By Daniel Paiz

That season two finale of The Mandalorian was truly a Star Wars moment. What’s even more exciting about that is it is officially the first TV Star Wars moment to happen on Disney+. Mando completed his season long task as appointed by The Armorer since Grogu (The Child) was in fact a foundling, if only for less time than fans might have liked. That’s kind of a spoiler if you haven’t finished season two.

But, the internet has had the ending plastered everywhere since the season two finale aired so good luck avoiding that news. This is your heads up that there are spoilers here and there throughout this article, so if you have not watched season two to the end, I wouldn’t read this until you have. With that being said, there’s plenty to discuss and dive into, so let’s start the reckless way too early predictions for season three of The Mandalorian here.

What’s next for The Mandalorian, season three

Well first there’s the issue of what happens to the Black Sabre. Mando doesn’t want it, Bo Katan does, and earning it in combat seems like an awkward event to happen. At some point these two have to fight, unless another figure rises to challenge Din for the coveted blade.

Moff Gideon very well could escape Kara Dune’s hold and call upon his seemingly endless supply of soldiers. The dark troopers might appear to be all gone from his ship in the finale. However, who’s to say he doesn’t have more or have some kind of other troop setup elsewhere, yet to be revealed. The Dark Side always seems to have something else lined up should things not go their way (perhaps that’s why they aren’t always successful in the end, but that’s another discussion for another day). Either way there’s no way we don’t see more Moff and perhaps other Sith and Sith-related characters.

Greef Karga and Dune will be back in some capacity but that might be it for the core characters. Boba Fett and Fennec Shand are kind of busy with their new plans, in case you missed the after credits scene at the end of episode 16 of season two. Fett’s own series will now come first, ahead of season three of Mando. Perhaps the events of The Book of Boba Fett slightly impact where things go for Mando, in a roundabout way. Perhaps because Fett’s debt to Djarin has been paid, their paths cross due to the crime world’s ugly underbelly (which maybe is further explained in one of the other dozen new Star Wars series).

Factor in season three starts filming after the release of The Book of Boba Fett tells us there’s a connection between the two. What it will be is hard to say, but if five Mandalorians exist in this show there might be even more out there. Their loyalties might be unraveled in season three but teased in the new Fett series. Unlikely, sure, but remember, this is about somewhat reckless predictions.

Where shall The Child end up

Grogu and Luke would be a fun story to dive into some more, but the show is called The Mandalorian. Unless there’s reason for these two to cross paths again (end of season three spoiler?), it seems like Grogu might not be a big part of the central story. Having his development as a side story would be a distraction to the future of this show’s beloved characters.

Perhaps Grogu goes off, becomes a Jedi, and meets a certain fate from another Padawan in training. Perhaps he becomes more of a force user and leaves his training, not to be heard from for years. And years. And years. Maybe even a turn to the dark side and inevitable death from others vying for a certain Sith lord’s attention? It’s hard to figure out a path when it feels like he won’t be more than a guest appearance in season three, at least for now.

There are so many possibilities, especially if you want to see Grogu developed beyond an inevitability in Ben Solo’s development. I’ve had conversations with a few friends who expect this unfortunate ending. None of them think Grogu gets much more screen time. That just doesn’t seem possible with how popular he is with the Star Wars fan base. Sure they can turn on him too.

But, I think we either see him in the Ahsoka series for some reason, or even farther down the road.

How many seasons will there be?

It kind of all depends on what happens to Mandalore itself, as well as Mando, Boba Fett, Bo Katan and others who might have some interest in the planet (okay Fett might not care, but maybe he’s tied in somehow). The destruction of the planet seems certain, and it kind of feels like one of those points where seasons three and four (?) and maybe five (?) are being crafted to add depth to the overall storyline. Maybe something new arises out of all this that can be setup in events from the High Republic storylines coming soon (yes, I know they’re hundreds of years prior to this part of the storyline; it could happen still). Perhaps a Mandalorian character can be a part of whatever might come next after Episode IX.

It doesn’t feel like anything beyond five seasons is feasible; one exception to that could be the growth of Grogu and maybe tying him back in by finding other Yoda’s species individuals. What if these characters are also captured in a lab, as wherever they came from was raided since their strong connection to the force was realized by those working to build the First Order. Speculation runs amok, and not all of the backstory is documented about this species outside of Yoda, Yaddle and somewhat of Grogu.

Even these three do not have a lot of background info known. Adding to the information on Yoda’s species while also tying it into the fate of Mando and Mandalore could be compelling storytelling, but only for a limited amount of time. Finding a sweet spot like Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have so far over these first two seasons is vital to extending the series.