How The Mandalorian Season 3 Finale Opens a New Chapter for the Star Wars Series

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3 finale.

With the help of a united Mandalorian front, Grogu’s Force training, and a few nerve-wracking last-second saves, the season 3 finale of The Mandalorian saw Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and their fellow Mandalorian warriors finally put an end to Moff Gideon’s (Giancarlo Esposito) reign of terror and retake their home planet of Mandalore.

“Chapter 24: The Return” picked up right where the previous episode left off, with Bo-Katan rallying the Mandalorians against Moff Gideon and his troopers. Meanwhile, Grogu was busy utilizing his new IG-12 mech suit to free Din Djarin from Imperial clutches. This led to Din Djarin discovering what Moff Gideon had been up to since escaping New Republic custody and turning Mandalore into his base: cloning himself in hopes of creating a Force-sensitive army that could reclaim the galaxy far, far away for the Empire.

Din Djarin made quick work of destroying the clones, but still had to deal with Moff Gideon and the three Praetorian guards who showed up in last week’s episode. Of course, an epic final confrontation ensued, with Din Djarin, Bo-Katan, and Grogu teaming up to defeat Moff Gideon seemingly once and for all.

How does The Mandalorian season 3 end?

The Mandalorian season 3 finale ended on a happy note, with Bo-Katan assuming her role as ruler of Mandalore and leader of the now-unified Mandalorians, and Din Djarin officially adopting Grogu—or as the Armorer (Emily Swallow) renamed him, Din Grogu—in order to take him on as an apprentice.

With Mandalore at peace, Din Djarin and Grogu returned to Nevarro, where Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) informed them that he had set aside a plot of land where they could live when they weren’t gallivanting around the galaxy on an occasional mission for the New Republic—a deal that Din Djarin arranged with Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee).

The ending certainly seemed to suggest that this chapter in The Mandalorian saga is now closed. But considering creator Jon Favreau has already written a fourth season, it seems likely that we’re still going to see Din Djarin, Grogu, and other fan-favorites set out on new adventures going forward. As Favreau told Entertainment Weekly, he has no interest in leaving these characters behind.

“I don’t know what would make me not enjoy doing it, especially as long as the audience is connecting with these characters,” he said. “This feels like a really enjoyable moment. And I love this format of telling one chapter at a time and keeping the audience guessing, but also fulfilling certain expectations.”

What’s next in the Star Wars universe?

There’s also a chance that any number of characters from The Mandalorian could show up in other Star Wars projects set to take place in the same time period, including Disney+’s Ahsoka series (set to premiere in August 2023) or Skeleton Crew (possibly set for 2024). Andor season 2 is also supposedly on the way in 2024, in addition to The Acolyte, a new show set during the High Republic era, 200 years before the events of the prequel movie trilogy.