New Beginnings and 'The Mandalorian' Season Three
The original Disney+ flagship series returns to kick off a new era of 'Star Wars' television...
It’s been a long time since the last episode of The Mandalorian. In fact, when the third season premieres tonight it will have been 803 days since the season two finale. That’s the second-longest gap between seasons of a Star Wars series to date.
The only longer gap? The 2177 days between the finale of season six of The Clone Wars and the seventh season's premiere. And that show had to be cancelled and revived! It really makes the wait for Mando season three seem tame by comparison.
Plus, the wait doesn’t seem quite as long as it’s been, thanks to The Book of Boba Fett, which premiered in December 2021. The first season of that series has aptly been called The Mandalorian season 2.5 as it featured three episodes that are absolutely essential to the story of Din Djarin and Grogu.
A lot of virtual ink has been spilled about the relative merits of their reunion taking place in a different series, as well as how more casual fans will react to their reunion taking between seasons of The Mandalorian. And, honestly, I’m so bored of that discussion. It’s not as though executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were unaware that this might be an issue when they made that choice. So, presumably, they have a plan for bringing viewers who skipped The Book of Boba Fett up to speed. Either by recapping what happened or convincing viewers to go back and see what they missed.
But it is a choice with significant ramifications, not just for The Mandalorian and the larger so-called “Mando-verse”, but the future of Star Wars television. We’re not going to dwell on the past here, instead—like The Mandalorian season three—our focus is on the future.
When Mando premiered in 2019, it was the flagship series for the launch of Disney+. Part of the promise of the new streaming service was exclusive Star Wars and Marvel content, and The Mandalorian was the first piece of original programming from either franchise. It was also Star Wars’ first foray into live-action television, meaning it also had the task of transitioning the franchise from the big screen to the small one. Essentially the series had the weight of two massive legacies on its shoulders and it met the challenge admirably.
It’s safe to say The Mandalorian is no longer carrying the hopes and dreams of both Star Wars and Disney in the streaming age. In the three-and-a-half years since, both brands have very firmly established themselves in this space. Disney+ has claimed its place among the top streamers, and undoubtedly its most popular original programming includes the several live-action Star Wars series that have premiered in the last two years.
But that doesn’t mean the challenges that lay ahead for season three are any less momentous.
This season is now tasked with kicking off—in earnest—a new form of storytelling for Star Wars. It’s not starting from scratch, a solid groundwork has already been laid, but the new season is not just returning to the adventures of its characters, it’s also setting the stage for two other series that will premiere later this year and will continue a larger story that began in The Mandalorian.
First Steps Into A Larger World
Throughout the second season of The Mandalorian, it was clear that Filoni and Favreau were setting up a larger story than just that of Din Djarin and his little green friend. Virtually every episode had a character or a plotline that could be spun off into another series (and already has, in some cases).
Episode one introduced marshal Cobb Vanth (Vanth Refrigeration) of Mos Pelgo/Free Town. Episode two saw the debut of New Republic captain Carson Teva. Episode three brought Bo-Katan, a character from Star Wars animation, into the fray. Episode four teased some connection between what Dr. Pershing is working on and the sequel trilogy (that sure did look like a Snoke-in-a-jar). Episode five was the live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano. Episode six marked the triumphant returns of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand. Episode seven reintroduced Miggs Mayfeld to society. And episode eight, of course, brought in Luke Skywalker.
(Also teased throughout the season was a storyline involving Cara Dune and the legacy of Alderaan that likely would have factored into the now back-burnered-slash-cancelled series Rangers of the New Republic. That’s one plot that will, sadly, almost certainly be dropped from future Mando and Mando-adjacent stories—thanks Gina!)
Since then, four new spin-off/tie-in series to The Mandalorian series have been announced, one of which has already aired and two more are coming this year (the other may or may not happen, see above).
What’s become clear is that Filoni and Favreau have their eyes set on a much larger story than that of a single Mandalorian or even that of Mandalorians as a whole. The duo looks poised to flesh out this era between trilogies and expand the Star Wars universe in new and exciting ways. This will include more seasons of The Mandalorian, of course, but also The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Ahsoka (2023), and Skeleton Crew (2023).
The first season of Mandalorian was hyper-focused on Din Djarin and Grogu, and their life on the run. It was only toward the end of the season that their place in a larger, galaxy-spanning narrative began to be teased out. The second season furthered the notion that their first steps on a new journey had been taken, introducing them to a colourful cast of supporting characters along the way.
However, throughout the season, both remained resistant to their place in the larger narrative. Grogu was hesitant to re-embrace the Force in a meaningful way, while Din refused to see himself as anything more than Grogu’s temporary protector. Our titular Mandalorian believed that he would one day return to the life we saw him living at the start of season one. He thought he could go back to being a bounty hunter, tracking down and bringing in (warm or cold) the galaxy’s scum and villainy for the right price.
