With the season finale of The Mandalorian serving up a showstopping series of events, fans have been left wondering where the third season of the series is set to take us.
In the past few weeks, fans have been theorizing about how the finale would play — with most of the theories focused on whether Din Djarin would be reunited with Grogu and who the Jedi would be that heard the Child on Tython. For weeks, the fandom combed through the list of Jedi who survived Order 66, theorizing about Ezra, Quinlan Vos, and Mace Windu.
Of course, with Luke Skywalker arriving to take down the Dark Troopers and rescue Din Djarin and his band of companions from certain death, all of those theories were quickly confirmed or debunked. Now fans are fretting about what the finale means for the fate of The Mandalorian and for Grogu. What is Din Djarin’s story without the kid? How will he chart a new path forward now that he’s revealed his face?
With Grogu leaving with Luke Skywalker, he’s set to be trained in the Force alongside Luke’s nephew, Ben Solo in just a few short years. While comics like The Rise of Kylo Ren revealed elements of Ben Solo’s life at the Jedi Temple, very little is known about what Luke was doing between Return of the Jedi and his exile to Ahch-To. Is there a possibility that Grogu will get caught up in Snoke’s plot to frame Ben Solo for the destruction of the Temple?
With over a year to speculate about the next chapter of The Mandalorian, fan theories are starting to crop up across social media and we’re here to present the case for some of the best Mandalorian season three theories to get those gears turning in your brain.
Theory #1: Din will claim the Mandalorian throne
One of the biggest fan theories on social media makes the most sense. Following the events of season 2, it became apparent that nothing that was mentioned in season 1 was done by accident. Many of the threads were picked up in season 2, interweaving with the main plotline of The Mandalorian and season 3 is set to be no different.
Throughout season 2, characters like Bo-Katan, Boba Fett, and Migs Mayfeld have referenced Mandalore and what occurred to the Mandalorian homeworld. Now with Din Djarin in possession of the Darksaber, rightfully winning a claim to the throne, it would make sense that these references would culminate into something much larger.
With the news from Kathleen Kennedy at the Disney Investor Day that the Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic spinoffs are set to culminate with The Mandalorian, perhaps Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are preparing to restore Mandalore and place Din Djarin on the throne.
While Bo-Katan may be the rightful heir to the throne, fans have pointed out how poignant it would be to have a foundling like Din rule over Mandalore. If you’ve followed the Mandalore storyline in The Clone Wars, then you’ll know that some Mandalorians like Almec were very negative about foundlings.
Of course, this means that there is every possibility that Bo-Katan will turn against Din, fueled by her singular desire to reclaim and rule over Mandalore. Moff Gideon seemed positively giddy at the prospect of turning Din and Bo-Katan against each other. Further proving Bo-Katan’s statement in “The Passenger” that people are trying to divide the Mandalorians.
Theory #2: Boba Fett and Fennec Shand will go rogue
If you didn’t stay for the post-credit scene in the season 2 finale, stop what you’re doing and watch it right now. Despite what some theorists would have you believe, The Book of Boba Fett seems the Boba Fett spinoff that people have been theorizing about for months.
After Boba Fett and Fennec Shand’s return in “The Tragedy,” fans were quick to theorize about the dynamic between the bounty hunter and assassin. Fans had previously theorized that Boba Fett was the shadowy figure that scooped up Fennec’s body at the close of Chapter 5 and with the confirmation that he did, in fact, rescue her — fans have wondered what that means for their dynamic.
Earlier this month, Ming-Na Wen, who portrays Fennec Shand, was interviewed for the Star Wars website. In the interview, Wen said, “There’s just this like guttural rawness and I think that comes from Boba’s character and what he’s gone through and now Fennec has also experienced death and it’s changed her.” It seemed quite clear in the interview that the two of them are reliant on each other as a team: “There’s a dependency and a respect that they have for each other, for sure. It’s more like teamwork. He’s sort of like the front guy, right? The one that everybody sees. But behind the curtain, we’re more equal.”
That chemistry certainly got Star Wars fans abuzz with excitement, always ready to find new characters to ship together. So is there a path forward for “Bonnec” (as fans have coined it) now that the end scene of The Mandalorian had them seated on Bib Fortuna’s throne on Tatooine? Will The Book of Boba Fett see Shand and Fett taking on the crime syndicate that they once worked for? Perhaps a brush with death and a Sarlacc pit gave them a new motivation in life. Perhaps there’s even a chance for romance.
