The Mandalorian season 3: release date, trailer, cast, plot, and more

The Mandalorian season 3 is less than two weeks away from making its debut – and it’s about time, too.

Star Wars fans have been waiting for the live-action show’s next entry to land on Disney Plus for a while now. Sure, we’ve had animated series The Bad Batch season 2 to tide us over, but the wait to be reunited with Din and Grogu has been a long one. Thankfully, we’ll see them again very soon.

Ahead of one of the best Disney Plus shows‘ return, what do you need to know about it? Below, we’ve rounded up what’s worth knowing about season 3 of The Mandalorian. That includes its release date, plot details, full cast list, the show’s future, and more.

Full spoilers follow for The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2, as well as The Book of Boba Fett.

The Mandalorian season 3 release date

The Mandalorian season 3 will be released on Wednesday, March 1.

It’s unclear if it’ll premiere with a single episode or if it’ll follow other Star Wars shows, such as Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and receive a multi-episode launch. We’ll update this section once we know more.

The Mandalorian season 3 trailer

The Mandalorian season 3’s official trailer arrived in January. The keen-eyed among you will have noticed lots of references, Easter eggs, and potential story details in it, so you’ll want to read our Mandalorian season 3 trailer breakdown article for more information.

Missed the first teaser for The Mandalorian’s third outing? Check it out below:

The Mandalorian season 3 cast

Here’s the confirmed cast list for The Mandalorian season 3 so far:

• Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin/The Mandalorian
• Grogu as himself
• Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon
• Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze
• Carl Weathers as Greef Karga
• Emily Swallow as the Armorer
• Omid Abtahi as Doctor Pershing
• Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto
• Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Carson Teva
• Christopher Lloyd as TBC
• Tim Meadows as TBC

Pascal, Esposito, Sackhoff, Swallow, Abtahi, and Weathers all reprise their roles from previous seasons. Gina Carano, who was sacked after she posted an official social media post in early 2021, won’t be returning, though.

Meanwhile, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is back as New Republic pilot Carson Teva, which was confirmed in the official trailer. Having appeared in the Back to the Future and Star Trek franchises, Christopher Lloyd will make his Star Wars debut in an undisclosed role, while Saturday Night Live veteran Tim Meadows is also reportedly playing a part.

As for those behind the camera, Lucasfilm and Disney have confirmed its directorial line-up for The Mandalorian season 3. Rick Famuyiwa, who holds a dual director-producer role on the space western-styled series, will helm the first and final episodes of season 3. Rachel Morrison, Lee Isaac Chung, Carl Weathers, Peter Ramsey, and Bryce Dallas Howard have also directed entries in the show’s next instalment.

The Mandalorian season 3 story

Spoilers follow for The Mandalorian season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett.

Here’s a brief story synopsis, courtesy of Lucasfilm: “The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.”

Wait – didn’t Din and Grogu part ways in season 2? Yes, but those who watched The Book of Boba Fett (and for those who can’t be bothered streaming it), they reunited in the latter show’s season finale. 

In short: midway through Boba Fett’s standalone series (or it was, until Mando showed up in episode 5), Luke offered Grogu a choice – stay with him to continue his Jedi training, or go back to Din. Grogu opted for the latter, thus Din and Baby Yoda have joined forces once more. We saw them fly off into space in Din’s rebuilt Naboo Starfighter in Boba Fett episode 7, paving the way for new adventures in The Mandalorian season 3.

Explaining why the pair were reunited in Boba Fett’s show, co-creator and executive producer Jon Favreau told Empire: “We couldn’t just hit a hard reset. It’s going to be interesting to see how this unfolds for people who may not have seen The Book Of Boba Fett. But I think Boba Fett offered time to pass. 

“You saw what Mando was like without Baby Yoda and we saw what Grogu was like without the Mandalorian and neither of them was doing too good. So them coming back together was a really good plot point that allows us to jump back into season 3 while maintaining the central relationship.”

Teasing what else we can expect from Baby Yoda this time around, Rick Famuyiwa told Empire: “In incremental ways, he’s growing as a character and in this partnership with Mando. As this relationship grows, Grogu has to become more central in things that are going on. He’s now firmly at the hip of Mando in every adventure. The purity of the character brings out the best in the people round him. This next season continues to attach to that idea.”

Now that Grogu’s back with his surrogate dad – and with some time at Jedi schooling behind him – then, The Mandalorian season 3 will see Grogu flex even more Force-based powers than before. “This child has magic powers, [is] 50 years old, and can see the future,” Giancarlo Esposito told a young fan at GalaxyCon (via SlashFilm). “And we want everyone to know, eventually on this show, that [Grogu] could save our universe.”

So in addition to levitating, choking, and looking implausibly cute, Baby Yoda can apparently see the future – which is an ability we’ve come across before in the troubled visions of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Per season 3’s official trailer, Grogu will also be able to use his powers to see into his past. Based on that teaser, we’re sure to see flashbacks of Grogu’s time at the Jedi temple and potentially see how he survived Order 66, aka the Empire’s genocidal attack on the Jedi.

His clairvoyant abilities possibly explain why Imperial officers have been so keen to get his hands on the implausibly cute green kid, though Esposito did add that Gideon’s pursuit of Grogu is “for a very different reason than many people think”. 

