By Josh Bate
With The Mandalorian’s second season ending on such a resounding, unexpected note, we’re left with more than a few questions heading into the Disney+ series’ third season. Here are 10 questions we have about The Mandalorian Season 3:
1. What happens to Grogu now?
I guess this is the big question fans will be left scratching their heads over until new episodes of The Mandalorian debut. It seemed as if the show was heading in a direction where Grogu’s true destiny was to stick with Din and not go off with a Jedi, but this was evidently not the case. Despite Grogu being a massive pop culture icon at this point, it seems as if The Mandalorian Season 3 will, at least in part, shift gears away from the baby Yoda creature to other plots and characters. That being said, although Grogu’s reappearance in the show is inevitable, what that will entail, when that will happen, and if we’ll see Luke again all remain a mystery.
2. Will we see Bo Katan and Mando fight over the Darksaber?
It seems that the obvious answer to this question is yes. Chapter 16: The Rescue doesn’t leave fans with much to go off of in regards to predicting next’s season plot. One of the few unresolved plot points was the fact that Gideon’s defeat at the hands of Din has now pitted a motivated Bo Katan and a reluctant Din against one another. Will the two come to some agreement about the transference of the darksaber? Or will they indeed fight over the storied weapon? And what will be the answer to the question of why Sabine could pass the darksaber onto Bo Katan, but Din cannot?
3. Will we visit Mandalore?
Speaking of Mandalorian lore, it seems inevitable that The Mandalorian will eventually journey to Mandalore (yes, a lot of Mandalorians in the same sentence). Mandalore was a gorgeous planet brought to life in canon in The Clone Wars and Rebels and, given that Bo Katan is attempting to reclaim the planet, it seems that The Mandalorian could logically be taken here in season 3.
4. What happens to Gideon now?
Gideon has been the elusive antagonist of The Mandalorian so far, but now he is captured. This opens the door for other villains to step into the main antagonist role of the series. Or, maybe Gideon finds a way to break out of the New Republic’s custody. Either way, Gideon has featured less than people expected so far and it’ll be interesting to see where the character goes from here.
5. What happens to characters who now have their own spin off shows?
Both Cara Dune and Boba Fett, two prominent characters in The Mandalorian’s second season, now have their own Disney+ series coming our way. What does this entail for their inclusion in future episodes of The Mandalorian? Cross-overs between shows are surely inevitable, but we would expect that both Boba and Cara will have reduced roles in season 3.
6. Will Cobb Vanth reappear?
Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth was a fan favorite in season 2 and his line “I hope our paths cross again” surely sets him up to appear again. Given the Marshal’s location on Tatooine, one would think he is most likely to next appear in The Book of Boba Fett, but we hope we see more of the adventures of The Mandalorian and the Marshal soon.
7. Will we see more of Din without his helmet?
We’ve only seen the titular character’s face three times across 16 episodes, but it feels like the show is getting more and more accustomed to exposing Mando’s face. Especially with Pedro Pascal’s rising fame and the fact that Din has gradually began to take his helmet off when necessary, we’re curious about the extent to which we’ll see the unmasked Mandalorian in season 3.
8. When will people call him Din Djarin?
Speaking of our titular character, no one refers to him by his real name. The character’s real name was dropped by Moff Gideon in Chapter 8, but has not been spoken since. This was a surprising omission from season 2 and, perhaps, with Din removing his helmet more often we’ll see him shed other parts of his secretive identity, including his name.
9. Which new characters will be added to Season 3 and can they be kept a secret?
Season 2 took a massive leap forward in integrating The Mandalorian into broader canon, primarily through the appearances of Bo Katan, Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano, and, of course, Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately, all but one of these appearances leaked prematurely, something we and surely Jon Favreau and co. dearly hope does not happen again.
10. When will season 3 debut?
This is a tough one. At Disney Investor Day, Kathleen Kennedy stated season 3 would start streaming in Christmas 2021, but that is seeming less and less likely. We know that The Book of Boba Fett is set to start streaming in December 2021 and it seems unlikely there would be two Star Wars series on Disney+ simultaneously. Also, The Mandalorian season 3 is yet to go into production. Meanwhile, Andor is in the middle of production and Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to start filming in January, making it seem more likely these series drop before the next season of The Mandalorian. We hope season 3 comes sooner rather than later, but, if it is indeed later, we know there’s plenty of exciting Star Wars content to consume in the meantime.
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm & Disney+