The Mandalorian Season 3 – Do Viewers Have to Watch The Book of Boba Fett?

We are admittedly in a very interesting and engaging time when it comes to entertainment, particularly when it comes to television shows and movies. Franchises like Star Wars and the MCU, paired with large production companies and streaming services, have allowed for mass content to be put out on a scale that, up to this point in history, had never been matched. While this comes with some advantages in terms of entertainment value, it isn’t without its pitfalls, as viewers are now forced to consume hours and hours of extra content that they may not have the time for.

So, when a popular show like The Mandalorian announced that it would be returning for its third season this coming March after a two-year gap, most series fans were thrilled to hear that they’d get to see more of Mando’s bounty-hunting efforts. But some of those fans might be in for a rude awakening if they also happened to skip over 2022’s The Book of Boba Fett since (spoilers) there are quite a few connections between the two projects that have serious implications/effects on what will happen in The Mandalorian Season 3.

The Mandalorian Season 2 Ending

Where exactly did The Mandalorian’s second season leave off? That’s right – on a massive cliffhanger. Other than The Empire Strikes Back revelation that Darth Vader was Luke’s father, Mando S2 arguably had the largest cliffhanger that the Star Wars universe has ever had, which left viewers with countless questions about what would come for the future. That being said, it was never a sure thing that The Mandalorian was going to get a third season, so technically speaking, season 2 was left slightly open-ended for that reason.

But getting back to some of the questions that fans were left with – what would happen to Grogu now that he was with Luke Skywalker? What would happen to Moff Gideon since he was firmly in custody? Where would Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves go now that Mando was the owner of the Darksaber? Would Mando try to reunite with Grogu at some point, or would he try and return to his standard life of bounty-hunting? Well, while most of these questions would have been great plot points to explore in a third season, a large surplus of them have already been answered… in The Book of Boba Fett.

The Book of Boba Fett was The Mandalorian 2.5

Now, Boba Fett getting his own series was by no means a surprise – the after-credits scene at the end of Mando S2 made sure of that, but it was understandable that fans were expecting the series to revolve around Boba, and that sadly wasn’t the case. Boba was assuredly the main character, and the story revolved around his actions. Still, it also did what most viewers weren’t expecting and brought Mando in as a cameo character (just like they had done with Boba Fett for Mando S2).

However, Mando’s appearance wasn’t just a quick cameo to help Boba take down The Syndicate and retain his position as Daimyo of Mos Espa – it immediately jumped right off the cliff that fans had been hanging on since the end of Mando S2. It covered Mando trying to wield the Darksaber and saw Grogu going through Jedi training with Luke and the father-son duo reuniting in the most untimely ways in the middle of the battle for Mos Espa. In summary, information and scenes that fans might be expecting to see in the first few episodes of The Mandalorian S3 have already been covered in the final few episodes of The Book of Boba Fett.

The Mandalorian: Season 3 Potential

As it stands, viewers of The Mandalorian who didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett would understandably be expecting the season to follow the story of Mando and Grogu reuniting – but as we’ve covered, that’s already happened. So, if Mando and Grogu have already gotten the band back together, what will the third season entail? Unfortunately, viewers may have to watch The Book of Boba Fett to understand that answer.

Based on the most recent trailer that dropped for The Mandalorian S3, it seems that the main plot line will be Mando trying to atone for his transgressions to the Mandalorian creed (i.e. taking off his helmet in front of another person). However, Mando confessing to his transgression and being told he was no longer a part of the Mandalorian creed didn’t happen in The Mandalorian… it happened in The Book of Boba Fett. Yes, Mando removed his helmet during season 2, but the conversation between Mando and The Armorer where she told him he was no longer a Mandalorian took place in the latter.

With all of this in mind, it really creates a bit of a pickle for any fan of The Mandalorian who decided to skip over The Book of Boba Fett. Yes, the writers and creators will assuredly try to cover all of the information as succinctly as possible in the first few episodes of season 3 so that viewers won’t be confused about why Mando is already reunited with Grogu or why he has a new ship or how Grogu got a chain-mail shirt of Beskar or why they’re going to Mandalore – but for fans that decided to enjoy both shows, The Mandalorian S3 is going to probably feel closer to a season 4.