Where Does The Mandalorian Go From Here?

Photo Credit: Disney

There are a handful of television shows I would love to write for, perhaps none more than the Disney+ show, The Mandalorian. If you haven’t watched all 16 episodes released so far but plan to, you might not want to read further. Spoilers await!

 

Now that Grogu has gone off to train with Luke Skywalker, where does Season 3 take the story next? Boba Fett and Fennec Shand are leaving for their own show as is Ahsoka Tano so it’s doubtful any of those characters will play a large role. Greef Karga and Cara Dune have been major parts of the tale so far and both are still alive and hunting down bounties but Disney announced the firing of Gina Carano, the actress who plays Cara Dune, last night based on her "abhorrent" political posts on social media. Showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni could always recast the role, but a clean break might be best. Perhaps they’ll kill her off but continue Karga’s friendship and business arrangement with Din Djarin.

Moff Gideon seems set for a return as one of the primary antagonists, but who else is likely to play a large part and what is their objective?

Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves

It’s pretty clear that the Darksaber and the battle for control of the Mandalorian home planet will be one of if not the major storyline next season. Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves formed a mutually beneficial alliance with Din Djarin in Season 2, but now that our hero has possession of the weapon Katan needs in order to claim the throne and the only way to legitimately wield it is to win it via combat, it seems a fight between these allies is on the horizon. Katan and Reeves didn’t interest me as much as some of the other characters the show offered up in its first two seasons, but a visit to the heretofore unseen planet of Mandalore could prove interesting.

 

Migs Mayfeld

Of all the new characters introduced beyond Djarin and Grogu, none of them are more fun than Migs Mayfeld. Played by funnyman Bill Burr, this mercenary and sharpshooter is always good for comic relief. Marshall Cara Dune freed him from a long prison sentence after he helped with an assault on the Imperial refinery on Morak where he proved to be a valuable partner to Djarin. It isn’t out of the question that their paths might cross again someday soon.

 

Maz Kanata

One of the best characters to come from the final trilogy of the Skywalker saga holds a mystery that Season 3 could solve for us. How did the Pirate Queen of Takodana, Maz Kanata wind up with Anakin’s old lightsaber? She gifts it to Finn, but we never learn how she came to possess it. Adding Maz to the cast for Season 3 via a visit to her castle and showing us these events would tie a welcome knot in one of the series most frustrating loose ends.

 

Fan Service

The first two seasons brought us an ugnaught, the AT-ST, jawas, Tusken Raiders, banthas, the Krayt dragon, Twi’leks, the Mon Calamari, Bib Fortuna, a Gamorrean, and a host of other callbacks to the original film trilogy. Which additional old friends and enemies might make an appearance in Season 3?

I think one of the most likely things we’ll see is a return of one or more of the remaining six bounty hunters introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. Boba Fett of course played a major role in Season 2. The bandaged but human Dengar probably isn’t a good candidate since the role would need to be recast based on how long it’s been since his first appearance. Bossk was alien, but mouth articulation might prove difficult if the character were to have more than a few lines of dialogue based on the mask the actor would need to wear. IG-88 is the same type of assassin droid as seen in Season 1 with the IG-11 character so its return is unlikely as well. The two remaining hunters, the insect-like 4-Lom and Zuckuss however would be great callbacks. Din Djarin watched his ship get destroyed near the end of Season 2 so he’ll be in the market for a new one. Ships aren’t cheap. What better way to earn the credits to buy a replacement for the Razor Crest than to sign up for another big job with a crew of similar hard cases.

Speaking of shopping for a new spaceship, how about a visit to the Corellian shipyards? Han Solo’s home planet made its first film appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story. A return visit might prove eventful, especially if Djarin runs across the nefarious bounty hunter Mercurial Swift, a character introduced in The Aftermath novels by author Chuck Wendig.

You don’t get much cooler than riding tauntauns across the snowy tundra or fighting giant AT-ATs in a snowspeeder. Episode 10 of The Mandalorian mostly took place on an icy planet named Maldo Kreis so another snow-filled adventure might be deemed repetitive, but if Djarin visits any more of the planets from the original trilogy, I’d love to see Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back as one of them.

And finally, what about the rancor? We saw Luke do battle with one of these giant monsters in the small confines of a pit below Jabba’s palace toward the beginning of Return of the Jedi. How about dropping Djarin into the middle of a pack of these things roaming free on their home planet of Dathomir? Even better, while stuck on the planet, The Mandalorian could give us our first live action peek at the Nightsisters, an order of female Dark side wielders who were introduced in Dave Wolverton’s novel The Courtship of Princess Leia and later appeared in an episode of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

There is no shortage of places, characters, and creatures to visit in the Star Wars universe. We have at least another year to speculate just what Season 3 will bring!