baby Yoda, will wind up.
In the finale, Mando/Din Djarin successfully rescued Grogu (we’ve learned that’s Baby Yoda’s real name) from the clutches of the evil Moff Gideon. Then, they were both saved from the Dark Troopers by none other than Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill, de-aged by CGI).
Afterward, Mando latter gently encouraged his adopted son to go with the Jedi for training. Before they parted, Din took off his helmet to say a tender goodbye (sob). Fortunately, The Book of Boba Fett reunited the pair, and we’re eager to see what new adventures await them.
Check out our guide on 7 things to know before watching The Mandalorian season 3, plus scroll down for everything else you should know.
The Mandalorian season 3 latest news (updated Feb. 27)
The Mandalorian season 3 release date announced
Disney Plus has set the Mandalorian season 3 release date for March 1, 2023.
And Variety (opens in new tab) reports that Jon Favreau has written season 4 already!
The Mandalorian season 3 trailers
The full, official trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 is focused on Djarin’s new mission. He seeks to cleanse himself of his past sins, back on Mandalore. Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t look to be an easy process.
A teaser titled “Who We Are” has Din Djarin explaining the Mandalorian creed, as he and Grogu speed off to the planet.
The Mandalorian season 3 cast
The cast of The Mandalorian season 3 is led by Pedro Pascal as the titular character, Din Djarin. Pascal voices Mando and portrays him sans helmet, while a body double actor takes on the full suit.
The biggest confirmed Mandalorian season 3 casting news is that Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd is on board. According to The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab), “Character details for his role are being kept locked in the trunk of a DeLorean, but it has been described as guest-starring in nature.”
As for other recurring cast members, Carl Weathers will reappear as Greef Karga. Giancarlo Eposito’s Moff Gideon was not killed in the season 2 finale and continues to be a threat.
Since Mando is now in possession of the Dark Saber, he is likely to get caught up in the war for Mandalore, which means the return of Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze and Mercedes Varnado as Kosta Reeves.
Other cast members who may pop up again include Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Bill Burr as Migs Mayfeld, Horatio Sanz as Mythrol and Emily Swallow as The Armorer.
There may be crossovers with The Mandalorian’s spinoffs. For The Book of Boba Fett, that’s Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand. For Star Wars: Ahsoka, that’s Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano.
Recently, Wen told Digital Spy (opens in new tab) that she’s unsure of if she will be in The Mandalorian season 3, stating “We’re so secretive about everything, right? We don’t call the shows, the shows. The contracts are always under different names. The show is under different names.”
Grogu has reunited with Mando, but that doesn’t preclude another cameo by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. And let’s not forget that a young Ben Solo (later Kylo Ren) is about four years old at this point.
Season 3 might bring another blast from the past in the form of Wookiees. The fan podcast Bespin Bulletin (opens in new tab) circulated the rumor that Chewbacca’s speces may make an appearance in the next installment.
“Last year I heard rumors that a Wookiee or Wookiees may appear in The Mandalorian. I’ve heard of a Wookiee showing up again as of late from a secondary source and even saw proof that a Wookiee might be appearing in The Mandalorian Season 3 from a new source,” Bespin Bulletin said. “I don’t know if the Wookiee is of any significance, if it’s a character we’re familiar with, or if even just a background character. Just thought it was worth mentioning as we all love a fuzzball.”
The Mandalorian season 3 story and plot
In an interview with our sister site Total Film, series creator Jon Favreau hinted that the big crux of the season may revolve around the culture of Din Djarin’s fellow Mandalorians, saying “There’s a lot of questions that have to be answered and hopefully all of it comes together in this season as they return to Mandalore and we figure out how this Mandalorian culture evolves past this critical point in their history.”
The Mandalorian season 2 finale opened up a huge can of sandworms. The Mandalorian’s first two seasons revolved around the bounty hunter protecting Baby Yoda and looking for its people.
After sending Grogu off with Luke Skywalker, Mando seemed at a bit of a loss for what to do. He ended up helping Boba Fett and Fennec Shand in their war against the Pykes on Tatooine.
Then, surprise! Grogu showed up. It seems the little guy has given up Jedi training to hang out with his adoptive dad again. But now what? Will Mando return to bounty hunting, with Grogu as his sidekick? Or will they both settle down on Navarro alongside Greef. Or will Din Djarin take full ownership of the Dark Saber and get involved in the fight to liberate Mandalore?
If it’s the latter, Bo-Katan may not be entirely happy about that. She asked for his help, but more as her underling/foot soldier. Bo-Katan covets that Dark Saber — but does she want it so much that she’ll duel Din Djarin for it?
Din has exhibited zero interest in intergalactic politics, so we’re curious to see if (and how) he gets pulled into the greater Mandalorian saga. As for Grogu, his Force powers could come in very handy in a fight, as we’ve seen already.
The Mandalorian season 3 episodes and directors
The Mandalorian season 3 will feature new directors and familiar names for its eight episodes: Rick Famuyiwa, Rachel Morrison, Lee Isaac Chung, Carl Weathers, Peter Ramsey and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The newcomers are Morrison (cinematographer on Black Panther), Chung (Minari) and Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
As for the scripts, creator Jon Favreau is the writer or co-writer on all eight episodes. Noah Kloor is also credited on the third episode, while Dave Filoni (Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch) helped pen the scripts for episodes four and seven.
