Everything We Know About "The Mandalorian" Season 2
WHO’S DIRECTING? WHO’S RETURNING? ANY NEWCOMERS? WE COVER EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ANTICIPATED “MANDALORIAN” SEASON 2
Despite not being one of the new movies, The Mandalorian proved to be a worthy chapter to the Star Wars franchise, more so than some of the canon chapters in the saga. Fans loved the protagonist, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and though he was never going to become as iconic as Boba Fett, he still delivered with audiences, donning that familiar Bounty Hunter armour.
That wasn’t all. Audiences took an immediate adoration of “The Child”, a fifty year-old infant known to be apart of Yoda’s species. This came as a little bit of a surprise for Disney because there was no merchandise during the show’s premiere date, and despite the studio’s attempt to convince fans that this was not Baby Yoda, that didn’t stop people from going completely nuts.
We’ve been getting several updates on new characters, cast members and directors for the upcoming season two, which is set to air in October this year. So we have gathered up everything we know about the upcoming season. Here it is.
WHO’S RETURNING?
Obviously, Din Djarin and “The Child” are returning, as you wouldn’t have a Mandalorian season without those iconic two. However, there are some other familiar faces who are set to return. It’s confirmed that Clara Dune (Gina Carano) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) will both return, and they both proved to be entertaining supporting characters in the first season. Villain-wise, Giancarlo Esposito will be coming back as Moff Gideon, who now has control of the Darksaber and grudges with the surviving characters of season one.
What’s a possibility, but still not confirmed is the return of Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). We think this because her “death” seemed unresolved and felt like a set-up for the next season.
The director of the first episode, Dave Filoni, will return, but sadly the beloved Taika Waititi will not be coming back as he has to work on the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. That also means that the bounty hunter droid, IG-12, is very unlikely, which Waititi voiced. The droid was a fan-favorite of many people, so that’s a little disappointing.
NEWCOMERS?
Recently confirmed, Temuera Morrison will return as the iconic Boba Fett in a little appearance during season two. Though he’s not the original Boba Fett in the original trilogy, who was played by Jeremy Bulloch, he did portray the character in 2002’s Attack of the Clones. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this on May 8th.
What makes this even more concrete was the little tease of it when the character’s spurs appeared onscreen in episode 5, dubbed “The Gunslinger”, when he approached the body of Fennec Shand. Perhaps they will be on screen together in the second season, giving Boba Fett a bigger part.
What’s even more exciting was the announcement that ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano will be played by Rosario Dawson in the second season. Yep, we’re getting a live-action Ahsoka! The character most recently was a big character in the final season of animated show The Clone Wars, which premiered on Disney Plus a few weeks ago and just had its season finale.
Across the seasons of The Clone Wars, she learned the ways of the force and the Jedi, but eventually left because she was wrongfully accused of treason. Before the seventh season, the show was seemingly cut short after Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, though David Filoni cast Ashley Eckstein (who also voiced the character in The Clone Wars) in the Star Wars: Rebels, where she actually fought Darth Vader, her former master, in the season 3 finale.
This also opens up possible Rebels character appearances such as Sabine (voiced by Tiya Sircar) and General Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall). A while back, Jon Favreau stated that the first season needed to consist of all new characters, so it’s still very possible that we could see these newcomers, even if it’s only for a little bit.
who’s directing?
On May 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars Day, Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez and Ant-Man and the Wasp filmmaker Peyton Reed confirmed that they would be among the line-up of directors helming season two.
Rodriguez tweeted a photo of him smiling besides “the biggest star in the universe, showing how excited he was to be apart of the making of season two.
Here’s the tweet, click to see more.
Reed also shared his excitement about the project, tweeting a photo of the director’s chair with his name on it and the Mandalorian helmet in the seat, writing “#MayThe4thBeWithYou”. Here is the tweet, click to see more.
Again, we also know Dave Filoni will be returning to direct, but Taika Waititi will not.
WHAT’S THE STORY?
Ok, to be frank, we don’t actually know the story just yet, and it could go in many different directions. But due to the conclusion of season one, we do know some things for sure. Of course Gideon will continue his pursuit for “The Child” and attempt to use it for his own benefit. Also, we should see a lot of screentime with Clara and Carga’s attempt to make Navarro a haven, which should be very interesting. And obviously, the Mandalorian and the Child will be trying to escape from Gideon.
In terms of Ahsoka’s return, at the end of season three of Rebels, the main character, Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) disappeared alongside Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). In addition to that, Ahsoka and Sabine promised that they would have to find and bring Ezra home. While that’s not exactly confirmed, it does seem like a possibility.
If Ahsoka’s Mandalorian appearance is smaller than expected, it could have something to do with Djarin trying to find her to get his many questions answered about The Child.
And finally, we are all expecting season two to be a little more serialized and plot-heavy than the first eight episodes of the show. While season one was terrific, its storylines weren’t exactly one. We're just saying that this next season could be a little more plot-driven than before.
WHEN IS IT STREAMING?
According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, The Mandalorian season two will debut sometime in October, meaning that shooting has been complete—reportedly. Still, the initial release date could have some problems with the Coronavirus, but by then, it should be ready to go on Disney Plus.