Summary

• The Mandalorian season 1's release date aligned perfectly with the Star Wars franchise's troubles at the time.
• The Mandalorian season 2 aired during the COVID-19 pandemic, suring expectations with more Pedro Pascal screen time.
• Unlike its predecessors, season 3 took longer to air, receiving mixed reviews and signaling potential new Star Wars show conflicts.

As the first live-action Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian has paved the way for everything that has come after it, and its release dates and production schedules are a big part of that. Aside from the animated shows, Star Wars TV was all but nonexistent until The Mandalorian was announced in November 2017 - and it had a lot to prove as it came to fruition. Now, The Mandalorian has more than proven its worth, as Grogu have become some of Star Wars' most beloved and recognizable characters in franchise history.

The release dates of The Mandalorian have much to do with this, as many of them arrived at the perfect time. The Star Wars franchise was in despair when season 1 was preparing to air, following the divisive reception of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story - the latter of which caused Star Wars' entire film slate to come to a screeching halt. The Mandalorian, however, changed everything for the franchise. Here's when each season premiered, and when they were all filmed.

1 The Mandalorian Season 1 Debuted With Disney Plus

Release Date: November 12, 2019

The release of The Mandalorian season 1 was a special time, as it marked not only the first live-action Star Wars TV show, but also the introduction of the Disney+ streaming platform. Its first episode aired on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, just over a month before the last installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, hit theaters. Ahead of its release, no one had ever seen Star Wars like this before, and no one even knew that Grogu, known then as "Baby Yoda," existed. The season 1 finale aired on December 27, 2019.

The Mandalorian season 1 began filming on October 1, 2018, with episode 1 "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" and episode 3 "Chapter 3: The Sin" - which were filmed concurrently. The brand-new Volume technology, which was used for the very first time in The Mandalorian season 1, allowed for an even more seamless transition between these stories as Din Djarin's story was brought to life. Filming ran for about four months, ultimately wrapping on February 12, 2019, with episode 5 "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger."

2 The Mandalorian Season 2 Set Up Star Wars' Future Shows

Release Date: October 30, 2020

The Mandalorian season 2 was released on October 30, 2020, not even a full year after season 1 - which helped it to meet the hype that preceded it. With season 1 being such a massive hit worldwide, season 2 had a lot to live up to, and it certainly stepped up its game. It aired during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured lead actor Pedro Pascal more heavily than any other season, with its story containing two helmet-less moments for Din Djarin's character. Season 2 wrapped up on December 18, 2020, with an extremely memorable finale.

Filming for The Mandalorian season 2 began in October 2019, just before season 1 started airing, and started with episode 2, "Chapter 10: The enger." Production then continued on until March 2020, wrapping just before the COVID lockdowns began. This prevented reshoots from happening for the most part and forced much of The Mandalorian's cast and crew to complete post-production remotely. Still, The Mandalorian season 2 was able to get the job done, and its current legacy proves that it was all worth it.

3 The Mandalorian Season 3 Arrived After A Long Wait

Release Date: March 1, 2023

Unlike its two predecessors, The Mandalorian season 3 took its time in releasing, and it finally premiered its first episode on March 1, 2023. Expectations for season 3 were extremely high, especially with the series' spin-off The Book of Boba Fett having acted as an interlude for Din Djarin and Grogu's story. Unfortunately, the season was met with mixed reviews, and the fact that it overlapped with the release of Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 certainly didn't help. The season 3 finale aired on April 19, 2023, with a scene that closed Din Djarin and Grogu's first chapter.

Filming for The Mandalorian season 3 started in October 2021 and wrapped in March 2022, following a similar timetable to that of season 2. Unlike its previous seasons, however, it took a full year to get from post-production to release, whereas the other seasons had a much quicker turn-around. The likely reason for this is that there were other Star Wars shows in the making, which made post-production busier than usual. The Mandalorian has yet to reveal any plans for season 4, but will be heading to the big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu movie on May 22, 2026.