It's fair to say that Season 2 of The Mandalorian ended with a bang. While Mando, Cara Dune, Fennec Shand, Boba Fett, Bo-Katan, and Koska Reeves held their ground against Moff Gideon and his company of seemingly indestructible Dark Troopers, Luke Skywalker came to their rescue, leaving fans slack-jawed and teary-eyed. But the waterworks didn't stop there – R2-D2 also showed up, before Luke left to train Grogu (aka Baby Yoda), far from the reach of the Empire.
With so many live-action Star Wars shows on the horizon, such as The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor, as well as animated shows like Star Wars: Visions, it's quite easy to forget that The Mandalorian will be returning to Disney+. And we can't quite contain our excitement for seeing the return of everyone's (new) favorite bounty hunter Din Jarin. But there are plenty of rumors, theories, and predictions for what will happen in The Mandalorian Season 3. Eager to find out what they are? This is the way…
The Mandalorian Season 3: What will happen?
With Grogu now seemingly out of the picture – but hopefully only for the time being – it's actually quite difficult to predict what The Mandalorian Season 3 will be about. But we do know many things. For starters, Din Jarin and Bo-Katan will most definitely go head-to-head, as Bo-Katan wants what's rightfully hers so that she can claim the throne of Mandalore – the Darksaber.
We also know that the Empire will continue to be a problem in the faraway galaxy. But it begs to question what will happen to Moff Gideon, who was apprehended by Mando and the gang in the season finale. Many fans are speculating that Gideon works under Grand Admiral Thrawn, a villain from Star Wars: Rebels who is now confirmed to be appearing in the upcoming Ahsoka series.
It's also possible we'll see some ‘crossover episodes, with The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka confirmed as being set during the same timeline as The Mandalorian. With that said, we've already seen those characters in The Mandalorian, so it might be time for Mando to pay a visit to other spin-off shows instead (although we don't exactly want an episode without him).
Another burning question is whether or not Grogu will make an appearance in Season 3, considering he has left with Luke Skywalker to become a trained Force user. After all, the show's success owes a lot to this character, who hasn't only endeared fans the world over, but wields as much merchandising potential as he does midi-chlorians.
The Mandalorian Season 3: Who's the villain?
While Bo-Katan was very much one of the heroes in The Mandalorian Season 2, the female Mandalorian has been previously depicted as something of a morally ambiguous character, having been a member of terrorist cell Death Watch. Her actions in The Clone Wars are questionable at best, however, in the end, she does team up with Ahsoka Tano to help take down Darth Maul.
The last time we saw her, though, she was in a bit of a predicament – as was Din Jarin, who had managed to win the Darksaber from Moff Gideon in combat, a weapon that can make its owner the true ruler of Mandalore. And though Din wasn't interested in keeping hold of it, it can only be won from him by Bo-Katan through battle.
This predicament is definitely something that will be revisited, especially considering this is where the finale left things, but it's also possible that Mando might decide to keep the Darksaber for himself and claim the throne to Mandalore Boba Fett-style. But if Bo-Katan isn't going to be the villain, or at least the main one, then who will be?
Fans are speculating that Grand Admiral Thrawn will make an appearance, but seeing as he's set to be the villain in Ahsoka, this is unlikely. But we do know that Mando and the Empire aren't quite done, so we're betting our galactic credits on that sneaky Moff escaping captivity and getting back up to his old tricks.
The Mandalorian Season 3: Unexpected characters
Season 2 delivered its fair share of well-known characters, starting with Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano, both of whom appear in animated shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.
There was also fan-favorite Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (he has also appeared in The Clone Wars), and, of course, Luke Skywalker himself, of the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy. But what unexpected characters could appear in Season 3?
Some theories suggest that we'll see Han Solo and Chewbacca enter the mix. And let's face it, this will be a lot easier to accomplish, considering that the Deepfake technology that was used to de-age Mark Hamill won't be necessary for the two, assuming Alden Ehrenreich is available (although we can imagine many fans complaining that the 79-year-old Harrison Ford won't get the call).
