The Mandalorian, season 3: Everything we know so far

There’s no question that The Mandalorian is one of TV’s biggest hits, having dominated headlines and broken countless streaming records across its first two seasons on Disney+ while turning Baby Yoda (aka Grogu) into the Star Wars saga’s latest (and arguably most adorable) icon.

With season 2 of The Mandalorian concluding December 18, 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.

Premiere date

During the Disney Investor Day presentation held in December, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that season 3 of The Mandalorian would be available on the Disney+ service “for Christmas 2021.”

Whether that means the season will premiere on December 25 or sometime before that remains unclear, but Kennedy’s announcement confirms that fans won’t have to wait much longer than a year for the next chapter of the saga. The statement also seems to confirm that The Mandalorian didn’t suffer the sort of schedule-breaking delays other projects faced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first trailer

There’s no indication when the first trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 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 form the season emerges. The first trailer for season 2 of The Mandalorian premiered September 15, 2020 — 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). Everyone’s favorite egg-eating, Force-wielding, 50-year-old infant, Baby Yoda (aka Grogu), is also expected to keep being cute in the new season, too.

Given Disney’s 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.

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, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, 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.