Star Wars fans have been waiting two years and two months (yes, we have been counting) for the return of The Mandalorian. Season 3 will begin streaming on Disney+ Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Here is everything you need to know about the new season of the Star Wars spinoff ahead of the premiere.
The Mandalorian season 3 trailer
The official trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 propels us back into the galaxy far, far away with Din Djarin, Grogu, and an array of human and alien characters, creatures, and droids.
Din Djarin narrates that “Being a Mandalorian is not just learning about how to fight. You also have to know how to navigate the galaxy. That way, you’ll never be lost.” He then explains that he is traveling to Mandalore so that he might be forgiven for his transgressions against the Mandalorian Code of Honor. Multiple Jedi appear in scene with their lightsabers ignited as a yet unknown kyber crystal-powered weapon cuts through a closed door. Peli Motto, who is usually irritable and sarcastic says, “May the Force be with you!”
The Mandalorian season 3 cast
Beyond Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin, the cast of season 3 will include Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Captain Carson Teva, and Carl Weathers as Greef Karga. Emily Swallow will reprise her role as the Armorer and Omid Abtahi appears to have a more prominent role than ever before as Dr. Pershing. Christopher Lloyd and Tim Meadows are also among the cast, but their characters have not yet been revealed.
The Mandalorian season 3 plot
Series creator Jon Favreau wrote all eight episodes of The Mandalorian season 3. Noah Kloor was a co-writer for Chapter 19 and Dave Filoni was a co-writer for Chapter 20 and Chapter 23. The narrative chronology of season 3 begins immediately after the last episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Din Djarin removed his helmet when he said goodbye to Grogu, who chose to begin his Jedi training with Luke Skywalker in the The Mandalorian season 2 finale. Din Djarin travels to Mandalore—presumably (but not confirmed) with Grogu—in an attempt to redeem himself for having removed his helmet.
The first official clip from The Mandalorian season 3 shows Greef Karga offering Din Djarin a place to establish permanent residence as “landed gentry” on Nevarro. Landed gentry is a real-life historical social class of landowners in England who lived entirely on rental income. This offer suggests that Greef Karga is not only offering Din Djarin a home, but also land that he could rent to tenants for a profit. Din Djarin refuses the offer, while Grogu playfully spins in a swivel chair and uses the Force to take a Skittles-like candy from a bowl on Greef Karga’s desk. This brief scene offers viewers a glimpse into a new season full of surprises we can only speculate about at this point.
Pedro Pascal told Empire magazine “What I love most about Season 3 is how much the world opens up in terms of Mandalore and Mandalorians,” and elaborates, “that means so many different facets of culture, politics, and rules and discoveries. Delicious doors are flying wide open.”
More about The Mandalorian season 3
The Mandalorian season 3 promises several new Mandalorian characters, each in their own unique traditional beskar’gam armor. The Anzellan Babu Frik, who first appeared as a droidsmith based on Kajimi in The Rise of Skywalker, is visible (and distinctly audible) in the official trailer. And he might not be the only connection between The Mandalorian and the sequel Trilogy: A non-viable clone of Snoke was seen in The Mandalorian season 2, in “Chapter 12: The Siege,” when Din Djarin discovers a laboratory on an abandoned Imperial base on Nevarro, so it is reasonable to speculate that Snoke will appear at some point in season 3.
There is related speculation about the appearance of the Praetorian Guard who served Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi. This iteration of the Praetorian Guard could link them to Emperor Palpatine’s Royal Guards in Return of the Jedi. Whether this connection between the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy will actually be made remains to be seen, but it is an intriguing possibility.
Other speculation comes from the self-described “number one source” for HD and 4K stills of trailers, publicity clips, and featurettes @Cryptic4KQual on Twitter, who says that The Mandalorian season 3 premiere will be 35 minutes and 16 seconds. Time will tell (pun intended) if the report of this runtime is accurate. If so, it will make The Mandalorian season 3 premiere the shortest of any Star Wars series premiere on Disney+ to date.
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(featured image: Disney+)
