The Mandalorian Season 2 announcement was a big surprise for me. In this day of age, I didn’t expect any new TV shows any time soon. So when they announced that The Mandalorian Season 2 would start airing on October 30, 2020 I immediately renewed my Disney+ subscription and stashed large amounts of popcorn just to be ready for the new and upcoming season.
This was the way – how Season 1 ended
The Mandalorian season one ended on a high note. The Mandalorian destroyed the TIE-fighter of Moff Gideon, Baby Yoda was safe and the Galactic Empire continued to crumble.
While Moff Gideon appeared to have crashed and died at the end of the first season, we learned at the very final scene that he will return, holding the Darksaber.
This will be the way – Season 2 new cast
Who else will return to the Mandalorian season 2? Din Djarin of course, Baby Yoda, Cara Dune and Greef Karga. All of them will return but we will also see new faces who will join this little band of scruffy-looking nerf-herders.
Rosario Dawson joins the cast of The Mandalorian season 2 and will take up the role of the legendary Jedi Ahsoka Tano.
Katee Sackhoff will play Bo-Katan Kryze. Bo-Katan Kryze was a Mandalorian human female who was the leader of the Nite Owls and a lieutenant in Death Watch.
Michael Biehn will take up the role of a undisclosed Bounty Hunter and Timothy Olyphant will take up the role of a gunslinger. Which is what I am looking forward the most. First of all because it is Timothy Olyphant who was amazing in Arrow and all other shows I watched and because he is a gunslinger. And I like gunslingers in SWTOR.
Furthermore, and this is another one I am looking forward to a lot, Temuera Morrisson joins the cast as Boba Fett as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Don’t expect a big role however. It will probably just be a cameo.
Morrison is mostly known for his role as Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones where the clones were all created off of his DNA.
It is also quite possible that he will join the cast as an older version of Captain Rex. I would love that and am really curious to see how the character will hold up in a live action series.
Here is a taste of Captain Rex:
“Come on, Rex, admit it. You’ve thought about what your life could look like if you were to also leave the army. Choose the life you want.“
“What if I am choosing the life I want? What if I’m staying in the army because it’s meaningful to me?“
“And, how is it meaningful?“
“Because I’m part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail, then our children, and their children, could be forced to live under an evil I can’t well imagine.“―Cut Lawquane and Captain Rex talking in the second year of the Clone Wars
Boba Fett, however, is presumed dead after he was thrown into the Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine after Luke Skywalker freed his friends from the hands of the evil Jabba the Hutt.
So I wonder how he has survived since his jetpack was also destroyed by Luke’s newly constructed lightsaber. Luke lost his father’s lightsaber in a fight with Darth Vader on the clouds of Bespin after Vader cut off Luke’s hand and told him that Darth Vader is his father.
If anything Mandalorians have proven themselves to be very resourceful and I am sure that the Mandalorian season 2 will come up with a plausible explanation how Boba Fett has survived. After all you don’t get to become part of the Mandalorian clan if you can’t survive a Sarlacc that will digest your body for 1000 years!
The Darksaber’s role in Season 2
As mentioned before, Moff Gideon held the Darksaber in the final scene of the final episode of the Mandalorian season 1.
The Darksaber is a Mandalorian Relic of great value. Not just any value but whoever holds the Darksaber, reigns over the Mandalorians.
“I didn’t know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber.“
“We didn’t, this was one of a kind. Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple. That was until members of House Vizsla snuck in and liberated it. They used the saber to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. At one time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade. This saber is an important symbol to that house and respected by the other clans.“―Kanan Jarrus and Fenn Rau
So that is basically the history of the Darksaber in a nutshell according to Master Kanan.
The Darksaber is a lightsaber with a black color crystal and was created by Tarre Vizla. It is one of a kind so a very rare collector’s item in the Star Wars universe.
The wielder’s thoughts and actions guided the blade’s current of power, with the blade often producing an electrical effect in response to a heightened emotional state. In short: Holding the blade is one thing, keeping a cool head while wielding it is another.
