This Star Wars article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Din Djarin aka Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu have been through a lot together in The Mandalorian’s first two seasons (and The Book of Boba Fett). They’ve been chased by bounty hunters, nearly eaten by a variety of creatures, and escaped the clutches of the Empire on multiple occasions. Along the way, they’ve formed what is arguably the cutest father-son bond in the galaxy.
The upcoming third season of the series is set to feature even more adventures for the duo as Djarin explores what it means to be Mandalorian and wield the legendary Darksaber. The official synopsis for season 3 is “The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.”
That’s certainly intriguing! But it’s also been a few years since The Mandalorian was last on our screens, which means you might need a refresher on all things Mando before the big premiere. Here’s everything you need to know…
When Does The Mandalorian Season 3 Come Out?
Season 3 of The Mandalorian will premiere on Wednesday, March 1 at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET on Disney+. Episodes will be released weekly at the same time on Wednesdays through this season’s eight-episode run.
The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett Plot Recap
A lot has happened to our favorite father and son duo since they first met in season 1, including an emotional reunion in The Mandalorian spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett. Here’s a recap of what you need to know before starting The Mandalorian season 3.
Father and Son Meet
Season 1 introduced us to the galaxy’s best father and son duo, Din Djarin and Grogu, and things haven’t been the same since. Djarin first meets Grogu on a bounty mission after being tasked with returning the Child to a client (Werner Herzog) with Imperial ties on the volcanic planet Nevarro. Djarin completes the mission and collects the reward (enough beskar to forge new armor for himself), but feels guilty for abandoning the Child to an uncertain fate and decides to rescue him from the Empire. This alienates Djarin from the Bounty Hunters’ Guild and forces his exiled Mandalorian clan further into hiding after they help him escape the planet.
Moff Gideon Really Wants to See the Baby
We don’t meet Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) until the end of the first season, but this Imperial officer proves to be a formidable opponent. He takes over the Bounty Hunter Guild’s town on Nevarro, forcing Guild leader Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) to reach out to Djarin and offer a truce. He suggests that they use Grogu as bait to draw out the original client and kill him to free the town, in exchange Karga vows to stop the Guild from going after the Child. Even though Karga was going to betray Djarin and hand the Child over to the Imperials, he has a change of heart after witnessing Grogu’s powers.
But their plan to lure the client out of hiding goes south when they discover that Moff Gideon is the one pulling the strings and isn’t afraid to burn the entire planet to the ground to get what he wants. In the end, Djarin takes down Moff Gideon’s TIE fighter, believing that he’s dead and that Grogu is finally safe from the Empire.
But why does Gideon want Grogu so badly? Based on research discovered by Mando, Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and Karga at an Imperial base on Nevarro in season 2, Gideon wants to study Grogu and the high M-count in his blood. It’s at this facility that they discover that Moff Gideon didn’t actually die in the TIE fighter crash at the end of season 1 and that he’s still out there looking for the Child. Even after the base is destroyed, someone loyal to Gideon places a tracker on the Razor Crest that eventually leads to Grogu’s capture on the ancient Jedi planet Tython.
In the final scene of season 1, we learn Gideon has possession of the Darksaber, an ancient blade traditionally wielded by the leader of the Mandalorian people. This will be very important later.
Bo-Katan, the Darksaber, and the Mandalorians
Before Gideon kidnaps Grogu, Djarin’s goal in season 2 is to bring Grogu to the Jedi. According to the Armorer (Emily Swallow) of his Mandalorian clan, it is Djarin’s duty to accept Grogu as a foundling and reunite him with his own kind. After the violence on Nevarro forces his clan to find a new home, Djarin seeks out other Mandalorians throughout the galaxy to help him on his quest. This first takes him to Mos Pelgo on Tatooine, where the town’s marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) has obtained Boba Fett’s armor from Jawa’s and uses it to protect his people. According to Djarin’s Mandalorian creed, only a true Mandalorian can wear that armor, so he threatens to take the gear from Vanth by force. Instead, Vanth offers to give it to him in exchange for helping him get rid of the krayt dragon threatening the town. Djarin agrees.
Back at square one in his Mandalorian search, Djarin agrees to transport a “Frog Lady” to the water moon of Trask in exchange for information on Mandalorians that might be hiding out there. It’s there that he meets Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado), and Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides). He’s alarmed when they remove their helmets as his clan’s creed forbids it, but decides to trust them after Bo-Katan promises to tell him where to find a Jedi in exchange for helping her take over an Imperial freighter. Even though this freighter doesn’t bring her any closer to Moff Gideon or the Darksaber (which she needs to unite the Mandalorian people), Bo-Katan still appreciates Mando’s help and tells him that he will find the Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus.
