What to Watch Before ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3, from ‘Boba Fett’ to ‘Clone Wars’

Get in, Grogu; we’re going to Mandalore.

Season 3 of The Mandalorian is almost here, which means eight new episodes of adventures with Din Djarin, aka the titular Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), and his foundling Grogu.

The new season picks up in the aftermath of The Book of Boba Fett. In the Season 3 trailer, Mando tells Grogu they’re heading to Mandalore.

Mandalore, of course, is the planet on which the Mandalorian culture evolved. While the series has introduced other Mandalorians, like the Armorer and Bo-Katan Kryze, it’s the first real look fans will get at Mandalore in live action.

In addition to The Book of Boba Fett, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels offer some more insight into Mandalore, the Darksaber and Bo-Katan that might be helpful going into season 3. This is the way.

You can watch all the titles mentioned within on Disney+, which is the streaming home of all things Star Wars. Disney+ starts at $6.99/month for a limited time (normally $7.99/month) with ads. If you prefer to stream ad-free, you can sign up for Disney+ Premium ($10.99/month), which also includes the ability to download shows and movies for offline viewing. Want more shows and movies? Bundle Disney+ Basic with Hulu (with Ads) for $9.99/month.

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, EPISODES 5, 6, 7

If you skipped right over The Book of Boba Fett, you might have some questions leading into the premiere of The Mandalorian season three. Specifically: when did he get the baby back?!

You may or may not be aware that over the arc of Boba Fett’s miniseries, he slowly became a secondary character to Din Djarin, who landed back on Tatooine after the events of The Mandalorian. We see Grogu, Luke, and Ahsoka again and spend a little time with the Armorer and Paz Vizsla, learning about the Darksaber.

So even if you’re not wondering how he got the baby back, those The Book of Boba Fett episodes will still likely be necessary for season three.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS SEASON 2, EPISODES 12, 13, 14 — THE MANDALORE TRILOGY ARC

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is primarily split up into mini-arcs; three-to-four episodes back-to-back tell complete mini-stories against the larger backdrop of the Clone Wars. One of those is the Mandalore trilogy from season 2, which gives Star Wars fans their first look at Mandalore in the canonical timeline. It introduces Duchess Satine Kryze, the Death Watch clan, and for the first time, the Darksaber is seen. The origins can be equally important given that the Darksaber will be present in The Mandalorian.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS SEASON 4, EPISODE 14 — “A FRIEND IN NEED”

As mentioned before, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) will likely be a major player in The Mandalorian season three, but her origins go back much further. In this episode, she makes her Star Wars debut (also voiced by Sackhoff), and it also establishes her relationship with the Jedi Ahsoka Tano. While it’s unclear if Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) will appear in The Mandalorian again, Bo-Katan will, and there may be callbacks to this episode in the future.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS SEASON 5, EPISODES 14, 15, 16 — SHADOW CONSPIRACY ARC

The Darksaber changes hands in this Clone Wars arc that sees the tragic end of Duchess Satine’s rule of Mandalore. The planet falls to Darth Maul, making him the rightful owner of the Darksaber and, in turn, the ruler of Mandalore.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS SEASON 7, EPISODES 9, 10, 11, 12 — SIEGE OF MANDALORE ARC

This episode is set concurrently with the action of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, so about 28 years before season one of The Mandalorian. In the waning days of the Republic, Ahsoka is sent to Mandalore to try and liberate the planet from Darth Maul; she co-leads this resistance with Bo-Katan, and as one planet is on the brink of freedom, we know from all of the Star Wars media about this period of time, that an entire galaxy is on the verge of collapse in the form of the Empire.

STAR WARS REBELS SEASON 3, EPISODES 15, 16 — “TRIALS OF THE DARKSABER” AND “LEGACY OF MANDALORE”

Years after the events of The Clone Wars, the Darksaber was abandoned. Still, in this two-episode Star Wars Rebels arc, the young Mandalorian Sabine Wren (who likely won’t appear in The Mandalorian season three but will be making her live-action debut in Ahsoka) discovers the weapon again. Despite Mandalore still being left without a leader by the end of the second episode, the people of the planet have hope again, thanks to Sabine’s discovery.

STAR WARS REBELS SEASON 4, EPISODES 1, 2 — “HEROES OF MANDALORE”

The two-part season four opener is set in 1 BBY, one year before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope and nine years before the first season of The Mandalorian. In it, the Darksaber changes hands once again. By the end of the episode, Bo-Katan possesses the weapon, even if she doesn’t win it through the proper means. The episode explains how she ends up with it and why we see her with it in season 2 of The Mandalorian.