The Mandalorian Season 3: will there be another series of the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off, and when will it be released?

Last week (18 December) Season 2 of The Mandalorian came to a climactic end, with the release of the series’ final chapter on Disney+.

The live action Star Wars spin-off has been widely acclaimed by both critics and fans alike.

Many agree that the Pedro Pascal-starring sci-fi series has righted the Star Wars ship somewhat, after the misfire that was the franchise’s latest cinematic outing, The Rise of Skywalker.

There’ll be no spoilers here, but suffice to say, the latest season of the show closed out with a bang, with fans left wondering just what direction the series will be taking in the future.

So will there be a third season, when will it be released, and what might we be able to expect from it?

Here is everything you need to know.

Will there be a third season of The Mandalorian?

Yes.

The Mandalorian has proven to be a huge success for Disney+, with the series positioning itself as the relatively new streaming service’s flagship original offering.

It seems producers aren’t ready to let the Star Wars universe’s momentum fade just yet, and on 10 December

Before Season 2 had even made its way to Disney+, it was revealed in April 2020 that creator Jon Favreau had been writing Season 3 “for a while”, and a source revealed: “We’ve just started pre-production and are looking into further adventures for the Mandalorian in Season 3.”

In September, Giancarlo Esposito – the show’s Moff Gideon – said the second season would "lay the groundwork for the depth and breadth that's going to come in Season 3 and Season 4, where you’re really gonna start to get answers."

What is The Book of Boba Fett?

Mild spoilers here for anyone who hasn’t seen to the very end of the credits of The Mandalorian Season 2’s finale...

Following a fittingly sombre final credits sequence (none of that amazingly colourful concept art this time around), a post-credits tease rolled which showed Boba Fett infiltrating Jabba the Hutt’s palace, and dethroning Bib Fortuna.

As he and Fennec sat back, sipping on Spotchka, viewers were greeted with the words: “The Book of Boba Fett”.

This wasn’t a project that had been revealed with Disney’s Investor Day dump, and fans were originally confused as to what it meant for The Mandalorian going forward.

Was this an entirely new, standalone project featuring the original trilogy’s famed bounty hunter? Or would the focus of The Mandalorian be shifting over to Fett for Season 3?

Favreau confirmed that The Book of Boba Fett will indeed be its own thing, speaking on the US’ Good Morning America and stating that the project is “actually separate from The Mandalorian Season 3.”

The spin-off joins two other announced ‘Mando’ spin-offs; Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka.

Rangers of the New Republic is a live-action series, as is Ahsoka, which follows the story of Jedi Ahsoka Tano featured in The Mandalorian - both series come from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and areset within the timeline of The Mandalorian.

When will Season 3 of The Mandalorian be released?

Fett is aiming for a December 2021 release date, and has already begun filming, “and then we go into production after that with Season 3 of The Mandalorian, with the main character we know and love.”

So far, The Mandalorian’s release date has seen only a year pass between series, but it seems that with The Book of Boba Fett coming next year, it could be a little more of a wait until Season 3.

Then again, both shows are taking place within the same timeline, so could it be that both series get released around the same time and attempt some audacious narrative crossovers?

Until it’s all officially announced, that’s only speculation, but there will be plenty to keep Star Wars fans happy in the coming month.

What other Star Wars series have been announced?

Fans of the Star Wars franchise were treated to an early Christmas present on 10 December, as Disney confirmed a multitude of new spin-off series, with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy sending shockwaves through the galaxy.

One of the shows, Obi-Wan Kenobi, will see Hayden Christensen reprise the role of Darth Vadar alongside prequel co-star Ewan McGregor, while Lando will follow the events of scoundrel Lando Calrissian.

Diego Luna will return to play rebel spy Cassian Andor, introduced in Rogue One, in Andor – set to arrive in 2022 – and The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller set in the final days of the High Republic.

There will also be three animations: The Bad Batch, which follows a group of rogue Stormtroopers from The Clone Wars; Visions, a series of short films; and A Droid Story, featuring a new droid alongside R2D2 and C3PO.

Disney will also revisit Willow – a fan favourite Ewok – in a new series starring Warwick Davis.