Mandalorian Season 3 release date, Baby Yoda hints and 3 more big updates

The Mandalorian Season 2 is creeping ever closer, and the cast and crew of the live-action Star Wars shw are dropping hints about what's next for Din Djarin and The Child left and right. With the premiere of Season 2 slated for October 2020, there's plenty of news about the new episodes, and even some hints about when we can expect Season 3. Here are the four biggest clues from the last few days.

4. A possible Boba Fett cameo

A Boba Fett cameo has been a persistent rumor since Lucasfilm first revealed The Mandalorian. After all, he's the most well known Mandalorian in the Star Wars universe, but he was last seen in the toothy maw of the Sarlacc Pit. Redditor ScoutTheTrooper posted a leaked photo from the Mandalorian set, however, that shows a new Mandalorian-style helmet. Could this be Boba's?

Well, possibly not. Another Reddit post by user TightTieFighterFight claims it's only a helmet painted for a screen test. Its dull gray color makes it difficult to ascertain anything in particular about it, it doesn't have the distinct coloring of Boba Fett's helmet or distinguishable features like the Armorer's horns.

3. Mando's new armor

Redditor karangrewal123 posted a possible leak of the Mandalorian's new Season 2 look. Not much has changed, only a few pieces have changed, but there is one significant difference. His cape, which was full-length throughout the course of Season 1, is now tattered and knee-length, a result of his fight with Moff Gideon in the finale.

While there's not much that can be ascertained from a new thigh plate on already pieced-together armor, the cape is an interesting change. This design change fixes an issue well known by superhero fans and Edna Mode: capes are not practical, especially a full-length one.

2. Moff Gideon's backstory

Giancarlo Esposito lends his world-class acting talent to the villain of The Mandalorian, the menacing Moff Gideon. Lucky for Star Wars fans, he also lends his talent for dropping cryptic hints for what possibly may be in store for Season 2. In an interview with IndieWire, he explained the background behind his weapon, the Darksaber. "We will have to wait to understand or have some keys to guide us to understanding how he got this weapon, how he learned to wield it, and what he might want to do with it," Esposito said, "I can guarantee you’ll get those clues in our next season."

In Star Wars canon, the Darksaber is an ancient Mandalorian weapon, so Gideon wielding it holds special significance in his fight against Din Djarin over custody of The Child, colloquially known as Baby Yoda. Esposito dropped a hint about his intentions with Baby Yoda as well, saying "We don’t really quite know, does he want what he wants in terms of the Child? In essence, knowing what the Child is made of, to further humanity? Or does he want it to take control of all of humanity?" He's asking all the questions we're asking. Hopefully we'll get answers in October.

1. Season 3's timeline

Season 2 of The Mandalorian was lucky to wrap filming before the coronavirus pandemic shut down production throughout the industry, but Season 3 could still be affected. In a now-deleted interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau detailed how filming in a pandemic would work.

Most of The Mandalorian is filmed in an enclosed set, which means a majority of the environments seen on screen are computer-generated. "The fact that the set is much more contained is a benefit, because you can limit the number of people. A lot of the people controlling it are doing it remotely from what we call the Brain Bar, which is a bank of gaming computers, essentially," Favreau said. "The amount of people near the camera could be much smaller than [usual]." If this method works well, it's possible The Mandalorian will become a pioneer in how to mitigate risk while filming.