The Mandalorian season 3 trailer was finally released to the public at D23. The trailer was originally shown to those fortunate enough to see it at Star Wars Celebration 2022.
Now that the trailer is available to watch in high quality online, all fans are able to revel in some of the biggest reveals and teases for the upcoming season of the critically acclaimed series. The trailer aligns with The Book of Boba Fett setting up that Din will go to Mandalore to “redeem” himself for removing his helmet and builds on that in some fascinating ways.
These are 5 of the biggest reveals in the trailer:
Dr. Pershing and Katy O’Brian’s character are back
The season 3 trailer may not feature any shots of Moff Gideon, but it does feature a shot of two other individuals previously associated with Gideon’s Imperial remnant. The first individual is Dr. Pershing, the scientist who previously experimented on Grogu.
Dr. Pershing can be seen walking beside Katy O’Brian’s character. She played a comms officer who was seen as part of Moff Gideon’s Imperial forces throughout the second season. Her body was not among the many Imperials killed during the mission to save Grogu, leaving fans to wonder if she survived. The trailer confirms she survived and is back.
It will be interesting to see if Dr. Pershing and the comms officer (who will hopefully get a name this season) will still work for the Imperial remnant or if they will switch sides. After all, Dr. Pershing has shown some genuine sympathy toward Grogu, and doesn’t seem to be a diehard Imperial loyalist.
Bo-Katan blames the Children of the Watch for dividing Mandalorians
Bo-Katan says to Din in the trailer “Your cult fractured our people. Where were you then?” It is intriguing to learn that Bo-Katan blames the Children of the Watch for dividing the Mandalorian people. It will be interesting to learn why she believes this and whether it is true.
Her distaste for the Children of the Watch was clear from the moment she met Din in season 2 and told him “the Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society.” Saying that the Watch fractured the Mandalorian people seems like more than just a difference in ideology and that the Watch may have done something much more damaging.
Greef Karga and Nevarro look better than ever
The glimpses of Greef Karga and Nevarro in the trailer show that both the magistrate and the city are thriving more than ever before. Greef Karga’s clothing is more luxurious than anything he wore in the previous seasons as he greets Din. Nevarro is a clean, polished, respectable city, and nothing like the grimy hive of scum and villainy in season 1.
Another big change is the treatment of Kowakian monkey-lizards on Nevarro. In season 1 they were shown to be in cages and being cooked. Now the season 3 trailer shows them free and idling on some tree branches, another sign of how much Nevarro has changed.
It appears that Greef Karga and Nevarro will be important once again for this season.
R5-D4 gets in on the action
One of the best Easter eggs in The Mandalorian is seeing R5-D4, the droid from A New Hope who Uncle Owen originally purchased instead of R2-D2. It appears that R5-D4 will have his biggest role yet in The Mandalorian as instead of just being a cameo, the droid is shown in the cockpit of Din’s N-1 Starfighter as it soars through the air and past an explosion from another ship.
After helping to set in motion the events of the original Star Wars movie in 1977, it is thrilling to see R5-D4 get in on the action all these years later. It also ties in nicely with the droid’s story from the first From a Certain Point of View anthology.
R5-D4 is also seen in the trailer next to Peli Motto with sand underneath their feet, confirming that this season will return to Tatooine.
The most Mandalorians ever shown in live-action Star Wars
Despite being called The Mandalorian, the series has featured a relatively small number of Mandalorians so far. That is set to change in season 3 as the trailer alone shows far more Mandalorians than ever seen before in live-action. The sheer variety of Mandalorian armor designs and colors is breathtaking.
In many ways this feels fitting as both Din and the audience will simultaneously be introduced to and learn more about the current state of Mandalore and Mandalorian culture, long after the more familiar time of Mandalorians shown in Star Wars animated series like The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.