G’day, It’s Rick from Australia, with a rundown on what we want, and possibly what we can expect from Season Two of The Mandalorian. Whatever your opinion on Disney era Star Wars, Mandalorian season 1 seemed to speak to all the various clans in the fanbase. It had a universal appeal based on great characters and strong production methods, and just the right feel.
On the cusp of the release of Season 2, excitement is at a fever pitch. Rumours abound around this season. But as per last season security is pretty tight, and I’m expecting some curve balls to be pitched.
So join with me as I ask (and attempt to guess the answers to) the burning questions, we all have for Season Two. Nothing I’m going to say has any official confirmation but just in case I accidently nail something…Potential Spoilers Ahead.
Imperial Biker scouts Picture courtesy of Lucasfilm
1: The Imperials: The Mandalorian is set five years after the Return of the Jedi. The battle of Jakku where the Imperial remnants fought a pitched battle in a last stand against the Rebellion, was a year and some months after the second Death Star’s destruction. So who, and what are we seeing here, the last rabble of the Imperial Remnant? Or as I believe, has Moff Gideon maintained his own forces and set himself up as a sort of Warlord? How much do they have in the form of resources? Is there a fleet?
Just what is Din Djarin up against?
Baby Yod…….Uh I mean The Child. Picture courtesy of Starwars.com
2: Will we see the Child’s origin? Kuill stated in episode seven of Season One, that the child did not appear to be the product of Imperial Bio-Engineering. So he (presumably) isn’t a Clone. Do Yoda and the Childs species reproduce as humans do, with Parents giving birth? Or does the semi-reptilian or amphibian vibe they give off, mean they might have been born from eggs. Is that where the child was found, just a loose egg?
I doubt sincerely we will see a Yoda home-world, it seems to be something Dave Filoni, would respect the sacro-sanct secret nature of. George Lucas was emphatic that Yoda remain a mystery, with no species name, and only one other being seen on screen, Yaddle, who promptly disappeared after Episode One: The Phantom Menace.
Moff Gideon astride his wrecked Tie Fighter with the legendary Darksaber – Picture courtesy of Lucasfilm
3: How did Moff Gideon acquire the Darksaber? The Darksaber is the pre-eminent weapon of the leader of Mandalore, formerly in the hands of Clan Vizla and Sabine Wren. Did he wrench it from the cold, dead hands of Bo Katan? Was it a grisly souvenir of the Night of a Thousand Tears? Was it a reward for Mandocide?
And the secondary question is, can he use it? Well the quote below would indicate he can.
“I’ve gone through two, three? Three and a half, I think I’ve broken already. But I go at it. Like, I go at it. I’ve broken few of them to the point where the [prop] guys, they love me.“―Giancarlo Esposito
Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka picture courtesy of Screencrush
4: Will we See Ahsoka Tano? There does appear to be some evidence that we will…possibly briefly. With Din likely to be looking to return the Child to the Jedi, and given the state of the Jedi at that time…there are only two real possibilities. Either the child ends up at the new Skywalker Jedi Academy, and is slaughtered at some time in the future by Kylo Ren, (NOOOOOOOOOO) or Din hooks up with Ahsoka at some stage, and I hope that is a confrontational meeting. If there are other Jedi around it’s starting to look like Yoda learnt to tell the truth from Obi Wan when he said Luke was the last of the Jedi.
It is however doubtful the child’s situation is resolved this season. This is a cow to be milked for at least another one or two seasons. I’m not a fan of the idea of bringing in Ahsoka, the first season was very, very strong without the need for guest characters to prop it up. However the show has lost three standout roles in the first season. Nick Nolte’s Kuill, Werner Herzog’s The Client, and the comedic relief of Taika Wahtiti, in the now almost mandatory funny droid role of IG-11, so there is plenty of room to move. A German Disney plus video seemed to show Rosario Dawson is cast for the role. See below for the video.
Boba Fett – Picture Courtesy of Starwars.com
5: Did we see Boba Fett in Season One? will we see him again in season 2? A lot of excitement was generated by a simple sound byte, of some spurs on Tattoine as a mysterious figure followed up the mess Din left behind. An inadvertent CV update stated that Temuera Morrison was on board for season two.
The trailer seems to indicate a return to Tattoine, with shots of Tusken Raiders over the dunes on Bantha’s
BUT…and it’s a big but. Boba Fett is not the only potential character for Temuera Morrison to play, it could simply be voice work or a left over clone, say maybe Rex? If Ashoka is in it’s likely Rex is with her.
And the same German Disney Plus video also named Timothy Olyphant as cast as a character named Cobb Vanth. Introduced in the Aftermath book series. Vanth is the sheriff of the Tatooine-based settlement Freetown. He wears Mandalorian armor that was acquired from Jawas who scavenged the wreckage of Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi.
A Boba Fett vs Din Djarin battle would be very high on several peoples nerdgasm wishlist. The thought that they might have come so close… only to have the rug ripped out from under them…
oooh…Filoni githeth and he taketh away…or does he, Cobb has the armour, that still leaves a possibility of Boba being alive.
Sorry guys. We realize that it’s from Germany and not Denmark.
— Kessel Run Transmissions (@KRTransmissions) October 3, 2020
6: Back to the Child: A multitude of questions for which I have no answer abound regarding him.
Firstly will he speak? He can walk. He coos and gaa’s like an infant which is adorable, but throws objects around with his mind and tries to choke people like a toddler. Even with a human reference, Yoda was 900 and he died fairly old. The child is 50, so that would average him out at about five years old. It is possible no-one has put any effort into teaching him words so will we hear his first word this season, and will it be to call Din…Dada? Or maybe “dis is da way”
Dr Pershing with his Kamino badge – Picture courtesy of Lucasfilm
7: What do the Imperial Remnant want with the child? Moff Gideon has gone to considerable effort and expense to procure the child, why? We know from the badge on the shoulder of Doctor Pershing that it has something to do with cloning. Pershing was extracting DNA from the child. We know the child isn’t a clone according to Kuill. So is this connected to the failure of the Sith Cultists on Exegol to create a stable clone body for Palpatine, as per the novel of The Rise of Skywalker?
Rey’s father was a clone, but had no power. Are they after the missing link in the child’s Midi-chlorians to reach a breakthrough? Is Gideon working directly with Palpatine or whoever is in charge of Exegol until his return?
8: The New Republic: The trailer shows us that Din is being chased by two X-wings of the New Republic. So what has he done to earn their wrath? Is this a one off? or is Din Djarin on their radar as well? Will we see the New Republic Capital, like maybe we should have in The Force Awakens?
The Mando, Greef Karga and Cara Dune – image courtesy of Lucasfilm
9: Will we see the Guild in the form of Greef Karga, and his new employee Cara Dune in Season two? According to the trailer it appears they will still operate as major characters throughout the series. Cara is far to useful, both as backup and a more human foil to Din Djarins rigid mindset. Carl Weathers is almost channeling Billy dee Williams in his role as the Guild Chief and is always entertaining to have around.
10: The big question? Will it be as good and as universally popular as Season 1? Well…we’re about to find out. I hope so. The Fanbase is an annoying place to be except when The Mandalorian comes up.
It’s beginning to become apparent that live action TV is a perfectly fine medium for low key Star Wars stories. Lets hope we drift away from the cartoon and CGI stuff and more of these kind of shows appear.
Feel free to drop comments about what you think and the questions you have.
Don’t forget about spoiler warnings though.