The Darksaber demands that the user has a lot of willpower to not lose him or herself to the blade.
There are only a few characters in the history of the Star Wars universe who have wielded the Darksaber.
- Tarre Vizsla
- Pre Vizsla
- Darth Maul
- Ezra Bridger
- Kanan Jarrus
- Sabine Wren
- Bo-Katan Kryze
- Moff Gideon
A lot of strong characters on that list. And especially Bo-Katan Kryze is an interesting one because she is is slated to play a big role in The Mandalorian season 2.
Bo-Katan initially turned down the Darksaber because she didn’t feel worthy. But after Sabine Wren and House Wren supported her she felt she could take up the Darksaber and become the leader of The Mandalorians.
Here is the most interesting part: Bo-Katan’s story is largely undeveloped which means that you can add so many things without having to tiptoe around established character traits or having to refer to former storylines that happened in other media platforms. This makes me very curious about the upcoming season of The Mandalorian and how the writers and directors treat the character.
I am pretty sure of one thing though: Bo-Katan will go after the Darksaber to either usurp the mantle of The Mandalore or doesn’t know what to do with it and will learn how to wield it as the show progresses. Either way, it is going to be interesting and I am looking forward to Bo-Katan’s story and how it ties with The Mandalorian and Moff Gideon.
The Mandalorian Season 2 list of directors
The Mandalorian Season 2 directors include Dave Filoni (who helmed the Mandalorian pilot and Season 1’s “The Gunslinger”), Rick Famuyiwa (who directed Season 1’s “The Child” and “The Prisoner”), cast member Carl Weathers, series EP Jon Favreau, Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Sin City) and Peyton Reed (Ant-Man).
The only one is missing is Taika Waititi but that is because that guy is probably overloaded with work like for instance Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder and he was also rumored to be the architect of the new Star Wars movies. He has more projects like The Suicide Squad, Free Guy and will reprise his role as Korg. One of the breakout characters from the movie Thor: Ragnarok.
Unfortunately this also means that we won’t get to see him as IG-11. Which is a shame because I really liked the bounty hunter robot turned nanny.
The good news is that one of my favorite directors is returning; Jon Favreau, don’t confuse him with the politics reporter who goes by the same name. Jon Favreau is one of my favorite directors, not just because of the Iron Man movies that paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it is today but mostly because he wrote and directed one of my favorite movies of all time: Chef! You should check your streaming service to see if the movie is available in their library or buy the DVD, if people still do that.
The Mandalorian season 2 airdates
The Mandalorian season 2 airdates have been released and I have put a handy list together for you so you know when to get the popcorn out. I have also included the title of each episode just to make life a little easier and comfortable during these crazy times.
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 1: The Search: Friday 30th October
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 2: The Confrontation: Friday 6th November
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 3: The Bounty – Friday 13th November
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 4: The Republic – Friday 20th November
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 5: The Loyalist – Friday 27th November
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 6: The Sorcerer – Friday 4th December
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 7: The Return – Friday 11th December
The Mandalorian season 2 Chapter 8 (finale): The Empire – Friday, 18th December
Thoughts and expectations for season 2
Ofcourse having watched the show religoiously as I sat behind my computer week in, week out I have my own personal thoughts on what I hope to expect to see in The Mandalorian season 2.
First of all, we all saw that The Mandalorian was off to find the planet of Baby Yoda’s origins. If that is the case, we will finally see where the baby was born and perhaps we will even get to see the name of the species.
It would be such a big reveal that I think it will break the internet. Yoda’s species has been kept under wraps since the beginning of the Star Wars universe and for years we assumed that he may have been the last of his species because Yoda’s species wasn’t seen anywhere else in canon.
As far as I know the species have only appeared in Knights of The Old Republic 1 & 2 in the form of Master Vandar Tokare and Master Oteg. Please correct me if I am wrong because I have not read ALL of the books and / or comics or watched all the animated series where the species may have appeared.
