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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.
The first season hits UK screens on March 24 as part of the launch of new streaming service Disney+, nearly six months after it landed in the US. and there won’t be too long to wait for a second helping: season 2 of The Mandalorian is on its way!
While you wait (and dig into season one), here is everything we know so far about the upcoming second edition of the show, from a release date to cast, plot, trailers and more.
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
- Timothy Olyphant signs up for the show’s second run
The Mandalorian season 2 release date: when are the new episodes landing?
October 30, 2020. Gifting us with a little post-Christmas treat, showrunner Jon Favreau revealed at the end of 2019 that the new series would land in “fall 2020”.
Season 2 of #TheMandalorian coming Fall 2020 pic.twitter.com/8VQYLDMQ0V
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) December 27, 2019
It was then revealed later by Disney CEO Bob Iger that the return would occur in October.
Now, just over a month away, the show’s official Twitter account confirmed the 30th as the date. Mark your calendars!
This is the day. New episodes start streaming Oct. 30 on #DisneyPlus. #TheMandalorian pic.twitter.com/8oruZ3oedx
— The Mandalorian (@themandalorian) September 2, 2020
Has filming started for The Mandalorian season 2 yet?
Well ahead of the game, season 2 began filming even before the first ever episode of the show was screened. “Greetings from the set of The Mandalorian season 2,” Favreau wrote on Instagram the day after series one aired its first episode.
Gina Carano, who plays ex-shocktrooper Cara Dune in the show, revealed at the start of March 2020 that filming was now complete for the second series. “I absolutely love this work and the people in it,” she wrote on Instagram.
#storytelling 
#themandalorian
Y C A R A N ODirector Robert Rodriguez shared a photo from the set of the second season on his Instagram account on Star Wars Day (May 4).
“I am truly humbled to say I have now had the very rare privilege of directing the biggest star in the universe,” Rodriguez captioned the post, posing next to Baby Yoda.
A fresh batch of first-look photos from season 2 has just been released 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?
The only name confirmed to return is Pedro Pascal (aka Game of Thrones‘ Oberyn Martell), 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.
We’re also assuming that no second series could be complete without the return of the viral Baby Yoda, though nothing is confirmed yet.
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 yet who he will play.
Just two weeks before the second season is released, the official character posters have 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.”
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