Much like the entirety of the entertainment industry, Disney+ has seen a slew of shows halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and the global impact of COVID-19. Its biggest success, The Mandalorian, seems to be relatively unscathed despite the massive interruption of life as we know it.
We already know the second season of the much-hyped Disney+ Star Wars original is expected for the fall, and filming has been wrapped on it long before the COVID-19 shutdown. But now we know that not only is Season 2 largely in the can, Season 3 is already well-underway according to a Variety report. Sources said the show has been “lucky” to escape major delays due to the pandemic, with various teams hard at work on whatever comes next after this fall’s second season.
Sources close to the production have confirmed that creator Jon Favreau has been “writing season 3 for a while,” and that the art department, led by Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director Doug Chiang, has been creating concepts for Season 3 “for the past few weeks.”
“We’ve just started pre-production and are looking into further adventures for the Mandalorian in Season 3,” revealed one source.
As the report indicated, Season 2 wrapped in March before most shelter in place orders started slowing life down across the United States. And the sheer scale (and cost) of the show’s production meant it had to start work on Season 3 early, which is why the gears are already in motion for more episodes so soon.
In addition, another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the production design department began working on season 3 on April 20, pointing to the fact the department requires “such a huge lead time” to explain why “the gears have started grinding really early on.”
That a third season of the show is on the way is to be expected given how successful the show was and its place as the anchor IP of Disney’s streaming service. But it is somewhat remarkable that, so far, its creation has escaped what’s been the most disruptive incident in modern history. Whether that continues will be determined by a variety of different factors, but so far the show’s production schedule seems to be as durable as Mando himself.
