Late last year, you’ll have seen Baby Yoda memes flooding the internet in the wake of the launch of new Star Wars spin-off TV series The Mandalorian.
Now the time is finally upon us: season 2 is just around the corner. While you wait (and quickly brush up on your season one trivia), here is everything we know so far about the upcoming second edition of the show, out tomorrow.
Latest update:
- The character posters for season 2 have been released
- The official trailer for season 2 has been released
- The release date has been confirmed for October 30
The Mandalorian season 2 release date: what time will The Mandalorian be on Disney+?
Season 2 of the show will drop on Disney+ tomorrow, Friday October 30. To be precise – UK fans can set their alarms for 7:00AM to tune in to the first 52-minute episode.
A fresh batch of first-look photos from season 2 was released last month, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, teasing the return of all our favourite characters. Take a look at the shots here:
New adventures await… Check out the new images from the second season of #TheMandalorian as seen in @EW. New episodes start streaming Oct. 30 on #DisneyPlus. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/RA2M1kqFRi
— The Mandalorian (@themandalorian) September 9, 2020
The Mandalorian season 2 trailer: is there a teaser yet?
There is! Check it out here:
The Mandalorian season 2 cast: who is in the new series?
Pedro Pascal (aka Game of Thrones‘ Oberyn Martell) will be returning, who plays the show’s lead and pilot of the Razorcrest gunship.
Her Instagram post confirming that filming has wrapped also confirms Gina Carano for a return. It’s also expected that Carl Weathers (who plays Greef) , and Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who voices robot IG-88, will also return.
One confirmed name for the new season is Rosario Dawson, who will portray Star Wars fan favourite Ahsoka Tano. The character has appeared multiple times across the Star Wars universe, first popping up as Anakin Skywalker’s padawan in The Clone Wars.
There has also been speculation that season 2 of The Mandalorian could also feature a surprise WWE crossover, with Sasha Banks reportedly joining the cast.
According to the Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast, the wrestler has filmed scenes for season 2 of the Star Wars spin-off show, though who she may be playing remains a mystery.
In May, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Temuera Morrison – who appeared in 2002’s Attack of the Clones – is set to portray bounty hunter Boba Fett. The outlet reported that the actor is “expected to play just a small role” in season 2.
Jon Kopaloff/Stringer
As The Mandalorian finally comes to the UK with the European launch of Disney+, another new name has been added to the cast: Terminator and Aliens actor Michael Biehn.
According to Making Star Wars, Biehn will play a bounty hunter from Mando’s past.
Star Wars veteran Katee Sackhoff, who previously voiced Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze in Dave Filoni’s animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will be reprising her role for season 2 of The Mandalorian, according to Slash Film.
Another name set to join season two of The Mandalorian is Timothy Olyphant. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Deadwood star has joined the upcoming season, though it’s not clear who he will play.
The official character posters have recently been released, showing a glimpse of The Mandalorian, The Child, Greef Karga and Cara Dune.
Take a look at the new posters here:
Who is directing the new season?
A range of characters were in the directors chair across the first season of the show, and it looks like the second series is also set to bring a range of voices.
Back at a season one press conference, it was revealed that Carl Weathers (who plays Greef in the show) will be in the director’s chair for an episode.
One of the directors on Season 2 of #TheMandalorian will be @TheCarlWeathers!
When he calls “Action!” I don’t know how anyone on set could resist answering “Jackson!” pic.twitter.com/PafyPfbl5a
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) October 19, 2019
Showrunner Jon Favreau will also take charge of an episode, he revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “We’re working on season two, writing, prepping with the directors and getting ready to direct myself, actually,” Favreau revealed.
“I didn’t get a chance the last time around because I was doing Lion King. So I’ll step in for one of them.”
Taika Waititi has confirmed he has not directed any episodes of season two due to scheduling conflict. On an Instagram Live, Waititi said: “I’m not directing any of the episodes of The Mandalorian because I was doing another film, a soccer film with Michael Fassbender.”
Referring to his soccer film Next Goal Wins, Waititi added: “After Jojo Rabbit, I decided to make a sports film, something I’ve never done, about a sport I knew nothing about and I still don’t.”
It’s not clear yet whether Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed an episode in the first season, will return.
One Star Wars-affiliated director who does fancy a go, though, is Rian Johnson, who says that if schedules aligned, he would take on the job “in a heartbeat”. I had a set visit for Season 1 and it looked amazing. It looked like so much fun!” he told Yahoo.
The Mandalorian season 2 plot: what’s going to happen?
Details are very sparse about what storyline directions season 2 might take. One very exciting update, though, comes from Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Moff Gideon.
Speaking at a Fan Expo in Canada recently, Esposito promised “major, major, epic, epic lightsaber action in the second series (via Comic Book). “The prop guys are wondering about me because I was in a bit of a commotion and a bit of a struggle with someone else, which I’m hoping you will enjoy when you see it,” Esposito said. “I should mention that I’m the only character in this first season who was able to be honored with having that lightsaber. So it feels wonderful.”
Elsewhere, the series looks set to focus on Greef’s backstory. Speaking to SFX, Carl Weathers said: “I think [Greef’s backstory] is more saved for season 2.”
Season 2 could also, finally, tell us Baby Yoda’s real name. “He’s not named Baby Yoda!” Waititi said on a red carpet at the start of the year. “I’ll wait for [Jon] Favreau to give that away.”
I also asked Taika about Baby Yoda, since he directed the MANDALORIAN finale. “He’s not named Baby Yoda!” Taika insisted. There is a name yet to be revealed, and Taika knows it but won’t hint. “I’ll wait for Favreau to give that away.”
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 6, 2020
Waititi followed up with the first guess: Nigel.
I think it's Nigel. https://t.co/SWw6Z3RllR
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) January 6, 2020
Will there be more seasons of The Mandalorian?
Quite possibly. Disney+ are keen to produce more shows in the Star Wars universe. Already confirmed is a series focused on Obi-Wan Kenobi and starring Ewan McGregor, and during one of his notorious earnings calls with Disney clients, which often result in information about future projects being leaked, CEO Bob Iger said he expects The Mandalorian to go beyond two series’, and future plans include the possibility of “infusing it with more characters and taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series.”