The Mandalorian S3 (or a spinoff focused on that newly returned classic character) could start shooting this week

[WARNING! SPOILERS FOR THE MANDALORIAN SEASON TWO, EPISODE ONE – “THE MARSHALL”]

Hey, guys! Did you hear that Pedro Pascal has apparently injured his back while shooting The Mandalorian. Yeah, it reportedly comes from carrying the entire Star Wars franchise by himself right now! Yuk yuk!

Jokes aside, The Mandalorian has been a gigantic success for Disney-owned Lucasfilm. After season one ended, it was even alluded to that the second season of the space-western could setup several characters for spinoff shows/movies that would be the future of Star Wars. And now, after a jaw-dropping start to the second season two weekends ago, that may just be happening sooner than expected. Maybe. We think. Kinda.

As Deadline notes, Disney’s super secrecy about all things Star Wars means that conflicting reports have arisen due to sources only having scraps of information. And from what Deadline can piece together, something is going into production as early as this week. This could be a third season of The Mandalorian – the show has no officially been renewed yet, but with its popularity, it’s a forgone conclusion – or it could be a Boba Fett spinoff series. Yes, you read that correctly. And if you’re now going “WHAT?! BUT BOBA FETT IS DEAD!”, then clearly you ignored the big bold Spoiler warning up top and you haven’t seen “The Marshall”, the season two premiere episode for The Mandalorian, in which the famed bounty hunter returned!

While most of the episode revolves around Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin helping Timothy Olyphant’s self-made lawman Cobb Vanth get rid of a Krayt dragon threatening his mining settlement on Tattooine, the standout aspect is that Mando is only doing it to get Vanth’s armour. Specifically, a set of Mandalorian armour Vanth bought off some Jawas and which any self-respecting Star Wars fan would immediately recognize as the armour worn by Boba Fett when he supposedly died in the maw of the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi. And at the end of the episode, in a payoff money shot, we see that scarred and grizzled stranger Boba Fett has seen the whole affair and isn’t very happy about it.

Now it has to be pointed out here, that Fett is not officially credited. However, the character is played by none other than Temeura Morrison, the actor who played Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Boba like all Imperial Clone Troopers, is a clone of Jango (the only one who ages naturally though), so it stands to reason that Morrison is playing Fett again here. And if you’re wondering how he can be back, in the now-defunct Star Wars Extended Universe stories though, it was explained that Fett’s armour protected him inside the Sarlacc’s stomach and he was able to fight his way out. In The Marshall, we see Djarin do exactly that with a Krayt dragon, subtly proving that it’s possible.

So what does this all mean for the production starting soon? There’s a Lucasfilm production listed in Production Weekly using the working title of Buccaneer. A “buccaneer” is another name for a pirate, so it doesn’t quite fit with either The Mandalorian or Boba Fett, but Deadline is hearing that it will be a miniseries focused on the latter, with The Mandalorian season three then filming early next year. Disney has been trying to bring Fett back for a while now: Josh Trank was supposed to direct a standalone film focused on the character, before his reported behaviour on Fantastic Four (which was produced by Star Wars Story Group member Simon Kinberg) caused him to quit before he got fired. Logan writer/director James Mangold was reportedly picked up the reins again, but then Solo’s box office flop caused Disney to put all standalone movie plans on hold. Clearly they had an idea for Fett that they just can’t get away from.

There is also a rumour though that Buccaneer could be a spinoff focused on Gina Carano’s Cara Dune teaming up with a live-action version of Star Wars Rebels character Bo-Katan Kryze, rumoured to be played by Katee Sackhoff in The Mandalorian season two. However, Deadline is shooting this one down as there’s no evidence that this is happening. At least not now.

Whether it is a Boba Fett miniseries or just another season of The Mandalorian, it looks like Disney is going all-in on this corner of the Star Wars universe. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on whether they can up this quality.

Last Updated: November 9, 2020