Spoilers follow for The Book of Boba Fett.
The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito has suggested that the show's third season could be released in the next few months.
Speaking on the Rick Eisen show (thanks to Reddit for the catch), Esposito – who portrays Galactic Empire commander Moff Gideon in the Star Wars show – seemingly confirmed its return would be "sometime this summer".
Actor Carl Weathers, who plays Greef Karga in the Disney Plus series, recently revealed that production on The Mandalorian season 3 only wrapped in late March. Even so, Esposito claims that the show's next instalment is "coming soon", and that we may even see it within the next few months.
"You'll get it soon," Esposito said when asked when season 3 would launch. "I've got a few little things to do, in regard to that, to put the finishing touches on what I do. But I believe it'll be sometime this summer. No date set, but coming soon."
The Mandalorian season 2 aired in December 2020, so it's been nearly 18 months since the show's last instalment. However, Star Wars fans were reunited with 'Mando' (and Grogu!) in The Book of Boba Fett, with the pair appearing in many of the spin-off show's later episodes.
After the duo helped Boba, Fennec Shand, and company defeat the Pike Syndicate, 'Mando' and Grogu were seen flying off into the galaxy in the former's refurnished Naboo starfighter. Understandably, we're unsure where they've headed off to. But, rest assured, the likes of Moff Gideon (despite his imprisonment in The Mandalorian season 2 finale) and other potential foes won't be far behind them.
Analysis: will The Mandalorian season 3 launch this summer?
As great as it would be to see The Mandalorian season 3 launch this summer (or this winter, for those in the southern hemisphere), we're not sure it will.
Why? Because, despite filming wrapping on the show's other two seasons in early 2019 and 2020 respectively, seasons 1 and 2 didn't arrive on Disney Plus until November 2019 and December 2020.
Principal photography ended on the series' first season in February 2019, meaning that there was a nine-month wait for the Star Wars show to debut on Disney's streaming service. Meanwhile, season 2 wrapped in March 2020 but, again, it wasn't released for nine months.
Taking those two seasons into consideration, we'd be surprised if The Mandalorian's third season landed this summer. Sure, summer runs from June to August, so technically season 3 could be released in late August, proving Esposito right.
Given the show's long post-production phase, though, we suspect that the show won't grace our screens until this fall – i.e. September at the very earliest. After all, Obi-Wan Kenobi's standalone series is due to air on Disney Plus between May 27 and June 24, while Ms Marvel – the next MCU TV show – will run from June 8 to July 13. It's unlikely, then, that Lucasfilm and Disney would release The Mandalorian season 3 alongside either of those projects.
The release date for The Bad Batch season 2 is likely to affect Mando's next outing, too. A Star Wars Celebration panel, which will be held on May 29, will reveal more about this show's next instalment, and we'd expect a launch date to be announced then. Earlier this year, a leaker suggested that The Bad Batch season 2 had a spring 2022 launch window, but that's sure to have been pushed back due to Obi-Wan and Ms Marvel.
Hopefully, it won't be too long before we receive official confirmation on The Mandalorian season 3's release date. Writer-executive producer Jon Favreau, and fellow producer Dave Filoni, will be discussing The Mandalorian at a Star Wars Celebration panel on May 28, with the duo expected to tease the show's next entry. Fingers crossed, then, that a launch date announcement is coming soon.