And for a brief moment, he did just that. The on-the-nose titled fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett, “Return of the Mandalorian” showed us what became of Din after he let Grogu go with Luke Skywalker. He was brawling with Klatooinian crime bosses in the hopes of returning to what remains of his Mandalorian covert. He’d fallen back into his old ways. However, it couldn’t last. Din’s devotion to Grogu was such that was willing to forgo his sacred beliefs, namely that he could never take his helmet off in front of anyone. When his fellow Mandalorians learned of this, he was banished from the covert he had worked so hard to find.
Grogu, meanwhile, trained with Luke long enough to open himself back up to the Force in ways he hadn’t before. A preview clip from season three shows him casually using the Force to spin in his chair and steal space jelly beans off Greef Carga’s desk. In the first two seasons, Grogu tended to use the Force only in life-or-death situations and resisted the tests Ahsoka tried to run with him. This more relaxed use of the Force suggests that while Grogu chose to leave Luke’s Jedi Academy, he has embraced his identity as someone strong with the Force.
When Din and Grogu reunited while helping Boba Fett liberate Tatooine from the crime syndicates (yes, Boba Fett did actually appear in his own show…sometimes), it was clear they were entering a new phase in their relationship. They both accepted they were going to be together for the long haul, and knew that’s what they both wanted. Grogu wasn’t going to leave Din to become a Jedi and Din wasn’t going to try to leave Grogu with every friendly face he encountered in his travels.
It was the end of a chapter in their relationship. But with endings come new beginnings.
A New Dawn
Even with his best buddy back in toe, and with no plans on him going anywhere, Din Djarin is still looking to reconnect with his roots in season three. The trailers tease a return to Mandalore for Din, as well as copious amounts of Mandalorian action (far more than we saw in season two). There is also considerable voice-over throughout the trailers and TV spots concerning what it means to be a Mandalorian (“What do we stand for?” asks Din in the most recent trailer).
The backstory of what happened to Mandalore and its people during the reign of the Empire has been slowly teased out over the course of Mando and Book of Boba. The Empire rained fire down upon their world in an event known as the purge, and those who survived scattered. There is no unified Mandalorian society anymore, just the different sects that, at the best of times, tolerate each other.
There is one person who is actively looking to unite the disparate factions of Mandalorians, though. Bo-Katan spent her screentime during season two seeking out the darksaber, the symbol of power that could unite the Mandalorians again. She owned it once before but lost it during the purge, leading it to fall into the hands of Moff Gideon. Bo’s plan to defeat Gideon and reclaim what was rightfully hers hit an unexpected hurdle, however, when Din defeated Gideon and ownership of the darksaber was passed to him.
Din very much fits in with the narrative tradition of the person who is best suited to lead is the person who least wants to lead. He even tried to pass the saber off to Bo without combat, an offer that she had to decline.
The trailers suggest that Din will finally embrace his place as the unifier of Mandalore in season three, rallying the various clans to his side so they can return to their homeworld and begin to rebuild. Undoubtedly, this will be far more complicated than it seems. Bo-Katan’s role in the new season has been kept largely under wraps, with many speculating she may be more of an antagonist to Din than she was in season two—though I’m personally not convinced she won’t wind up as the rightful ruler of Mandalore eventually.
The point is, the re-unification of Mandalore seems very much to be in the cards. If not for this season, then for a future season (Jon Favreau revealed recently that season four is already written). A unified Mandalore would be a powerful force in the galaxy and one that might soon be necessary as there are more dangerous threats looming beyond the horizon…
Something Dangerous Is Happening Out There
There was one other big reveal in season two of The Mandalorian that has major implications for where the larger Mando-verse story is going. We learned in the episode, “The Jedi”, Ahsoka Tano is on a mission. And that mission is to find Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Thrawn, for those who may be unaware, is one of the most ominous villains in the Star Wars galaxy. When Star Wars books began to be published again in the early 1990s, Thrawn was the new antagonist that Luke, Han, and Leia were up against, and has since held a special place in the hearts of many fans. A Sherlock Holmes-inspired bad guy, he was dangerous because of his intellect and his strategy rather than his brawn.
The character was later re-introduced into the animated series Star Wars Rebels, with much of his original backstory remaining intact even though this was to be a different story than the books. At the end of Rebels (Spoiler Alert), Thrawn was banished to the unknown regions of the galaxy, along with the Jedi padawan Ezra Bridger. The fate of Thrawn—and Bridger—was left a mystery until “The Jedi”.
“Where is your master?” Ahsoka asked Morgan Eslbeth, the magistrate who’d been hunting her throughout the episode. “Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?”
The audience, of course, didn’t hear the answer.
But there is now a larger threat that looms over everything, one that is coming for our heroes whether they are ready for it or not. As they squabble over he gets to rule what, Thrawn’s dark forces are rising. And even those in power, like the New Republic, aren’t ready for what’s coming.
“There’s something going on out here,” New Republic captain Carson Teva warns Cara Dune at the end of the season two episode “The Siege”. “They don’t believe it on the core worlds, but it’s true.”
If the New Republic, which was born from the Rebel Alliance that took down the Empire, can’t face this threat, then who can?
