Is The Mandalorian canceled after just 3 seasons?

It’s been a long journey leading up to season three of The Mandalorian, but a chorus of loud chatter online now has many believing the show could be ending. 

After premiering its second season in October 2020, The Mandalorian solidified itself as one of Disney Plus’ top shows and the leader of its serialized Star Wars content. Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, the series quickly climbed the ranks of popularity and catapulted into a cultural phenomenon thanks to the cuddly cute character Grogu and the superbly written storylines. 

Seasons one and two both scored a warranted 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with equally matching audience scores, making the wait for a third all the more agonizing. Thanks in large part to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t until March 1 2023 that the third season finally hit Disney Plus, and unfortunately, it was met with far less applause than the previous two. 

Critics still hold the show in relatively high regard, giving it an 87% (sans a certified freshness badge, though), but it’s the fandom that has seen the biggest change of heart; they awarded the third season a concerning 68% audience score. All that to say, when rumors began circulating online that Disney officially pulled the plug — and on the heels of a particularly cringe-worthy episode, at that — it felt like there was more than enough merit behind the accusations. 

However, whether or not the rumor is true is another matter entirely. Here to set the record straight, let’s dive into the facts and figure out whether this third season will be Din Djarin and Grogu’s last or if there are more to come.

Did Disney really cancel The Mandalorian or is it just a rumor?

Every rumor begins somewhere and this particular one took root after CultureSlate published an article confirming the show’s cancelation. The outlet named Bob Iger as the reason behind Disney’s decision, and cited Iger’s desire to focus more on movies instead of TV as the main reason. It also mentioned the fans’ lukewarm reception to the new season, thus coloring the news of its cancelation with a tinge of plausibility. 

Here’s the kicker — CultureSlate published the article on April 1, i.e. April Fool’s Day and its source at the bottom of the article links out to a photo of a clown wearing a red nose with the words “Happy April Fool’s Day” plastered across the screen. 

As of this writing, Disney has not canceled The Mandalorian. Instead, the rumors appear to be the result of a relatively believable April Fool’s joke. Series creator Jon Favreau confirmed he still plans to release more seasons, even saying he’s already written season four. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee the show will live to see another season, but it indicates the road isn’t intended to stop here. 

Were the critic and audience reception to the third season the same as the previous two, it’s unlikely this cancelation rumor would’ve had legs. Alas, The Mandalorian is experiencing a bit of a bump in the road. Our only hope is that it manages to get back on track before Disney does actually decide to pull the plug. 

The first six episodes of season three of The Mandalorian are currently available to stream on Disney Plus with the eighth and final episode scheduled to release on April 19. 

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