And if the homeplanet is found then what do you expect to find? Would it be a peaceful planet with a fair leader or would there be a great divide and the planet is at war with either a different planet or have a civil war. If the previously mentioned masters including Yoda are any indication, then it seems to be a peaceful and loving civilization who fight for The Light Side. Which means that peace isn’t a lie but that there is no passion there is serenity.
I wouldn’t put it past the makers and current architects of the Star Wars universe however that the Mandalorian will encounter a rather deceptive member of the species just to show that they too can fall to the Dark Side. Perhaps this is the way and the previously mentioned masters are just exceptions because of their upbringing rather than what feels natural to them.
The Mandalorian himself – I would like to find out more about him. They need to give us more background in order to understand the character better. This sounds like a whine from my end because I am a huge fan but I just want to devour the information. I would also like to find out more about the way he moves in The Mandalorian clan. As well as more information about the Mandalorians in general. What exactly is their role in the Star Wars universe in this current moment.
Ahsoka Tano, I don’t have much to add. We have all watched The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels and watched her grow from Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan to the formidable Jedi she is today. But the question that remains is: Who is she today? What has she gone through to get to the point to where she is today. And how does she tie into the Mandalorian’s story?
Will the current Star Wars universe finally go for the more philosophical side of the life of a Jedi or will we see action scenes mostly? I am wondering because Ahsoka Tano is really a character that could win old fans like myself over if the Jedi philosophies are tied back into the lore.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda
The above quote is what I mean and while I liked the new Star Wars movies, I found quotes like that oddly absent. Because it was quotes like those that made the original movies, when they were under the Lucasarts umbrella, so memorable. What I am trying to say is that quotes like that completely change the dynamics of the movie. Again, nothing against the recent trilogy, but the philosophies is what seperated a memorable movie from a great movie. Just my two cents.
The gunslinger, as I mentioned before, looks like a great addition to the cast. Actually all of the announced characters are great additions but the gunslinger. I think my fascination with gunslingers started in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I am completely in awe of the class and it is the only character that I don’t master properly. So having a live action gunslinger being cast in the Mandalorian season 2 could reignite my interest in learning how to play the character properly.
Since The Mandalorian is essentially a spacewestern, the addition of the gunslinger is a logical one. What good is a western without a slinger? That’s like The Good, the bad and the ugly without Clint Eastwood! We can’t have that.
More things that I would like to see is more background on all the secondary characters. They need to flesh them out a bit more. Make them three dimensional. I mean Cara Dune and Greef Karga. The characters had a nice introduction but that is what it is: an introduction. It’s time to delve deeper into the character’s background and motivations, in my opinion.
And last but not least; I would like to see more space battles and new planets. Planets that have been heavily featured in the Star Wars expanded universe. For instance Kashykk or Vjun. Perhaps even Korriban (err… Moraband). A lot of bounty hunters are hired by members of the Sith so why not have the Mandalorian show up on that planet for whatever reason. Perhaps to free Ahsoka Tano who may have gotten captured? Either way, this is the Star Wars universe and you are kind of obliged to visit a lot of planets.
There are a lot of things to look forward to in The Mandalorian season 2 and I plan to keep track of all of it. I hope that you will join us on the journey of The Mandalorian!
Season 3 is on its way as well
The Mandalorian’s Season 3 pre production has already started and even though we haven’t seen a season 3 renewal at all yet from Disney+, ofcourse we hope that it will be the case. Just take my money already!
The announcement of The Mandalorian season 2 was completely unexpected. We didn’t think it was possible with the world being as it is today. But as it turns out most of the footage was already shot and editing took place at home during quarantine by the members of Industrial Light and Magic. And this is Industrial Light and Magic we are talking about so some run-of-the-mill software and some extra special stuff to give us fans the best possible small screen experience.
In an interview Giancarlo Esposito shared his own expectations about the upcoming seasons of the show. In the first and second season, probably in the third as well, there will be mostly new questions posed rather than ones answered. It will most likely be in Season 4 when we will start getting the big picture and things will start clearing up.