Some are now also wondering whether Omega from the animated show Star Wars: The Bad Batch will appear, although this is likely nothing more than wishful thinking, which is no surprise considering the character has been a hit with fans since the show started.
So it's fair to say that Season 2 relied heavily on fan service, featuring the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan, Boba Fett, and Luke Skywalker, while also including dialogue relating to iconic characters such as Yoda and Darth Vader.
But whether or not Season 3 will do the same remains to be seen, though it's unlikely the new season will offer up no familiar faces from the Star Wars universe. If Luke Skywalker is set to return, though, it sounds like fans are still holding out hope for Mark Hamill-look alike Sebastian Stan…
The Mandalorian Season 3: What planets will we see?
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian have given us plenty of new worlds such as Nevarro, as well as olden goldies like Tatooine. But where might The Mandalorian Season 3 take us? Well, we know for a fact that there will be world-hopping involved, something we hope to also do in the upcoming open-world Star Wars game, which will hopefully include many known planets we want to see. But what are fans saying about The Mandalorian Season 3?
Let's look back at Season 2, as it's undoubtedly where all the clues lie. While we can't of course predict what new planets will be introduced, we can wager a bet on what familiar planets Mando will visit on his galactic travels. For starters, Ahch-To is showing up on the list of possible destinations – which is where Luke trains young Jedi in the many years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. However, this all depends on whether Grogu will make an appearance in The Mandalorian Season 3.
With predictions leaning heavily towards Mando and Bo-Katan going head-to-head over the Darksaber, and thus the fate of the throne of Mandalore, then we may also see Mandalore in the present (having so far only seen it in flashback-form). As seen in The Clone Wars, Mandalore is very much a city planet, so it would be great to see Mando in an environment other than the one that's rocky or sandy in nature.
Speaking of city planets, Coruscant is circulating the theory-sphere, with fans theorizing that we'll get to see how Grogu managed to survive the massacre at the Jedi Temple during Order 66. While of course the character hadn't been developed at the time of Revenge of the Sith, canon does now state that he was there. But on the other hand, if Grogu is on a hiatus, showing us a flashback of his time on the city-planet would be pretty pointless (but we want to see it anyway).
The Mandalorian Season 3: Connections to the sequel trilogy
Ever since Season 2 reached its epic conclusion, fans have speculated that the show will be used to retcon certain elements of the sequel trilogy, while at the same time bridging that gap of 25 years between the two. Showrunner Jon Favreau himself has already admitted that the show will indeed lead into the three Disney sequel movies (although many would prefer if Disney planned to erase the sequels from existencealtogether), which is what started these theories in the first place.
But what does this mean? Will there be some a time-jump, and will Mando end up meeting a young Rey, who will replace Grogu as ‘The Child'? Will The Mandalorian begin to build Rey Skywalker's story? With Baby Yoda now out of the picture, it's a huge possibility that the show will continue with its ‘surrogate father' format, seeing as this is what helped launched the show to success.
Rumors have even included Daisy Ridley reprising her role of Rey in The Mandalorian, but this means that Mando would meet her in adult form, and such a significant time-jump could be seen as over-the-top. With that said, time travel is possible within the Star Wars universe, which is something Star Wars: Rebels explored in its final season – although such a path is only available to the Jedi. The only way a time jump would work, though, as opposed to time travel, would be if Mando meets a very young Jakku-dwelling Rey and not the Daisy Ridley-version.
And who's to say that ‘The Child' even has to be Grogu or Rey? A now more morally guided Din Jarin is likely to put his efforts elsewhere other than bounty hunting, so it's possible Grogu's future lies in other Star Wars shows and movies, and that The Mandalorian Season 3 will introduce a new ‘Child' altogether. Either way, a relationship between the show and the sequel trilogy is perhaps the biggest of rumors and theories, which also encompasses theories about the Empire's plan to resurrect Emperor Palpatine, or even create Snoke.
Until there are more rumors, theories, and predictions, we have spoken. The Book of Boba Fett arrives on Disney+ in December, while Pedro Pascal is set to appear in The Last of Us HBO series.
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