The Dragon Prince Season 3 Netflix Release Date, Cast And Plot

At New York Comic-Con 2019, fans of Netflix's animated series The Dragon Prince were treated to a bevy of fresh content: a bunch of lore to give deeper context, a layout of long-term production plans, and a preview of the first new episode. Hype is high for the upcoming third season of The Dragon Prince, which has been promised to enrich the story of the young prince of Katolis Ezran (Sasha Rojen), his half-brother and primal-magic-wielder Callum (Jack DeSena), and the elven shadow assassin Rayla (Paula Burrows), who band together to return a dragon's egg and restore peace between humans and elves. The new season of the show, created and written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, will also – in as-yet-unspecific terms — tie up and resolve existing character arcs. 

That doesn't mean an ending for The Dragon Prince — it's been revealed that it will take a total of seven seasons for the series to come to complete fruition — but it does imply a change in stakes and plot priorities come season 3. The main characters are teetering on the precipice of fate, and the third season of The Dragon Prince appears to represent the biggest push of all off that cliff towards either glory or destruction. 

Here's everything we know so far about The Dragon Prince season 3.

As revealed at the series' 2019 New York Comic Con panel, The Dragon Prince season 3 will premiere on Netflix on November 22. That's a pretty impressive turnaround for a series — and an animated one at that — when you recall that The Dragon Prince season 2 hit Netflix in February 2019. The third season of the series will run for nine episodes, the same tidy amount of adventures that the first and second seasons had. 

Additionally, if Netflix is as certain as it appears to be about the overall arc of The Dragon Prince, the subsequent four seasons on deck are probably deep into production, too, and may arrive in similar rapid fire. An interview with showrunners Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond over at Hypeable suggests that they're working in detail on scripts for both seasons 4 and 5. This isn't only efficient, but also incredibly wise: a smaller episode order cuts production cost, and efficiency in making them increases the likelihood that historically-fickle Netflix will be more likely to air them to completion. The show's production staff made a bit of a thing of encouraging fans at NYCC to utilize the hashtag #GiveUsTheSaga in hopes of democratizing and preempting the decision to keep The Dragon Prince running. 

Regarding the cast of The Dragon Prince season 3, there aren't any big shake-ups to report for the moment. Animation production isn't quite like live-action anyway, as most voice actors don't garner the kind of moment-to-moment coverage of their contract signings that their Hollywood cousins do. Still, The Dragon Prince season 3 is sure to reveal new characters, but that's a surprise most likely to be kept until airing — unless someone with household-name status is cast and would be a boon to marketing ahead of time.

That said, the gang's all here just as they were the first and second seasons: Jack De Sena as Callum; Paula Burrows as Rayla; Sasha Rojen as Ezran; Raquel Belmonte as the dark mage Claudia, the daughter of the King Harrow's advisor Viren; and Jesse Inocalla as the half-witted soldier Soren, Claudia's brother and Viren's son. Main antagonists Viren, a dark magic practitioner and proponent of human advancement, and Aaravos, the Startouch Elf who's manipulating Viren for his own gain, will return for The Dragon Prince season 3 their respective voice actors Jason Simpson and Erik Dellums.

Thankfully, Netflix has released an official plot summary for the new season of The Dragon Prince: "Season 3 finds Rayla and Callum finally at the cusp of entering Xadia, while young Ezran returns home to take his place on the throne. Meanwhile, Lord Viren begins to realize the power and influence of his new ally — the mysterious Startouch elf, Aaravos. As several storylines unfold in big ways, this season will be massively epic." 

It's a basic rundown, but there's a little bit we can tear into and think through. We know Rayla and Callum — alongside the titular Dragon Prince Zym, naturally –have encountered the ancient dragon Sol Regem. Has Sol Regem learned to regret his treatment of humans after his defeat centuries before, and might he now assist the young heroes in their task? Ezran, who is all of 10 years old, will journey back home to ascend the throne. But even with Viren under arrest, the certainty that the boy can even make it home — much less effectively claim his birthright — is very uncertain. Aaravos is clearly calling the shots with Viren as proxy, and if he can do that so easily, Ezran's safety is definitely at risk. Usually when a character is presented as The Last Arbiter of Peace, that spells a whole lot of bad news.

The Dragon Prince showrunners Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond previously provided some spoiler-free, one-word summaries for the protagonists' primary theme across the season as well. For Callum, it's potential; for Ezran, sacrifice; for Rayla, consequence; for Claudia, family; and for Soren, simply the word "tested." That's pretty heavy stuff for such a young cast, especially Ezran. Ehasz has reassured that The Dragon Prince will have its characteristic blend of humor with these dark themes on season 3, but in short, it looks like stormy seas ahead indeed for these kids — at least in the mid-term.