Could that have something to do with a cloning subplot? The Mandalorian season 2 teased the Empire’s remnant forces – read: Doctor Pershing – were trying to use Grogu’s blood to create new Force wielders (they failed, FYI). It seems the show was pointing at the cloned origins of Supreme Leader Snoke, aka the sequel trilogy’s puppet villain, and the eventual return of Emperor Palpatine, which would make us sigh in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

And what of Gideon himself, who was incarcerated at the end of season 2? Esposito told TVLine: “You’re going to get some Moff Gideon. I mean, I always want more Moff Gideon – I’ve got to be honest with you! But, you know, you’re going to get a good amount. You always want to see the phoenix rise from the ashes. Or, you want to see a nefarious villain rise from the ashes. And believe me, he will.”

Moff Gideon’s ship is just one small part of the Imperial remnant forces out there waiting to be dealt with by the New Republic. For instance, we know Imperial leader Grand Admiral Thrawn is alive and being hunted by Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice. We expect Ahsoka’s pursuit of Thrawn to form the basis of her live-action show, but it’s possible we’ll see it picked up in The Mandalorian season 3 as well.

Then there’s the story of the Mandalorians and the Darksaber, which was also significantly advanced by The Book of Boba Fett.

At the end of The Mandalorian season 2, Mando won the Darksaber weapon – the Mandalorian blade highly coveted by Bo-Katan Kryze in her journey to reclaim the throne of Mandalore – from Moff Gideon. However, he couldn’t simply hand it over to Bo-Katan, causing tensions to mount as it became clear the pair would have to duel in order for Bo-Katan to reclaim the weapon.

Things got more complicated in The Book of Boba Fett when Mando tracked down his old cohorts from the Children of the Watch, a Mandalorian tribe, on the spectacular Glavis Ringworld. Although the Armorer agreed to fashion Grogu’s new beskar undershirt, Mando faced a challenge from Paz Vizsla (another Children of the Watch member) for the Darksaber. Mando won the fight, but he’s still got a lot to learn about wielding it.

Unfortunately, he’ll have to do it without guidance from the Armorer, who has cast him out of the order. Mando’s crime? Removing his helmet in front of Grogu. According to Mandalorian creed, the only way Din can redeem himself is by visiting the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore, which may prove problematic seeing as the mines have been destroyed. Based on the official trailer, we know he’s heading back to Mandalore, so maybe he realizes there’s another way he can be forgiven for his transgressions.

Mando also has unfinished business with Kryze who has no issue with removing helmets. She also claims the Children of the Watch “fractured our people” in the first season 3 teaser, before pointedly asking, “Where were you then?”. In other words, it seems the future of Mandalore’s people is going to be a major plot point.

Could we see a Mandalorian civil war erupt? Based on the various Mandalorian factions that are scattered across the cosmos, maybe. It seems Din is trying to recruit some groups to his side and rally them into returning to their home world. Speaking to Empire, lead star Pedro Pascal hinted that “delicious doors are flying wide open” when it comes to exploring Mandalore and its people, adding: “The world opens up in terms of Mandalore and Mandalorians. That means so many different facets of culture, politics, rules, and discoveries.”

“As you witnessed in the trailer there are a lot more Mandalorians in the season and with that many Mandalorians in one room, things are bound to go wrong,” Bo-Katan actor Katee Sakhhoff also teased (via Yahoo Entertainment). “I think this season is different, I think that it is The Mandalorian, it’s everything that people have come to love and know about the show, but I do believe that this season is a little faster paced and I do believe that tonally it’s like a moving train – you’ve just gotta get on.”

If a war does break out, what can we expect? Pascal wasn’t giving too much away during a chat with Jimmy Fallon recently, but he did offer a little tempting nugget, saying: “I will say there will be more Mandalorians. A lot of them. Big epic battle… plural? Maybe?” Oh, you sly thing, Pedro.

The Mandalorian season 3 spin-offs explained

Spin-offs wise, The Book of Boba Fett has come and gone. As mentioned, Ahsoka’s spin-off is eyeing a late 2023 release, with Dave Filoni leading its development.

Both shows run concurrent to The Mandalorian, i.e. around five years after Return of the Jedi. Per Variety, the new Jude Law-starring Skeleton Crew is also set in the New Republic era, so we expected some overlap there, too. However, Favreau says we shouldn’t expect to see Skeleton Crew characters make their debuts in The Mandalorian season 3 (via Variety).

Most intriguingly, there’s a plan for this sub-universe of shows to converge into a larger story. “These interconnected shows, along with future stories, will excite new audiences embrace our most passionate fans, and culminate in a climactic story event,” explained Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy during Disney’s Investor Day stream in late 2020. 

Some cast members have an idea of where the show is heading. Pascal previously told IndieWire he’s aware of “what the plan is” beyond The Mandalorian season 3. However, he couldn’t elaborate on it due to spoilers and NDA agreements in his contract.

It sounds to us, then, that we’re going to see either a miniseries or movie-length episode that brings these stories together – though we wouldn’t expect to see that for a few years. Either way, color us excited for what’s to come in The Mandalorian season 3 and beyond.

For more Star Wars content, find out how to watch the Star Wars movies in order. Alternatively, read our new Star Wars TV shows and movies explained guide for more on what’s to come in that galaxy far, far away.