Summary

  • The Mandalorian season 3 premiered on March 1, 2023, with the return of beloved characters and an expanded storyline.
  • Season 3 delved deeper into Mandalorian culture and history, exploring conflicts and new alliances.
  • The season promised to be darker and filled with action, but received mixed reviews compared to previous seasons.

new planets in The Mandalorian.

Season 2 expanded on season 1 considerably, and The Book of Boba Fett episodes 5, 6, and 7 fleshed out Grogu's and Din Djarin's stories too, making The Book of Boba Fett essential viewing ahead of The Mandalorian season 3. The ending of Boba Fett left off with Grogu and Din reunited again, guaranteeing The Mandalorian season 3 would bring the team-up adventures that made the show popular — which the trailer and promo footage also proudly showcased. Here's everything to know about The Mandalorian season 3, including the release date, story details, and cast.

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The Latest News For The Mandalorian Season 3

Both officially released The Mandalorian season 3 posters by Disney.

The world-building that The Mandalorian did over its first two seasons came full circle in the last preview clip released ahead of season 3. The 40-second clip showed Din Djarin reuniting with Greef Karga, who first appeared in the inaugural season. The first look at season 3 saw Karga offer Din and Grogu a home on Nevarro, and his confusion about Din and Grogu being together allowed Din to sort of recap the events of The Book of Boba Fett, in which Din and Grogu reunite. Karga was a stand-in for viewers who didn't watch that series and needed to catch up.

This was the last tidbit of news for The Mandalorian season 3 ahead of its release. Now that The Mandalorian season 3 has since wrapped up, the fate of the Star Wars Disney+ TV show is unknown. While The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, and it's not yet clear whether this Din Djarin and Grogu movie will be replacing season 4 or not - no doubt an intentional move by Lucasfilm. The movie is set to release at some point in 2026.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Released On March 1, 2023

Bo-Katan sitting on her throne talking to Din Djarin in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1

The season released on March 1, 2023, keeping the early talk of a February 2023 release despite a handful of delays during production. Disney also confirmed that The Mandalorian season 4 was greenlit and already being worked on, though The Mandalorian & Grogu movie has since disrupted this plan. The Mandalorian season 3 followed a similar release schedule to previous seasons in that episodes premiered on a weekly basis, though some of the directors were different. The first episode premiered on March 1, 2023, and the remaining seven episodes followed each week until the season finale aired on April 19, 2023.

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The Mandalorian Season 3 Cast & Spinoffs

The Mandalorian season 3, of course, brought back Gina Carano did not return as Cara Dune, due to her being let go after season 2.

A returning character who surprised viewers was Taika Waititi's IG-11, who portrayed both himself and IG-12 in The Mandalorian season 3.

In a fun twist, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Meadows, Lizzo, and Jack Black all made guest appearances in various episodes of season 3. Unfortunately, however, none of the characters associated with spin-offs, such as Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka, Temuera Morrison's Boba Fett, and Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand, appeared. While The Mandalorian spin-off Ahsoka season 1 brought characters from Star Wars Rebels to live-action, such as Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Hera Syndulla, one notable Rebels character actually made their live-action debut in a cameo in The Mandalorian season 3: Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios.

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The Mandalorian Season 3 Story Details

The Mandalorian season 3 dove much deeper into Mandalorian culture and history. Season 2 saw Din Djarin encounter the Darksaber and unwittingly becoming Mandalore's rightful ruler. As seen in The Book of Boba Fett, not all Mandalorians were content to leave the Darksaber with Din Djarin, and this put him in conflict with Bo-Katan at the beginning of The Mandalorian season 3.

In addition to Din's journey, Giancarlo Esposito and Katee Sackhoff revealed some key details about Gideon's and Bo-Katan's arcs ahead of The Mandalorian season 3. Season 2 saw Gideon end up behind bars, but Esposito teased that season 3 would see his character break out of prison and return to the mix (via longtime Bo-Katan actor Katee Sackhoff said would be explored in season 3 (via Collider). They, of course, both ended up coming to fruition.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Trailer

Din Djarin and Grogu take a nap in the N-1 starfighter in The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1

The last trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 arrived during a Buccaneers-Cowboys NFL Wild Card playoff game. In less than two minutes, the new The Mandalorian season 3 trailer gave the most in-depth look at the season so far. Disney and Lucasfilm had a lot of success in 2022 with shows like Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the Star Wars tentpole property when it comes to Disney+ is still The Mandalorian, even after the release of season 3.

