The Mandalorian has proven central to Lucasfilm's Disney+ push as it reignites the Star Wars brand after a controversial response to the sequel trilogy. The popular series has already begun to spawn spin-offs and further adventures in the era with The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic. Even with all these interconnected tales on the way, the focus of many fans remains dead-set on The Mandalorian Season 3.
After dropping the first two seasons in back-to-back years, The Mandalorian has some time away, with the last episodes having released in December 2020. Fortunately, production is now underway on Season 3 of the hit series, which was just recently confirmed to premiere its next episodes in February 2023.
Lucasfilm delivered the first details of the season at Star Wars Celebration along with new footage that highlighted Grogu, Greef Karga, Bo-Katan Kryze, The Armorer, and more. After being banished from the Mandalorian creed and reunited with Grogu in The Book of Boba Fett, Din Djarin will now be forced to travel to the destroyed Mandalore to seek forgiveness for removing his helmet.
Anticipation is high to see what comes next for the Disney+ series, and more footage has just been shown at Star Wars Celebration, once again exclusively behind closed doors.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Reveals New Footage
Lucasfilm revealed footage from The Mandalorian Season 3 at Star Wars Celebration on Saturday that featured a creature of the same species as The Rise of Skywalker's Babu Frik - known as Anzellans.
The trailer also included a shot of a destroyed Mandalore, setting the stage for Din Djarin's promised return to the Mandalorian homeworld as he seeks forgiveness for removing his helmet.
Further shots showcased a downed Star Destroyer and Mandalorians jumping directly out of ships.
Other, less certain things, that some believe to have seen in the footage were the return of Death Watch and Wookies. At this time, the footage shown remains exclusive to Star Wars Celebration and has not been released online.
Fans Get Excited for More Mandalorian
As Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+, fans are being spoiled at Star Wars Celebration as the convention has already delivered the first looks at the upcoming seasons of Andor, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka. Unfortunately, only the Rogue One prequel has had its trailer officially released online, leaving fans around the world patiently waiting for more from the MandoVerse.
After two acclaimed and successful seasons, many are looking forward to more from The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett may have helped to fill the gap with new adventures in the era and the return of Din Djarin but at the end of the day, viewers are eager to continue the story of the original series.
The first two entries in the series have already taken fans on a grand tour of the Star Wars galaxy filled with plenty of familiar faces, and the third looks to be even bigger. More so than ever, Season 3 appears to be focussing on Mandalorian culture as Pedro Pascal's hero seeks forgiveness for his transgressions while Bo-Katan fights for the throne of Mandalore.
Now that Grogu has been able to spend a brief time under the training of Luke Skywalker, who he ultimately abandoned to return to Din Djarin, the focus ought to be shifting away from Jedi lore. That doesn't appear to be stopping The Mandalorian from venturing into other corners of the Star Wars universe, with only the second live-action appearance of an Anzellan.
Only time will tell whether the Anzellan in question is Babu Frik himself, but it remains entirely possible. The Anzellan droidsmith was born in the year 50 BBY, making him almost 60 years old during The Mandalorian, so it could be him, but also just as easily could be another of his species.
The Mandalorian fans will, unfortunately, be waiting some time for answers as Season 3 won't premiere on Disney+ until February 2023, and Lucasfilm has shown no signs of publicly releasing the privately-shown footage.
