'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Cannot Release Until 2022
The Mandalorian season 2 left many fans very satisfied and emotional. Given what happened in the finale, a big moment that feels very much like it could have been an end of an entire series type moment, fans were at first scratching their heads, wondering what was next for the storyline, if it was indeed continuing. When the post-credit scene announced The Book of Boba Fett coming to Disney+ in December 2021, some fans spent the weekend speculating that this was the title of season 3, with The Mandalorian shifting gears by closing one book and opening another. Of course, we know now that the Boba Fett show is a separate series, and we have known that The Mandalorian season 3 would for sure be happening. But when will it come out?
A hint has come in the form of a tweet from Julia Alexander of The Verge, who has posted a list of release dates derived from a Disney+ preview kit. The tweet says the following:
"Disney sent out its 2021 preview kit. Chronological order for big, notable Disney+ titles. No Mando S3 on the list.
WandaVision - January
Falcon & Winter Soldier - March
Loki - May
What If - Summer
Hawkeye - Fall
Ms. Marvel - Late 2021
Boba Fett - December
Bad Batch - 2021"
So most of the titles on the list are related to Marvel, and the only ones pertaining to Star Wars are the shows about Boba Fett and the Bad Batch (the former being live-action and the latter being animated). With The Mandalorian absent from this list, it appears that the show will not come back in 2021, but rather 2022. Some may have thought that there was a chance for the show to come back prior to The Book of Boba Fett, but that seems to not be the case. Another guess that was thrown around was that the shows could have aired at the same time. But really, that strategy would not have made sense.
Disney+ wants to be sure that it has subscribers for as long of a period of time as possible. If The Mandalorian season 3 were to come out in 2022, perhaps even right after The Book of Boba Fett has its season finale, then that would give fans a reason to stick around and stay subscribed for a couple more months. This strategy would be similar to what happened recently on CBS All-Access, where the new Star Trek animated series Lower Decks aired its first season and was immediately followed by season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery. It is a strategy that makes a lot of financial sense. The people making the shows try to tell really good stories, but the business side also has to be taken into account in order to sustain the platform that hosts these shows.
While this may be a longer wait between seasons of The Mandalorian, it is still reassuring to know that a third season is still happening. And I am all for each different Star Wars project to have its own time in the sun before shifting gears. A year ago, it felt like a bit much having The Mandalorian, The Rise of Skywalker, and Jedi: Fallen Order all around the same time. And these all overshadowed the second and final season of Star Wars: Resistance. Having each show on one at a time is a much preferable route to take, and the fans will appreciate it more in the long run. So for now, put a pin in The Mandalorian and get hyped for The Book of Boba Fett.
Source(s): The Direct