Din talks about their people being scattered, which speaks to the overarching plot while surrounded by other Mandalorians from the various separate clans, identified by their respective armors. Grogu and Din also return to meet with the Bounty Hunters' Guild agent who helped them escape the Empire, Greef Karga, whose new, ostentatious wardrobe is just one improvement to the formerly depressed desert planet. Din confirms his plans to return to Mandalore when speaking with the Armorer in order to "be forgiven for my transgressions."

A group of Mandalorians then Mando in defending Nevarro from Pirate King Gorian Shard's pirates, who are unknowingly hired by Moff Gideon. Finally, The Mandalorian season 3 trailer ends with Grogu using the Force to push away a bipedal beast out of a cave in the desert, with Mando's off-screen voice saying, "This is the way." This beast is later identified in season 3 as an Alamite, a type of creature on Mandalore that's been able to return in the absence of the Mandalorians.

Combined with the reveals in earlier trailers, it's implied that The Mandalorian would see Grogu further realizing his true potential as a Force-wielder despite turning away from formal Jedi training, leading to him becoming Din Djarin's Mandalorian apprentice. All these reveals implied a number of possibilities, though many of these theories - including a Mandalorian civil war led by Bo-Katan's faction against Din Djarin's and Din receiving more Darksaber training from either Grogu or someone else - ended up falling flat. The trailer, then, purposely misled viewers into expecting Mandalorian division rather than their ultimate unification.

The 2023 D23 Mandalorian Season 3 Teaser

The Mandalorian The Armorer and Bo-Katan

Disney released the first teaser trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 at 2022's D23 Expo. Based on the teaser, season 3 was expected to see Din and Grogu traveling to Mandalore itself, providing the first live-action look at the homeland of the titular warrior clan. There were also more Mandalorians shown in the pre-release footage than have been seen in any Star Wars project to date. The sweeping shots of Mandalore and quick-stop tour of many colorful Mandalorian armor sets hinted that season 3 would be pushing The Mandalorian toward the spectacle of Star Wars theatrical movie releases.

There were several shots of Bo-Katan in the Kalevala throne room, a planet within the Mandalore system. Din made an oath to help Bo-Katan take back Mandalore, and in the footage, the tension between them was palpable. It already looked like Din Djarin was going to be conflicted throughout The Mandalorian season 3, paralleling the choices Grogu had to make in The Book of Boba Fett - though this tension ended up being resolved rather quickly in season 3.

There were many shots of what appeared to be dozens of Mandalorians engaged in a full-on skirmish. Star Wars is a franchise known for its vast battle sequences, yet The Mandalorian has surprisingly few. The siege, reclamation, and fate of Mandalore formed a key plot arc in the show's latter two episodes, which helped The Mandalorian season 3 to expand the scope of the franchise more than previous seasons combined. This was all set up in the first trailer, even if it did intend to mislead viewers into believing the Mandalorians would have more conflict between them.

How The Mandalorian Season 3 Was Different

The Mandalorian season 3 to be darker and more dense

With all the anticipation built up for The Mandalorian season 3, it was set to have some distinctly different characteristics than the previous two seasons. For one, season 3 would see the dynamic between Grogu and Mando continue to evolve. As Grogu's relationship with the Force continued to grow and change, the balance of who protected who was quite different moving forward. On the whole, The Mandalorian season 3 promised to be darker than previous installments, with several of the cast promising that it would also be better and denser with action and character beats.

Given that The Book of Boba Fett, essentially season 2.5 of The Mandalorian, received backlash for poor writing, many hoped it was a reassuring sign that The Mandalorian season 3 took the time to develop its characters and story in a deeper, more mature way. This, however, did not necessarily become the case. The Mandalorian season 3 ended up receiving mixed reviews, certainly falling flat for viewers in comparison to the show's first two seasons. While disappointing for some, The Mandalorian season 3 still delivered on some epic stories and reveals, and the story's future continues to look bright.

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Your Rating

The Mandalorian
Release Date
2019 - 2023-00-00
Network
Disney+
Showrunner
Jon Favreau
  • Headshot Of Pedro Pascal In The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
    Din Djarin / The Mandalorian
  • Headshot Of Katee Sackhoff In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Lionsgate's 'John Wick: Chapter 4'
    Katee Sackhoff
    Bo-Katan Kryze

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Writers
Jon Favreau
Franchise(s)
Star Wars
Seasons
3
Streaming Service(s)
Dis