After Grogu is taken by Gideon, Djarin returns to Bo-Katan and asks for her help rescuing him. She agrees, but only if she’s the one to take down Gideon. According to Mandalorian lore, whoever wields the Darksaber has a rightful claim to the throne of Mandalore, but only if they win ownership of the saber through combat. Unfortunately for Bo-Katan, Djarin is the one to defeat Gideon in combat, unknowingly becoming the rightful owner of the Darksaber. Even when he “yields” the saber to Bo-Katan, she declines because she didn’t really earn it. Now they’re sort of at odds.
The good news is Gideon has been captured and surely won’t cause anymore trouble for the New Republic…right?
Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, and Returning Grogu to the Jedi
After his first team-up with Bo-Katan and the other Mandalorians, Djarin takes Grogu to see Ahsoka on Corvus. When they arrive, Ahsoka uses the Force to learn the Child’s name as well as his past. It turns out that Grogu was training at the Jedi temple before Order 66 and only barely survived the Purge.
At first, Ahsoka is apprehensive about training Grogu because of his emotional attachment to Djarin, but agrees to help him if Djarin helps her take down Calodan’s oppressive magistrate. The pair are successful in freeing the town, but Ahsoka still refuses to train Grogu herself because as the former padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she’s seen what strong emotional connections can do to powerful Jedi. Instead, she gives the magistrate’s beskar spear to Djarin and tells him of an ancient seeing stone on the planet Tython that will allow Grogu to use the Force to call out to any Jedi willing to train him.
Even though it takes Grogu a minute to tap into his powers, he’s able to reach out with the Force before being abducted by Gideon. After Djarin and the others have defeated Gideon, Imperial Dark Troopers threaten to ruin the happy reunion between father and son. Djarin may have ejected them into space, but these are some strong robots and they’ve made their way to the bridge of Gideon’s cruiser.
But just as things start to look bleak, an X-wing appears with none other than Luke Skywalker (computer generated Mark Hamill) on board. He takes out the Dark Troopers with ease before offering to train Grogu at his new Jedi academy. Grogu is apprehensive at first, not wanting to leave Mando behind, but Djarin removes his helmet to reassure the Child that he’ll be safe and that this is the best thing for him.
The Book of Boba Fett (aka The Mandalorian 2.5)
After helping Djarin rescue Grogu from Gideon in season 2 of The Mandalorain, Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) have returned to Tatooine to take over Jabba the Hutt’s empire. Meanwhile, Djarin finds the remaining members of his clan on the Glavis Ringworld space station. There, he shows the Darksaber to the Armorer and asks that the beskar spear be melted down into armor fit for his little foundling. Djarin struggles to train in combat with the Darksaber, so fellow clan member Paz Vizsla (Jon Favreau) takes the opportunity to challenge Djarin to a fight for it. Vizsla is a descendant of the Darksaber’s creator Tarre Vizsla, so he sees the weapon as his birthright.
Djarin bests Vizsla, but is kicked out of his clan after he reveals to them that he has removed his helmet. He’s labeled an “apostate” by the Armorer and sent on his way. The only way he can be welcomed back into the clan is by bathing in the “living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore.” It seems this pilgrimage is what season 3 will be all about.
Without a ship, his Child, or a clan, Djarin heads to Tatooine via commercial starship in the hopes that Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) can help him find a replacement for the Razor Crest. The pair finish fixing up an old Naboo N-1 Starcruiser just as Fennec Shand comes to ask Djarin for help in Fett’s upcoming war against the Pykes. He agrees to help, but first he wants to take the armor to Grogu.
Djarin arrives on an another ancient Jedi planet called Ossus, where he is greeted by R2-D2. The droid takes him to Ahsoka rather than Luke or Grogu. Ahsoka explains that Grogu has already come a long way in his training and seeing Djarin again will likely just make their separation harder for the Child. Mando sadly agrees, but insists on leaving the armor for Grogu if he wants it. Luke then gives Grogu a choice, accepting the armor and returning to Djarin for good, or taking Yoda’s lightsaber and continuing his training. Grogu chooses the armor and is sent to Tatooine to reunite with Mando.
Before Grogu arrives on Tatooine wearing the armor, Djarin travels to Mos Pelgo – now known as Freetown – to try and convince Cobb Vanth and the townspeople to help in Fett’s war against the Pykes. Vanth declines, not wanting to jeopardize what he and the people of Freetown have built for themselves. But after Djarin leaves, Vanth is shot by Cad Bane (Corey Burton) on behalf of the Pykes, inspiring the people to join Fett and avenge their leader.
Djarin and Grogu are finally reunited during the battle in Mos Espa, where Grogu uses his newly honed Force abilities to take out a Scorpenek droid and to put Fett’s raging Rancor to sleep after they win the fight. The father and son duo end the series flying off on the N-1, ready to explore the galaxy together. Next stop: Mandalore!