The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau discusses writing the Star Wars show's first four episodes before being officially hired by Lucasfilm.

The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau recently revealed he wrote the Disney+ series' first few episodes without a contract.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Favreau discussed starting work on the Star Wars show's scripts after a meeting with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy but before being hired. "I just started writing," he said. "So by the time I was officially hired, I had already written the first, I think, four episodes." Kennedy herself added that Favreau arrived at their initial meeting with the idea for The Mandalorian already in his head, and praised his commitment to the project.

Favreau's dedication ultimately paid off. The Mandalorian has enjoyed considerable critical and commercial success since it debuted on Disney+ in November 2019. It now ranks as the most watched Disney+ series of all time, outperforming the streaming platform's other Star Wars shows, such as The Book of Boba Fett. As of April 2022, roughly 58 percent of The Mandalorian's total watch time was generated during the initial release of the show's second season in 2020, which comes in at 14.52 billion total minutes watched.

The Mandalorian's third season is currently in the works and has reportedly wrapped filming. The end of principal photography was first announced by actor and director Carl Weathers, who shared the news on Twitter in March 2022. Weathers' tweet suggested that The Mandalorian Season 3 is currently in post-production, sparking speculation the show would return in Summer 2022. Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Moff Gideon in the series, seemingly confirmed these rumors during a TV appearance soon after.

However, The Mandalorian's Summer 2022 return was later debunked by Collider Editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub. Weintraub tweeted, "[The Mandalorian] Season 3 will arrive end of this year. It will not be streaming this summer" days after Esposito made his remarks. Although neither Disney nor Lucasfilm officially commented on The Mandalorian's release window at the time, Weintraub's position within the industry gave added weight to his statement.

Since then, Lucasfilm has seemingly confirmed that the Mandalorian Season 3 release window cited by Weintraub is at least partly on the money. Recent coverage of the upcoming slate of Disney+ Star Wars shows puts the arrival of The Mandalorian's third season as either late 2022 or early 2023. This timeframe was supplied by unattributed sources inside Lucasfilm, making its accuracy highly likely.

The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Disney+. Season 3 does not yet have an official release date.

Read More: