The Mandalorian’s Next Episode Breaks Frustrating Runtime Record

The next episode of Star Wars hit The Mandalorian will decidedly mix things up in terms of its runtime, breaking a series record in the process.

Din Djarin and Grogu’s journey throughout a galaxy far, far away continues in their fan-favorite Star Wars show. Fans are accustomed to the show moving at a pretty decent pace while having a lot to offer in each episode.

This week’s episode, however, despite being The Mandalorian’s longest outing so far, was also the most slowly plotted. It took a break from Din to focus on ex-Imperial cloning expert Dr. Pershing.

Still, next week’s episode might end up having viewers wanting more in terms of runtime.

The Mandalorian Chapter 20 Is the Shortest Yet

According to Twitter's Cryptic4KQual (a reliable source for advanced runtime info), the fourth episode of The Mandalorian’s third season, "Chapter 20," will be 30 minutes and 39 seconds in length. This makes it the show’s shortest episode yet.

For context, here are the show’s other shortest installments:

• "Chapter 2 - The Child:” 30 minutes 53 seconds
• "Chapter 14 - The Tragedy:”: 31 minutes, 39 seconds
• "Chapter 5 - The Gunslinger:” 32 minutes, 48 seconds
• "Chapter 11 - The Heiress:” 32 minutes, 58 seconds

Additionally, "Chapter 20" marks the return of Carl Weathers to the director’s chair. Weathers plays High Magistrate Greef Karga in the series, so it’s quite possible that Karga will appear in the episode.

Why Are Some Mandalorian Episodes So Short?

This reduction in episode runtime might come off as jarring to audiences, who could have gotten used to the longer running times of the previous episodes in Season 3.

But The Mandalorian is a show that packs a lot of action, cool character moments, and interesting visual effects into each and every episode. So, even though the upcoming "Chapter 20" is the briefest one yet, it’ll more than likely still be a fun, engaging time for Star Wars fans.

Whatever the case, The Mandalorian's third season has certainly been exciting and filled with Star Wars lore. From Din visiting the mines of Mandalore to the show further foreshadowing elements of the sequel trilogy, there’s no shortage of intriguing details in Season 3.

The Mandalorian drops new episodes every Wednesday, exclusively on Disney+.