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The Mandalorian season 3 ignored Andor’s biggest lesson but that’s OK

By the looks of The Mandalorian season 3 trailer there'll be plenty of fan service in the next chapter of the Star Wars series, which is fine

Mando and Grogu in The Mandalorian season 3

As we get closer to The Mandalorian season 3 release date, we can begin to think about what exactly this new instalment of the hit Star Wars series will offer. The first trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 has dropped and while it all looks perfectly fun, it’s also pretty much exactly what we have come to expect from the show.

When The Mandalorian first hit the streaming service Disney Plus, Star Wars fans were besotted with the adventures of this effortlessly cool Star Wars bounty hunter and his little green buddy. Rightly so, it’s a fantastic TV series which delivers the kind of light enjoyment you would get from a Saturday morning ‘90s TV show.

Judging by the new trailer, The Mandalorian season 3 will include plenty of fan service just like the previous two seasons. So, get ready for more Star Wars cameoslightsaber wielding heroes, and the odd Glup Shitto here and there.

There’s nothing wrong with this approach, either. It’s fine to enjoy spotting random Star Wars characters in an episode of a fun show like The Mandalorian and then never seeing them again. The beauty of the Star Wars movies is the wide variety of heroes and villains the franchise has produced over the years.

Since the incredible success of Andor season 1 however, the fanbase has had its palate enriched by mature storytelling and a reluctance to lean on nostalgia. Andor succeeded without a Jedi or Sith in sight, allowing the sci-fi series to truly showcase the diversity of the galaxy and its people.

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One of the main successes of The Mandalorian has been the introduction of Grogu, or Baby Yoda as he is more commonly known. Whether Grogu is related to Yoda or not doesn’t really matter, because this loveable little creature was a comforting and familiar image for audiences diving into the world of Star Wars once more after the culmination of the Skywalker saga.

In the trailer for The Mandalorian season 3, we see plenty of Grogu doing cute things, using the Force, and looking on in wonder with those big black eyes. If you recall, at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, Grogu had ventured off into the galaxy with Luke Skywalker to train in the ways of the Jedi, but he was soon reunited with Mando in The Book of Boba Fett (mostly because Disney probably realised they couldn’t possibly separate their prize assets for too long).

Babu Frikk in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The Mandalorian season 3 appears to be leaning into the fan service even more this time around. You may have spotted a couple of members of the Anzellan species in the trailer, who may or may not be related to the Star Wars alien Babu Frik, last seen in The Rise of Skywalker. For all we know, one of these little creatures is Babu Frik.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Disney bring this fan-favourite into the mix once more. After all, he was pretty much the best thing about the abomination that is Episode IX. All he needs to do is make that little freaky noise and fans will go wild.

Grogu in The Mandalorian

It’s the same reason Din Djarin says “This is the way” at least two times during the trailer, and why we see Jedi preparing for battle, and a bunch of TIE fighters chasing Mando. By and large, fans want to be in their comfort zone when watching a show like this, and that’s what they’re going to get.

If Andor was the haute cuisine main course, you can think of The Mandalorian season 3 as the delicious, sickly sweet dessert that’s probably not good for us but we’ll devour it anyway. And I’m not complaining. After all, it’s the predictable effectiveness of The Mandalorian which allows a show like Andor to be such a nice surprise.

If you like Star Wars, you should probably dive into our guides on the Andor season 2 release date, the Ahsoka release date, and the Star Wars Acolyte release date. Or to learn more about the galaxy, check out our guides on characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Darth Vader.