It’s widely accepted that The Mandalorian is the greatest success of the Disney Star Wars era so far, but it’s just as true that The Mandalorian season 3 didn’t live up to the excellence of its first two seasons. The first live-action Star Wars TV show set a high bar for itself with seasons 1 and 2.

That bar would have been difficult to meet in any case, but coming off the emotional high of the season 2 finale that saw the return of Luke Skywalker and the heartfelt goodbye between a helmet-less Din Djarin and Grogu made it downright impossible. Even then, season 3 missed the mark by a surprising amount for many viewers.

In the two years since The Mandalorian season 3, it’s gotten easier to identify why this was. Thankfully, it hasn’t done any permanent damage to the story whatsoever, and it’s easy to see how Star Wars’ next movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, can fix what exactly went wrong.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Went In A Completely Different Direction

The Book Of Boba Fett Changed Things Drastically, Too

There are two things that majorly influenced the direction in which The Mandalorian season 3 was headed before it even premiered. The first is that it had a heavy presence in the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, which hurt not only that individual story in retrospect, but also its own.

The biggest mistake here was that it portrayed one of the most important moments in the entire The Mandalorian franchise outside its own show: the reunion of Din Djarin and Grogu. Doing it in that TV show, and doing it much sooner than expected, hurt season 3 more than they realized. The emotional appeal was all but gone.

The other major influence prior to season 3’s release was that this was the first season of the show to be written after the public had had a chance to actually see The Mandalorian. Season 2 was filmed as season 1 was premiering, which meant that everything that had been written wasn’t influenced by the audience.

In some ways, it feels as if The Book of Boba Fett and season 3 were both fairly influenced by how The Mandalorian was received, particularly in terms of keeping Din and Grogu together. This would at least explain their quick reunion.

Between this and other questionable story choices, the basis of the problem is that The Mandalorian season 3 took a completely different direction from its first two seasons. This was no longer a story about Din Djarin and Grogu; it was a story in which they simply participated.

The Ambitious Story Lost Focus On The Show’s Main Characters

The Scale Grew Too Large

What drew audiences to The Mandalorian during seasons 1 and 2 is that, despite the episodic adventuring nature of the series, it never lost its focus on the relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu, which was the heartbeat of the entire show. Unfortunately, season 3 lost sight of that.

In an effort to live up to the Mandalorian part of the show’s тιтle, the show dove headfirst into greater Mandalorian culture and lore, but that, unfortunately, wasn’t the draw to the series in the first place. That left audiences feeling misdirected when they tuned in for season 3 and found that the story had a different subject.

This is why the story still worked for some viewers, but not for others. Those who loved Mandalorian lore had no complaints; this was everything they had been wanting and more from the series. Those who loved Din Djarin and Grogu’s story specifically, however, weren’t nearly as satisfied.

In the end, the story was just overall much too ambitious. It was a valiant effort, one that’s still praised by some, but it was too much for a story that had already established itself on a different basis in seasons 1 and 2. It traded its character studies for lore drops that were just a bit too heavy.

The Mandalorian Movie Is Already Taking Steps To Rectify The Story

Exclusive Footage & Other Reveals Prove That

Thankfully, it’s already pretty clear that The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, which will continue the story onward from season 3, is already preparing to rectify some of the more major missteps. For one, they are already openly marketing Din Djarin actor Pedro Pascal without his helmet. This is a strong indication that Din will be helmet-less once again.

That was one of the big complaints coming out of season 3 that seems to be getting changed. Another is that Din Djarin is also back to the same threat level he was in seasons 1 and 2. Exclusive footage proves this with two dynamic fight sequences that prove Din poses a major threat to the Imperial Remnant.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is even set to bring back Din Djarin’s trusty Razor Crest gunship, which had been destroyed near the end of The Mandalorian season 2. This in and of itself seems to promise a return to form, especially with Din Djarin (and Grogu) now working as a bounty hunter again – just on the New Republic’s behalf.

The Movie Has The Potential To Be This Franchise’s Greatest Story Yet

Balancing A Bigger Scale With Its Beloved Characters

If The Mandalorian and Grogu truly does manage to fix the bigger missteps from season 3, then it has the potential to be the greatest story told within The Mandalorian franchise thus far. If it can accomplish the scale of season 3 without losing sight of Din and Grogu, it will be absolutely golden.

The movie will be effectively resetting The Mandalorian franchise, bringing it back to the drawing board after season 3’s more lackluster response, and that could prove to be its most beneficial move yet. For the first time since The Mandalorian began, we have a fresh new start to work from, with plenty of brand-new characters.

The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 are still a high standard to meet, but the format of this film alone is extremely promising in giving this franchise exactly what it needs to be rejuvenated. The Mandalorian season 3 may have gone wrong in some places, but they know exactly what they’re doing with the movie.