It didn’t take long for The Mandalorian to become the flagship series of Disney’s streaming video service, Disney+. The first season of the Star Wars spinoff series earned critical acclaim and delivered a cultural touchstone in the form of an adorable, Force-wielding 50-year-old toddler — that’s right, we’re talking about Baby Yoda.
Season 1 of The Mandalorian concluded in December 2019 with an impressive finale that set the stage for more adventures to come for the show’s titular bounty hunter and his diminutive, green traveling partner. After significant commercial and cultural success, the critics chimed in to the tune of a whopping 15 Emmy nominations for the new series, including Outstanding Drama Series. Disney confirmed that a second season is on the way October 30, and we have plenty of news about the next season. Here’s everything we know about season 2 of The Mandalorian so far.
(Note: This article contains references to plot points from season 1, so consider this a spoiler warning.)
New still
The countdown to Season 2 is on and the stills are beginning to come in. First up, a Weequay tends bar and appears to endure a Mando interrogation.
New still from The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1 . #StarWars #TheMandalorian pic.twitter.com/afeHg86QS5
— Zcure1 (@Zcure1) October 24, 2020
New footage
Disney released some new footage from season 2 of The Mandalorian during a broadcast of the NFL’s Monday Night Football on October 19, just a week ahead of the season premiere. Billed as a “special look” at the upcoming season, the clips included plenty of footage of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his adorable pal, The Child (Baby Yoda), as well as a few more familiar faces from season 1.
First trailer
After plenty of speculation about when the first trailer for The Mandalorian season 2 would premiere, Disney released the official trailer on September 15.
Not only did the trailer offer new footage of Baby Yoda and the titular bounty hunter traveling around the galaxy, but it also hinted at where their journey will take them: In search of the Jedi. The preview of the season also revealed the first look at a mysterious, hooded figure that may or may not play a key role in the second season.
Premiere date
Season 2 of The Mandalorian will premiere on October 30, 2020, according to Disney. Like its first season, new episodes will be released over time, so you won’t be able to binge Baby Yoda all at once.
The Clone Wars, continued
Multiple characters from Star Wars: The Clone Wars are expected to appear in the second season of The Mandalorian.
In May, Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff was reported to be playing a live-action version of her Clone Wars character Bo-Katan Kryze in the Disney+ series. According to SlashFilm, Sackhoff filmed her scenes for the season in February, before production was halted.
A Mandalorian warrior who fought to liberate her homeworld from several warring factions and the Galactic Empire, Bo-Katan also wielded the legendary Darksaber at one point — the same weapon Moff Gideon is seen with in the final moments of The Mandalorian‘s first season.
A few months earlier, it was reported — but has yet to be officially confirmed — that Rosario Dawson will portray Ahsoka Tano in the show’s second season.
A popular character from the Star Wars animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka Tano was noteworthy for being Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan (the term used for a young Jedi in training). Her voice was one of several Jedi voices heard by Rey (Daisy Ridley) in a climactic scene from Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.
A subsequent report indicated that we could be seeing a lot of Dawson as Ahsoka down the road, with ComicBook.com indicating that her contract includes appearances in multiple series throughout the Star Wars universe, if necessary. While such a contract is common these days, particularly given Disney and Marvel’s affinity for far-reaching contracts that account for potential — if not actually planned — projects, it’s certainly something for fans to be excited about regardless of whether Ahsoka makes an appearance outside The Mandalorian any time soon.
The return of Boba Fett
In May, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that another fan-favorite character would also be joining the show. Nearly four decades after what appeared to be his death in Return of the Jedi, Boba Fett is confirmed to be living. Temuera Morrison, who portrayed Jango Fett in 2002’s Attack of the Clones and has voiced both Jango Fett and Boba Fett in several Star Wars video games, has been cast as Boba Fett in The Mandalorian.
Boba Fett is a clone of Jango Fett, raised by Jango as his own son. While the character is reportedly confirmed for the second season, he is expected to play only a minor role in the story’s events.
The directors
Season 2 of The Mandalorian will continue to feature a mix of both new and established filmmakers behind the camera for individual episodes.
Among the first-season directors returning for the show’s second season are Rick Famuyiwa, series creator Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni.
