The Mandalorian The Mandalorian Season 3 Discussion (Spoilers Allowed)

The Avengers comparison is one we’ve all made, but I can’t help but wonder if we’ve overestimated how much of a build up this crossover event is going to get.

I saw so many people theorising before it’s release that the Book of Boba Fett was going to position the titular character as the “Talon Karrde” of the coming conflict with Thrawn, or that it would set up Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn for that role. The show came and went and really we didn’t get much by way of story progression for the greater narrative. We inched Din’s storyline further a bit, whilst also resetting his status quo with Grogu but that’s about it.

So I’m thinking, something like Rangers-probably wasn’t that integral. I get the feeling that the project was a Book of Boba Fett situation- a Mandalorian subplot that they were encouraged to expand into a mini-series to bolster Disney + content.

 

I mean do you think Thrawn will just come and go in Ashoka and not even made a big bad?

Or do you think Ashoka is gonna be far more integral?

Or heck for all we know maybe Ashoka isn't that big as we imagine either but just something Filoni really really REEEEEALY wanted to do.

 

Either the Ashoka series is going to do like, 75% of the heavy lifting when it comes setting up the crossover or ….the thing is going to be more of a epilogue to Rebels and we’ve all completely misread what this crossover is going to be.

 

And the thing is...I could really see it being either one of these options

I mean i would think it's the first option...But like....We could be wrong...Doubt it...But it's possible.

I do think Ashoka will be a bit more than Book of Boba Fett given the time it seems to have had in terms of pre-production but then again...who knows.

 

I don’t know what an alternative crossover would be, because Thrawn seems like the most obvious choice, but if they haven’t cast the character yet and he’s being saved for Ahsoka then I’m starting to doubt that season 3 of Mando will really have much to do with him and we might be pivoting into another storyline. Thrawn might just be a big red (blue?) herring.

 

I mean i didn't expect Thrawn to be involved in Mandalorian too much and really to finish up Gideon side of things

I mean Ashoka may be the start of whatever the next phase of story is?

 

Since Gideon is in custody I expected a lot more clarity about what the bigger picture is with the Imperials, and some kind of cameo to directly set up Thrawn for Ahsoka. An ESB situation setting up the Emperor despite Vader being the main villain.

 

I would hope.

But we will see.

 

I still think the crossover event could be about the retaking of Mandalore. The spin-off purposes (with respect to the crossover, not necessarily to their own story) could be to establish Mando's main allies establishing a power base that they can bring to his aid.

 

I think the Ahsoka series will focus on her hunt for Thrawn. We may get a cameo from Mando in it but theres a lot of potential story and characters like Ezra that could come into it.

In terms of crossover it wouldnt surprise me if Thrawn makes a play for Mandalore in terms of maybe recruiting for the Imperial Remnant (despite their history) and it brings Ahsoka and Mando back into play together. Thrawn is not one for wasting potential assets and the imperial remnant needs all the recruits it can get and of course from the ashes of all of this is the First Order rising.

 

Thrawn would obviously need to come into play in any "search for Ezra" story, so if that is what Ahsoka is, then he needed to be brought up again. Rebels itself obviously sets up Thrawn to be significant after ROTJ, and I don't think that was to set up Mando+. I don't expect the crossover story to be the end of Star Wars, or even the OT/ST interquel period - plenty of opportunity to follow up whatever they have planned for him. I just don't see the strong connective tissue for the shows to be building up to Thrawn. The only hint of Thrawn in The Mandalorian was in a scene that didn't involve any of the regular cast in an episode that was a pilot for a series that would have to include him. Nothing in Book of Boba Fett sets up or builds to Thrawn. Of course they could build to him, but I don't see why that is the most likely possibility at this point.

 

I mean I hope Thrawn is a BIG THING....You don't put Thrawn in the post Endor period in the same year as the Thrawn Trilogy in legends and do something big for me.

They can't pull a Cad Bane for Thrawn ....That would seem like kinda a waist

 

If Mando season 3 comes out, and there’s not even a mention of the character that honestly wouldn’t surprise me. There really hasn’t been any build up for him, which is very strange because I do think using him as the big event is the most logical route they could go. But there is a real possibility that he’s mostly just there for closure in the Ahsoka series.

 

Yeah i kinda don't expect Mando either

Again how much "Closure" will we get from Ashoka is the possibility

Like Thrawn does't have to necessarily die...Heck i'm not even convinced Cad Bane is dead TBH

Now I do think Filoni has something for Thrawn otherwise why keep him alive post Rebel

Chances are Ashoka kick off something just as much as it closes things

 

@SyndicThrass

Here is another guess

Mando Season 3 ends

Ashoks is kinda less "Closure" for Rebels and more the kickoff to other stuff.

I assume Mando Season 3 happens BEFORE Ashoka right? So maybe a lot of the Mando's grand plot gets wrapped up and then Ashoka kicks off Mandoverse Phase 2 or whatever.

 

Personally I don’t think the Mandoverse is going to be a long term of a thing comparable to Marvel, they don’t seem to have enough fuel in the tank for it going off Book of Boba. So I’m not sure about phases and the like.

 

Just an FYI for those that happen to be in the Long Island/New York area at the beginning of July.

 

I think this whole Mandalorian era will last for a while. Thrawn will be key to it. We have yet to see clear signs of the first order, we see hints of other imperial remnants and Snoke clones. This Will almost work as pre prequel to ST trilogy era.

 

I’m going to show my hand a little bit, and say that going by what that one, now banned, leaker had said there is a scene in Season 3

Spoiler

where Din unites the clans of Mandalore in a Game of Thrones/Wildling sequence on a frozen lake.

I think going by that, there’s not a great deal left.

 

But then...what happens with Mandalore afterwards? And Grogu?

There's plenty left.

 

Well, not every story needs to show what happens after the kingdom is won. You don’t need to always show the subsequent crisis that a ruler faces, that gets into GRRM territory and his critique on Return of the King.

With the Mandalorian, so much of the show has been building up to Din uniting Mandalore from the beginning that it feels like a very logical and fitting end point for the character. You don’t need to do much with Grogu either, since his character arc effectively resolved itself in the Luke episode of BOBF with him choosing to live as a Mandalorian with his father rather than become a Jedi. So I think we’re entering the last stretch of the narrative here.

Realistically I think it’s Mando season 3, Ahsoka, Crossover thing and then we’re done. You would think that they’d use Thrawn for that crossover, because out of universe it makes too much sense. He’s an iconic, beloved character with a large fanbase and a classic story they can use as a blueprint, it ticks all the boxes for success. But the storytelling isn’t really in place for it, they haven’t set him up, or really any kind of overarching plot to justify it. So either they’re just being incredibly sloppy with their storytelling and the crossover thing is just Ahsoka: Part 2 featuring Din and Boba Fett, or they’ve got something else in mind. I might be giving them too much credit.