The Mandalorian: Giancarlo Esposito gives fans update about season three

Hit Star Wars spin-off is expected to return next year

Giancarlo Esposito has given Star Wars fans an update on the progress of the third season of The Mandalorian.

The acclaimed spin-off series sees Esposito play the villainous Moff Gideon, a role he will reprise in the forthcoming outing.

During an appearance at GalaxyCon, Esposito revealed that the entire first season of The Book of Boba Fett was filmed before The Mandalorian’s next run of episodes.

“They just finished shooting Boba Fett, and soon they will start on season three of The Mandalorian,” he said.

Asked to confirm speculation that his character would reappear in the next batch of Mandalorian episodes, Esposito joked: "Yes, you’re going to see me kill this baby [“Baby Yoda”]. How about that? It’s totally wrong, but you know what, I’ve got to hold out somewhere that I’m going to win."

The Breaking Bad star also specified that production won’t have to “wait on” Pedro Pascal, who plays the series’ lead, Din Djarin.

Pascal, who is currently filming HBO’s serialised adaptation of The Last of Us, wears a face-obscuring mask for the majority of his Mandalorian screen-time, meaning it’s possible for other actors to take his place if he is unavailable.

The Book of Boba Fett is set to arrive on Disney Plus in December, and will focus on the popular character of bounty hunter Boba Fett, who first appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Several characters and plotlines from The Mandalorian are expected to carry over into this other series.