Sin City and Alita: Battle Angel director Robert Rodriguez will also direct an episode of The Mandalorian in its second season — a fact he confirmed on Star Wars Day (May 4) with a post on Twitter. To the delight of fans, Rodriguez’s photo also featured The Mandalorian’s popular traveling buddy, Baby Yoda.
I am truly humbled to say I have now had the very rare privilege of directing the biggest star in the universe. @StarWars #TheMandalorian #MayThe4th #StarWarsDay pic.twitter.com/pcmzOHfgaW
— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) May 5, 2020
Also joining the directorial team on season 2 of The Mandalorian is Peyton Reed, who directed Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man movie. Reed announced his involvement with the show on Star Wars Day, too — and again, the announcement was made on Twitter with a photo from the set of the series.
#MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/XUk5Xfs0JE
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) May 4, 2020
Carl Weathers, who plays Greef Karga in the series, is also expected to direct an episode of The Mandalorian season 2.
The cast
Casting news for the show’s second season has been trickling out, but first and foremost, The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal will undoubtedly return for season 2. He’ll be joined by quite a few newcomers and returning cast members, too.
In one of the bigger surprises so far, and as mentioned above, Dawson has been reported to be playing popular Jedi character Ahsoka Tano, and Morrison has been cast as Boba Fett in season 2 of The Mandalorian.
Variety reported that Timothy Olyphant will be joining the Star Wars series, though it’s unclear what his role will be at this point. Olyphant recently starred on Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet and had prominent gunslinger roles on TV series like the FX drama Justified — a part that earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — and HBO’s Deadwood.
Also joining the cast in season 2 will be actor Michael Biehn, best known for his roles in the sci-fi classics The Terminator and Aliens. According to Deadline, Biehn will portray a bounty hunter from The Mandalorian’s past.
Pascal and the newcomers are expected to be joined by Giancarlo Esposito (below), reprising his role as Moff Gideon, who was introduced in the final episodes of season 1 and is a key figure in many of the lingering mysteries surrounding both The Mandalorian and The Child.
Also returning for the second season will be stand-up comedian Bill Burr, reprising the character of former Imperial sharpshooter Mayfield. Gina Carano and Carl Weathers are also expected to return as Cara Dune and Greef Karga, respectively, two of The Mandalorian’s allies from the first season.
Filming
Filming on the second season of The Mandalorian got underway early in the first season’s run, with showrunner and writer Jon Favreau confirming that cameras were rolling on season 2 in November 2019.
The story
Although the first season of The Mandalorian didn’t end on a cliffhanger, it did pose nearly as many new questions as it answered.
The series is expected to follow The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), aka Din Djarin, as he attempts to bring The Child, aka Baby Yoda, back to his home planet. He leaves behind bounty hunter guild leader Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) and former shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), the two surviving characters who assisted him in rescuing The Child.
His quest put him in the crosshairs of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and the remnants of the Galactic Empire, who want The Child for their own unknown-but-probably-nefarious purposes. Their pursuit of him will likely shape the events of season 2. As revealed in the first season’s finale, Moff Gideon has a deadly connection to The Mandalorian’s past, as well as a powerful artifact from Mandalorian lore: The Darksaber.
In conversation with Deadline in July, Esposito revealed that the Darksaber is a key to Moff Gideon’s mysterious past. Discussing the upcoming season, he said “You’ll see more of the Darksaber, you’ll get the explanation of this ancient weapon to the modern world, a collapsed world. Where did this saber come from and how was it revived? It’s a key in our second season, which will be back sooner than later. [The saber] is a key to Moff Gideon’s past, which possibly has a lot to do with where he comes from and his desire to build a planet and bring it back together.”
More aliens
In December 2019, showrunner and writer Jon Favreau posted an image of a Gamorrean on Twitter alongside a reminder of season 2, suggesting that the pig-like alien race first introduced in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi will join the ranks of the Star Wars species appearing in the series.
Season 2 of #TheMandalorian coming Fall 2020 pic.twitter.com/8VQYLDMQ0V
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) December 27, 2019
Season 2 of The Mandalorian premieres October 30 on Disney+.
