All You Need to Know About The Mandalorian Season 3

The Mandalorian season 3 — out now on Disney+ Hotstar — marks the Star Wars series’ return after a two-year hiatus, during which our leads Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu/ Baby Yoda played prominent roles in The Book of Boba Fett. This new chapter picks up right after the pair reunited, with the adorable Grogu wanting to ditch the Jedi training with Luke Skywalker (a de-aged Mark Hamill), in favour of spending time with Mando. Not to mention, Djarin now wields the Darksaber, an ancient black-bladed lightsaber, whose mysterious curse carries some heavy implications for the fate of planet Mandalore.

Our heroes are headed on an interstellar trip to Mandalore this time, a planet that has suffered through many great wars and conflicts within the tribes inhabiting them. Creator Jon Favreau suggests that in The Mandalorian season 3, we’ll get to see the desolate wasteland it turned into after The Great Mandalorian Purge, where they came into conflict with the First Galactic Empire. “It’s sort of a tragic history that this planet has, but also a romantic vision of what once was,” Favreau told Total Film. “We inherited the designs from Dave [Filoni] and his team, and then we wanted to show what happened and we make some allusions to the Purge of Mandalore; in The Book of Boba Fett, we show a montage of the destruction. And now when we return to the planet we get to see in the stark sunlight what the aftermath of all of that destruction was.”

While The Mandalorian season 3 was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Favreau felt his show was in a somewhat safe position since most of its characters are wearing some form of mask or helmet. “We also have a lot of digital work that augments things. So we’re a show that’s probably well-equipped to be flexible based on the protocols that are emerging surrounding work restarting,” Favreau said in an interview. Using digital methodologies to its advantage has allowed the show to maintain a similar sense of scope as the big-screen Star Wars films. If you remember, The Mandalorian was the first to employ ILM’s StageCraft — a production technology that relies on giant LED screens to create backgrounds on-set, instead of shooting on real-life locations. The tech was later employed in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the recently cancelled Netflix series, 1899.

Grogu/ Baby Yoda chose to go with Mando, ditching his Jedi training with Luke Skywalker
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd

With that, here’s everything you need to know about Disney+’s The Mandalorian season 3:

The Mandalorian season 3 release date and time in India

The Mandalorian season 3 is out now, exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar. The show will be available to stream in English and Hindi languages, and comes after a month-long delay — previously set for a February release. New episodes release every Wednesday on the platform, at 1:30pm.

The Mandalorian season 3 episodes

Favreau has written all eight episodes of The Mandalorian season 3 to some capacity, with the last of them slated to premiere on April 19.

The Mandalorian season 3 cast

Now appearing in HBO’s ongoing The Last of Us series, Pedro Pascal is set to make headlines again, as he reprises his role as Din Djarin/ Mando. The Mandalorian season 2 saw him taking off his helmet, in order to show his face to Grogu, before separating from the toddler. Wielding the Darksaber, he then visits the Armorer (Emily Swallow) to understand the power of such an armament, and learns that he needs to travel to Mandalore and bathe in the waters beneath its mines to cleanse himself and redeem his status. The upcoming season traces that journey, with Grogu and a few other allies to back him, whilst preparing themselves for intergalactic threats.

Billed second on the list is Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, who returns to deal with some unfinished business, essentially hinting at a long-gestating conflict with Djarin. You see, when Djarin won the blade off Gideon in a one-on-one duel, with the idea of passing it on to Bo-Katan, the former ruler of Mandalore, who intends to use its powers to unite its inhabitants. However, they learn that the Darksaber can only be won through fair combat, and that simply handing it over to another would lead to the destruction of Mandalore. Things got in the way, and the two never got to fight over the weapon, putting them both at an impasse until The Mandalorian season 3, where Bo-Katan plans to claim it.

Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze in a still from The Mandalorian season 3
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd

Giancarlo Esposito returns to play the genocidal Moff Gideon, who previously acquired the sacred Darksaber, after leading an attack on planet Mandalore. After losing it to Djarin in a fair duel, he tries to kill himself but is knocked out by Cara (Gina Carano), and handed over to the New Republic’s custody. That’s the last we saw of the character, and while his escape is uncertain, it’s clear that he seeks vengeance against Djarin and Grogu. “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,” Esposito said in an interview, promoting The Mandalorian season 3.

Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga has seen a significant turnabout in terms of character development throughout The Mandalorian — once willing to cash in on Grogu’s bounty hunt out of greed, and then changing his worldview when the toddler saved his life using the Force’s healing powers. He makes a brief appearance in The Mandalorian season 3 trailer, after having pivoted his wealth and resources to better his planet Nevarro, turning it into a utopia of sorts, brimming with successful business operations, schools, and the ilk. Weathers is also attached to direct episode 4 of the new season.

The Armorer, the leader of the orthodox tribe of Mandalorian warriors, was last seen in The Book of Boba Fett, training Djarin in the Darksaber’s use, which he heavily struggles with. Emily Swallow returns to play the armoured forger, who upon learning of Djarin’s unmasking, banishes him from the Watch and informs him of the process of reclaiming his title — bathing in the mines of Mandalore. Despite stripping Djarin of the official status, she lets him keep the armour and the Darksaber, perhaps hinting that she’s rooting for him.

Amy Sedaris as Peli Motto in a still from The Mandalorian season 3
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd

Amy Sedaris returns as Peli Motto, the Tatooine mechanic, who is willing to assist Djarin and Grogu on their trip, by offering them an Astromech Droid. Additionally, Christopher Lloyd — best known for the Back to the Future films — is attached to play a role in the Mandalorian season 3, albeit it’s still under wraps.

The Mandalorian season 3 synopsis

Here’s the official synopsis for The Mandalorian season 3 from Disney+:

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.

The Mandalorian season 3 reviews

At the time of publishing, there’s no word on when the first reviews for The Mandalorian season 3 are expected. Going by previous Disney+ shows, reviews should drop right after the first episode premieres.

The Mandalorian season 4?

In an interview last week, creator Jon Favreau confirmed that The Mandalorian season 4 had already been written, revealing that he and Dave Filoni had mapped out the entire saga beforehand. Favreau, who has written all eight episodes of The Mandalorian season 3 stated that he had been slowly writing each episode of the next chapter during post-production.

“Season 4? Yeah, I’ve written it already,” Favreau said in the interview. “All of it has to feel like a continuation and one full story. And then he’s [Filoni] doing Ahsoka, which I’m producing with him, but he’s the writer-showrunner on that. And so, to understand what’s happening on other shows or even Skeleton Crew — all take place within the same Star Wars time period.”

The Mandalorian season 3 poster

Here’s the official poster for The Mandalorian season 3 from Disney+:

The Mandalorian season 3 official poster
Photo Credit: Disney+