by @holocronJosh for @sw_holocron
The marketing push for The Mandalorian Season 2 has officially begun. Today, Entertainment Weekly revealed this month’s cover story focusing on the first live action Star Wars show. Subscribers to the magazine will get one of two covers: Mandalorian and the Child and one with just the latter. The story features quotes from Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pedro Pascal, and more alongside exclusive new imagery, all of which gives fans clues as to where the second season will be going.
The first season of The Mandalorian was exceptionally well received, arguably the best reaction to a Star Wars project since 2015’s The Force Awakens. When asked why he thinks audiences have responded so well to the Disney+ show, creator Jon Favreau suggested that it was the size of the series that was the biggest factor:
“I think it was the fact it was live-action Star Wars on TV for the first time. Having worked on bigger, higher-profile films, there’s a much different set of standards that you’re judged by. We’ve benefited from the smallness of our world.”
While the first season was a smaller scale adventure, the sophomore outing will raise the stakes according to Favreau:
“The new season is about introducing a larger story in the world. The stories become less isolated, yet each episode has its own flavor, and hopefully we’re bringing a lot more scope to the show.”
Executive Producer Dave Filoni, who was the driving creative force behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, reiterated this sentiment:
“Everything gets bigger, the stakes get higher, but also the personal story between the Child and the Mandalorian develops in a way I think people will enjoy.”
While not confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm, reliable sources in the film and television industry have revealed that Boba Fett, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Ahsoka Tano will all appear in the season, with the latter to be played by Rosario Dawson. Temuera Morrison is expected to reprise his role as Boba Fett, after previously playing re-recording the famous bounty hunter’s lines for the Original Trilogy special editions. Morrison also played Fett’s father, Jango, in Attack of the Clones, along with a variety of Clone Troopers in Revenge of the Sith. Bo-Katan will be played by Katee Sackhoff, who voiced the character in The Clone Wars and Rebels.
The partnership of Favreau and Filoni has been discussed by Star Wars fans at great length, given the positive results of The Mandalorian Season One, their first project together. In the story, Favreau described his creative relationship with Filoni:
“I’ll come up with ideas and sometimes Dave will say, ‘You can’t do this in Star Wars.’ Then I’ll cite examples from the movies, or Clone Wars, to try to use as a justification. I’m like a lawyer talking to a judge; I am to him as he was to George. I won’t do anything without Dave’s approval. And to his credit, he understands that Star Wars needs to be fun and ever-evolving.”
Filoni describes his partnership with Favreau in a slightly different, more Star Wars-y way, referring to it as “bringing balance to the Force.”
One of the lead actors that Favreau and Filoni hired for the show, Pedro Pascal (best known for his work on Game of Thrones and Narcos), described the trouble Mando will have to keep the Child safe:
“We start very directly after the first [season] and he’s going into very dangerous territory. He is very much a passenger to the experience in unexpected ways — not knowing what’s to come, not knowing how much or how best to protect the Child. We don’t know how far he will go to do that, and they’re finding new ways to push the envelope.”
Perhaps the biggest cause of the impending threat to Din Djarin and the Child is the presence of Moff Gideon, played by Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito, who was seen briefly towards the end of the first season and was nominated for an Emmy for the role, teases bigger involvement for Gideon, along with what to expect from the character this season:
“I’ll be going toe-to-toe with Mando. It’s an iconic battle. I want to disarm him mentally as well. Who knows? Maybe there’s an opportunity to get him to fight some battles for me. You may think I’m a villain, but I’m trying to harness some energy and some powers for a path that could be best for all. You’ll get to see him be somewhat diplomatic and more of a manipulator.”
Gideon’s involvement in the first season was limited, but his impact was great. The character breaking out of the rubble of a destroyed TIE-Fighter using the famous Mandalorian Darksaber, previously seen in The Clone Wars and Rebels, shocked fans and provided the perfect tease for the season to come. Esposito confirmed that the Saber will be back again this time around, and expressed his excitement over the character:
“It’s so exciting for me to be in a show where I can wear a cape and own it, and where I can have a lightsaber and really own it.”
As seen by some of the exclusive images in the story, Gideon will be aboard a Star Destroyer at some point during the season, which Esposito teases as “a larger vehicle, hint-hint.”
Mando, Greef Karga, and Cara Dune seemingly come aboard this Star Destroyer at some point in the season, as shown by one of the exclusive images:
As fans have known for some time, Star Wars creator George Lucas visited the set of the second season, just as he did for the first. Favreau revealed that, while there, Lucas continued his mentor role with Filoni, always trying to give him advice:
“He would be giving Dave a hard time about how many setups he was getting and how fast he was shooting and urging him to go faster,” Favreau says. “He was like a boxer’s corner man coaching him, but always with a twinkle in his eye.”
Expectations are high and fans are excited for the upcoming season. As Filoni puts it:
“You want The Empire Strikes Back to be better than A New Hope.”
The Mandalorian Season 2 begins on October 30th.
Images courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, Disney, and Lucasfilm