Theory #3: We will learn who saved The Child
This is one theory that may no longer be relevant, but that doesn’t mean that fans aren’t still theorizing about it. If we’ve learned anything from the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, it’s that nothing is mentioned by accident.
We know from “The Jedi” that Ahsoka told Din that someone had rescued Grogu during the Purge, indicating that Grogu somehow survived Order 66, or was rescued before it occurred. The list of potential Jedi who may have saved him is nearly as short as the list of Jedi that fans had previously theorized would be the one to answer his call on Tython.
Is it possible that Kanan Jarrus rescued him? During Order 66, Jarrus went by the name of Caleb Dume and narrowly escaped being caught on numerous occasions. But that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a possibility that rescued a fellow Jedi in the process. This theory doesn’t quite hold up as well as others, but fans of Jarrus would certainly enjoy having him connected to the Child.
Another fan favorite theory includes Quinlan Vos rescuing the Child. In the canon reference book Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi, it is noted by Luke Skywalker that Vos was one of the survivors of the Jedi Purge, which lends some credence that the two characters may have inadvertently crossed paths (meaning Luke came across a reference that he had survived). With this canon connection, it is very possible that Grogu and Luke will discuss this during his training.
Though others have theorized that perhaps R2-D2 rescued him, which was why they seemed to know one another in the finale.
Theory #4: The silver ball will reunite Din and Grogu
For fans who are mourning the separation of Grogu and Din Djarin, one hope remains for their potential reunion in season 3 — the silver ball. We know that the ball holds sentimental meaning for Din, not just because it was part of the Razor Crest (R.I.P.), but because it was one of the Child’s favorite things. The ball came into play as the impetus for Grogu to use his Force abilities during his training with Ahsoka. During “The Jedi,” fans feared that Din would return to the Razor Crest after leaving Grogu with Ahsoka and see the silver ball.
But it wasn’t until “The Tragedy” that the ball delved a fatal blow right in the feels when Din found it in the wreckage of the Razor Crest after losing Grogu to the Dark Troopers. We know he has it in his possession, but we haven’t seen it again. Yet.
Could it be that Din will reflect on his time with Grogu in season 3 and realize that he doesn’t want to be parted with him, just as Luke discovers that Grogu’s attachment to his father figure makes it difficult for him to be trained? There is no doubt in the minds of fans that the lone wolf and the cub will be reunited once more.
Perhaps Grogu will train enough with Luke so that he can return to save Din in season 3, creating a nice parallel between Din’s evolution in season 2. It would follow some of the narrative arcs that the series borrows from spaghetti westerns.
Theory #5: Dr. Pershing will lead Din and co. to Kamino
Social media has been speculating about Dr. Pershing and Kamino since season 1 when eagle-eyed fans spotted the Kamino patch on Dr. Pershing’s costume. Of course, with the references to cloning in relation to Grogu and his M-count, this all made perfect sense considering Kamino was the source of the Clone Troopers originally.
Now with the reappearance of Boba Fett, and Bo-Katan reminding audiences during the season finale that he is a clone of Jango Fett, there seems to be new credence added to the theories that Kamino may make a reappearance in season 3. Boba’s connection to the clones certainly renewed theories about whether or not the series would revisit the familiar Prequel Trilogy location and delve deeper into cloning.
One thing that the finale made clear was the fact that Dr. Pershing isn’t an inherently bad person. While he may have lent assistance to Din Djarin just to survive the encounter, Pershing seemed quite willing to reveal what he knew about Moff Gideon, the ship, and their plans. Perhaps he is also an unwilling participant in Gideon’s cloning plans and will continue to lend his assistance to Din and company in season three.
Furthermore, if Gideon was able to take Grogu’s blood, does that mean that there is a chance that there are clones of him being made somewhere? Will Din encounter an evil version of his beloved little foundling next year?
Cloning has always been a fascinating element within the Star Wars universe and there is no doubt in the minds of fans that we’ll be seeing more of this plotline as the series progresses. There was a reason midi-chlorians were mentioned dropped as Din Djarin stood in a room full of seemingly failed clones.
What do you think about these theories? Where do you think season 3 of The Mandalorian will head? Are you looking forward to the potential Boba Fett and Fennec Shand spinoff? Let us know in the comments!