United We Stand
Season three of The Mandalorian won’t be the first time the theme of unification has popped up in a Mando-verse show. The Book of Boba Fett was all about Boba Fett’s attempts to unify the crime families of Tatooine to work together, arguing that it was in their best interests to do. Rather than scare the families into falling into line, Boba attempted to reason with them.
“Jabba ruled with fear,” the former bounty hunter said. “I intend to rule with respect.”
While his efforts to bring the crime families into line largely failed, Boba’s ways did lead to him forming a new coalition on Tatooine. One that included powerful warriors like Black Krrrysantan, and saw the citizens of Free Town and the “Vespa Gang” Mods put aside their differences to work together to save their homeworld (very much the Star Wars take on the rural-urban divide).
A crime lord who knows how to put together a powerful alliance of people who normally wouldn’t work together and a unified Mandalorian people probably aren’t the allies Carson Teva had in mind when he imagined taking on the looming threat, but it could be exactly what’s needed to defeat an enemy like Thrawn.
If we take an out-of-universe look at the Mando-verse, The Book of Boba Fett and Rangers of the New Republic were among the first spin-offs of The Mandalorian that were announced. It seems likely that a Mandalore, Underworld, and New Republic trifecta were planned as the uneasy alliance to go up against Thrawn. And even if Rangers never materializes, the presence of Carson Teva in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett suggests that the current galactic government still has a significant role to play in all of this.
So if Mandalorian and Book of Boba (and Rangers) are about setting up the resistance to Thrawn, where does that leave Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew?
The synopsis for the Ahsoka series, tells of Ahsoka investigating “an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.” The meaning is clear, she’s going to discover Thrawn and what he’s up to. And she’s going to be the one to tell the other characters what their up against and why they need to unite. This is, of course, in addition to whatever other Ahsoka-specific adventures Filoni and Favreau have planned for her.
Skeleton Crew is harder to place since we haven’t met any of the characters yet. The synopsis for the series says it, “tells the story of four kids who find themselves lost in the vastness of the galaxy trying to find their way home.” One role it could serve is to show us just how dangerous the part of the galaxy that Thrawn comes from is. Or maybe there’s something in its story that becomes key. It’s hard to say since so much of the series remains shrouded in mystery.
All that being said, what I’ve laid out is my hypothesis for where the Mando-verse is going. I don’t have any special insight or “scoops”, it’s based entirely on my observations of the series so far and what we’ve learned officially about the upcoming shows. And I’m very willing to accept that I might be completely wrong. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are extremely talented storytellers and it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if they’ve got something brewing that I couldn’t predict in the slightest.
Regardless of how the stories come together, they are coming together. And, as such, The Mandalorian season three represents a key turning point in the future of Star Wars.
#ItsAllConnected
Call it the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) effect if you must, but interconnected storytelling across multiple mediums is very much in vogue these days. Successful franchises aren’t just a movie and its sequels anymore, they also have to include TV shows and spin-offs and “events” where all the characters from the different-but-connected stories come together for an adventure.
The Mando-verse is Star Wars’ first real attempt at doing their own interconnected story. Sure, all Star Wars stories regardless of medium take place in the same universe (and are thus “canon”), but we’ve never had an interconnected story to this scale before. We’ve had movie trilogies, and TV shows with multiple seasons before (and countless comics crossovers and novel series), but nothing where there have been multiple series all telling the same story.
Favreau was one of the original architects of the MCU, so it’s no surprise that he would want to attempt something similar with Star Wars. And since Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, it’s even less of a surprise that they would want one franchise to replicate the other’s success.
Up until now, the Star Wars series have followed a more traditional format. Each show tells its own story and they don’t connect in significant ways. You don’t have to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi to understand Andor, nor do you have to watch Andor to understand The Bad Batch. This is not to say they don’t complement each other, but it isn’t essential to watch all of them to understand a larger story.
The Mando-verse, on the other hand, is shaping up to be something that very much needs to be seen as the sum of its parts. If The Book of Boba Fett is any indication, then you may miss information that is critical to one series if you skip a different one.
Just as season one of The Mandalorian was tasked with proving live-action Star Wars could work on the small screen, season three is now tasked with proving this sort of interconnected storytelling can work for Star Wars. The Mando-verse has had something of a warm-up already with The Book of Boba Fett, but season three of Mando marks a key change. The shows are all about to come fast and furious, whereas in the past they’ve been limited to one season a year.
Season three has to do more than just continue the story of Din and Grogu. Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew are coming this year as well, and the new season needs to light a fire in the audience that makes them not just want to tune into another season of Mando, but also discover more about this era of the galaxy and this looming threat.
The hardcore Star Wars fans will be there, regardless, but the mainstream audience that watches The Mandalorian may need to be convinced to come along for the ride. In a way, it mirrors what’s on screen. As Din Djarin and Grogu turn the page on their relationship, audiences may need to do the same, not just for The Mandalorian but for Star Wars television as a whole.