Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3 Production Won't Be Hindered by Coronavirus

Most TV and films sets have seen major setbacks over the last few months, thanks to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Premieres have been delayed, filming has been put on hold, and just about everything that wasn't totally finished when the pandemic began still has work to do in order to get in front of an audience. The exception to this rule, however, is Star Wars: The Mandalorian. The breakout Disney+ series, which was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards, remains on schedule for its second season premiere this fall. Thanks to its innovative technology, the already-in-the-works Season 3 shouldn't have any issue either.

The Mandalorian has a fairly small cast for such a popular show, and the open-air sets are pretty intimate. Most of the show is filmed in front of a giant screen where the three-dimensional settings can be added in post. For those reasons, restrictions put in place for COVID-19 won't keep the series from production when it returns for Season 3.

While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, The Mandalorian executive producer and writer Jon Favreau explained that the show's method of filming makes it easy to execute safely in the middle of a pandemic.

"The fact that the set is much more contained is a benefit, because you can limit the number of people," Favreau said. "A lot of the people controlling it are doing it remotely from what we call the Brain Bar, which is a bank of gaming computers, essentially. The amount of people near the camera could be much smaller than [usual]. We also shoot a lot outside, which is helpful, too. We build to a moment in filming more like an animated production, where we have a lot of storyboards, a lot of discussions and scouting in virtual reality. We use cinematic tools in VR much the same way we did for The Lion King and The Jungle Book. A lot of times the actors you are seeing on the screen aren't actually there on set."

There's no word yet as to when The Mandalorian Season 3 plans to begin production. However, based on the filming schedule for Season 2, it seems likely that the series could head back to the studio towards the end of 2020.

Are you looking forward to the third season of The Mandalorian later this year? Let us know in the comments!