Disney+ has been home to some of the most popular and successful TV shows in recent years, among those Star Wars’ The Mandalorian, which is coming back with a third season, though not as soon as fans hope – but why is it taking so long? The Star Wars universe continues expanding now that the Skywalker Saga is over, and it has found a loyal audience in the world of streaming in big part thanks to The Mandalorian, created by Jon Favreau and which debuted on Disney+ in 2019.
Set after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a lone bounty hunter hired by remnant Imperial forces to retrieve the child Grogu (who fans affectionately called "Baby Yoda"), but he forms a bond with the child and instead goes on the run to protect him. While looking to reunite Grogu with his kind, they are pursued by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who wants to use Grogu's connection to the Force. The Mandalorian was a major success and was praised by critics and fans, granting it two more seasons and making way for various spin-offs, such as The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka.
The Mandalorian season 2 arrived in October 2020, but the third season hasn’t arrived as fast as fans wanted, though they haven’t been left without Star Wars content either. While viewers wait for The Mandalorian season 3, Star Wars fans got the chance to meet the elite group of clone troopers Clone Force 99 in the animated series The Bad Batch and reunited with fan-favorite Boba Fett in the live-action series The Book of Boba Fett. The Mandalorian season 3 wasn’t expected to arrive in 2021, making way for The Book of Boba Fett instead, but it has come across a couple of problems during production that have delayed it, so fans won’t see Din Djarin again until, most likely, the second half of 2022.
Season 3 of The Mandalorian was announced in April 2020 and was initially expected to begin filming after The Book of Boba Fett wrapped (which happened in June 2021), but that couldn’t happen as the soundstages were being used by the crew of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Another possible reason for the delays of The Mandalorian season 3 could be Pascal’s other commitments, such as filming the HBO series The Last of Us, though Esposito shared in July 2021 that that shouldn’t be an issue as Din Djarin is often seen with his helmet on. Filming of season 3 finally began in October 2021 but it has been reportedly delayed a couple of times due to growing cases of the Omicron variant, yet its production is still expected to wrap in March 2022. With all that in mind, The Mandalorian season 3 will most likely arrive in mid-to-late 2022, but on the brighter side, Star Wars fans won’t be left without content for long.
The Mandalorian season 2 ended with a major surprise as Luke Skywalker arrived to take Grogu, with Mando giving him permission to go with him and complete his training, while he became the new rightful owner of the Darksaber. The Mandalorian season 3, then, has a lot to cover and many questions to answer, and while the wait has been long, there’s still hope for the new episodes to arrive before 2022 comes to an end.