The Mandalorian season 3 is set to be a completely different show from the earlier seasons. Ahead of the series premiere in 2019, The Mandalorian was primarily sold to audiences as a bounty hunter show, following the exploits of a lone gunman through the Star Wars galaxy's criminal underworld. It wasn't until the end of that first episode it was revealed the show was about so much more, as Din Djarin discovered Grogu, and the infant became the driving force behind the narrative.
The first two Mandalorian seasons focused largely on Din and Grogu's relationship, fleshing out a touching father/son bond that resonated with viewers. As beloved as the pairing is, The Mandalorian is shaking up the status quo in a major way as it gears up for season 3. In the season 2 finale, Din completed his mission by reuniting Grogu with the Jedi, watching Baby Yoda head off with Luke Skywalker to study the ways of the Force. As the two go their separate ways, The Mandalorian will have to find new avenues to explore, which will make it a different show.
It remains to be seen if Grogu will return at some point, but he likely won't be in the picture when The Mandalorian season 3 picks up. That would severely undermine the emotional conclusion of the season 2 finale, which felt like the ending of a chapter in Din and Grogu's respective lives. The Mandalorian will instead shift its focus past protecting Baby Yoda and move other established aspects to the forefront. Chief among those are the Darksaber and the reclaiming of Mandalore, which were touched upon in the earlier seasons.
Prior to the Luke Skywalker scene, the Mandalorian season 2 finale laid the foundation for tension between Din and Bo-Katan, which will be fertile ground for season 3 stories. By defeating Moff Gideon in combat, Din is now the owner of the Darksaber, which also makes him the rightful ruler of Mandalore. Bo-Katan was hoping to take the Darksaber back for herself, and due to Mandalorian tradition, she's not allowed to just simply take the weapon from Din. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the Din/Bo-Katan dynamic unfolds, as the two characters had clashing ideologies and didn't always see eye-to-eye. It seems like Din's new journey will see him leading the efforts to take back Mandalore, which is something he didn't express much interest in. He had initially turned down an opportunity to join Bo-Katan's Nite Owls.
Din was part of the Children of the Watch, which explained his differences with Bo-Katan. In contrast from the Mandalorians seen on Clone Wars and Rebels, the Children of the Watch were zealots obsessed with the old Way of the Mandalore. The Mandalorian season 2 started to challenge some of Din's longstanding beliefs, namely his helmet rule. Following this thread further in season 3 would allow Din's character to grow and evolve on a personal level, moving past the dogmatic views of the Children of the Watch. Perhaps, similar to the concept of Grey Jedi, Din could combine the best of both paths and create a new way to follow. Even without Grogu in tow, there are many fascinating possibilities for The Mandalorian season 3, and it's necessary to ensure the show's longevity. For as great as the first two seasons were, many pointed out how The Mandalorian episodes fell into a formulaic structure. Mixing things up in terms of story and tone is arguably for the best.
