Pascal's New HBO Show Actually IS Impacting 'The Mandalorian'

When Pedro Pascal joined The Mandalorian franchise, the Game of Thrones (Oberyn Martell) and Narcos (Agent Javier Pena) actor cemented his place as a household name. Chilean-born Pascal wowed Star Wars fans as bounty hunter Din Djarin — and for two seasons already we’ve closely followed the adventures of the stoic beskar-clad warrior and his tiny foundling, Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”).

Related: No More Grogu? The Mandalorian Might Get an Exciting New Best Friend

Although a third season of the hit Disney+ Star Wars series has been greenlit, it seems that production may have hit a few snags. We know from showrunner Jon Favreau himself that Mandalorian spinoff — or, perhaps, “Season 2.5” — The Book of Boba Fett was slated for production first.

Related: Pedro Pascal Confirms ‘The Mandalorian’ Will Jump Timelines

In January, Favreau told Good Morning America:

“At the end of the show [The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode], Boba Fett came out and it said ‘The Book of Boba Fett Coming December 2021,’ and that wasn’t part of the big Disney announcement [Walt Disney Company Investor Day on December 10]…We wanted to hold this back because we didn’t want to spoil the surprise of all the shows when Kathleen Kennedy was up there and so they let me keep this one a secret.

So this is actually separate from The Mandalorian Season three. but what we didn’t say in that announcement is that the next show coming up, Kathy said the ‘next chapter’ and that’s going to be the Book of Boba Fett and then we go into production right after that on Season three of The Mandalorian back with the main character that we know and love.”

Related: ‘Star Wars’ Leak Hints at Multiple Seasons of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’

Thanks to Fennec Shand actress Ming-Na Wen, who is set to star alongside Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett in The Book of Boba Fett, we know The Mandalorian‘s “next chapter” has officially finished filming.

From what Favreau previously shared, this should indicate that the third season of The Mandalorian is going into production right away — however, that is not the case. Pascal himself recently confirmed that The Mandalorian Season 3 has not begun filming, and it’s beginning to look like it could be quite some time before we see the continuation of Djarin’s story within the Star Wars universe.

Related: Actress Got “Hit in the Face” With Tennis Balls to Learn Bo-Katan Lines

Per a recent Collider report:

We hear the plan is for The Mandalorian Season 3 to begin filming at the end of this year, or in very early 2022. What that means is the season will not be premiering on Disney+ until late 2022.

The delay in The Mandalorian’s filming timeline can also likely, in part, be attributed to actor Pedro Pascal’s commitment to the TV adaptation The Last of Us, which is slated to start production in July this year. Pascal has been cast to play Joel alongside Bella Ramsey’s Ellie and Gabriel Luna’s Tommy for the HBO series.

While it is important to note that neither Lucasfilm nor The Walt Disney Company have confirmed that a late-2022 debut wasn’t always the plan for The Mandalorian, Pascal’s involvement in The Last of Us wasn’t announced until February.

This means the filming schedule for the video game-inspired show is likely having an impact on The Mandalorian‘s production status, although earlier reports indicated it would not affect the Star Wars series.

Related: ‘Mandalorian’ Actor Pedro Pascal Blew Up the Internet Last Night

Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that The Mandalorian Season 3 was initially supposed to air concurrently with two spinoffs — Ahsoka, featuring Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, and Rangers of the New Republic, featuring Gina Carano’s Cara Dune.

Related: We May Have Seen the Razor Crest’s Origin (and It’s Probably Not Where You Think)

Carano, however, was fired from the Star Wars franchise in February. This, too, may be playing a role in whatever is truly happening with production on The Mandalorian since Rangers is “no longer in active development”.

For now, Pascal is the only confirmed actor returning for Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni’s third season of The Mandalorian. It is likely, though, that both Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze) and Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) will also be back to continue the Darksaber storyline.

When do you think The Mandalorian Season 3 will actually premiere? Do you think there’s been a production delay or was this the plan all along?