First Look at Star Wars ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 Revealed. Entertainment Weekly shared and exclusive first look at season 2 of The Mandalorian, coming to Disney+ on October 30th. The highly anticipated second season is rumored to be filled with characters featured in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, including Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, Sabine Wren, and more. Though we don’t get a glimpse or confirmation of any new characters, we do get to sneak a peek at Din Djarin (Mando), Cara Dune, Greef Karga, and the infamous The Child, aka Baby Yoda!
Showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni shared with EW what they believe made the show so successful. Having gained fans around the world before the series premiered in other countries and being nominated for 15 Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series, its easy to tell that the show has been well received by audiences, so how did they do it?
Favreau stated, “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.”
“Quite simply: We didn’t overthink things,” Filoni shared, “George started with these very iconic characters whose relationships are very clear, and then introduced what’s at stake — for us, the [fate of] the Child,” says Filoni. “An audience tends to enjoy a story by sticking to tropes and characters they understand — like a gunslinger in the Old West. So it was a clear story and a fun adventure even if you’ve never seen anything [in the Star Wars universe].”
Another key factor is the pairing of Favreau and Filoni. Jon Favreau shares that the two help “bring balance to the Force” of the show, sharing “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 Stars Wars needs to be fun and ever-evolving.”
To help prevent spoilers for the new season and to maintain the high level of secrecy surrounding the series, The Mandalorian star, Gina Carano (Cara Dune), confirmed that the actors were only given scripts for their own episodes and that guest and new characters were brought on set with the use of black hooded cloaks to keep their identities a secret from peering eyes. With the world watching, it’s no wonder Lucasfilm was taking such steep measures to protect the integrity of the new season and prevent spoilers. So what can we expect from Season 2?
“The new season is about introducing a larger story in the world,” says Favreau, who notes the show will expand beyond Mando-centric tales. “The stories become less isolated, yet each episode has its own flavor, and hopefully we’re bringing a lot more scope to the show.” Adds Filoni, “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.”
“We start very directly after the first [season] and he’s going into very dangerous territory,” Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/Mando) says. “He (Mando) 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. On a moment-to-moment basis, he’s discovering that question: ‘What do you want?’”
“That isn’t clear to him, or to me.” Adds Filoni, “We think we know how the characters are going to react, and it can be surprising how they do react.”
Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the fearsome Moff Gideon featured at the end of season 1, shared, “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.” Esposito continued by sharing his excitement to wield the Darksaber in the series, stating, “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,”
Star Wars creator, George Lucas even stopped by to see how production was going during one of Filoni’s filmings. “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.”
The show runners also shared how they handled The Child’s new found fame on set during season 2 and how they approach telling the stories within The Mandalorian while honoring the integrity of pre-established Star Wars characters.
Filoni stated, “When he brought up in the very beginning of doing this child and having it be of Yoda’s species, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s very tricky, because there’s never been this before outside of Yoda, and then Yaddle in the prequels on the Jedi Council. It’s kind of a sacred thing … We just have to be responsible when we’re telling a story with what we’re deciding to do. The fans want to know things are a calculated, careful decision. Then if you tell a good story, most of the time they go with it.”
“Last season, the Child was on set and we weren’t sure with the puppet if we would even use much of it — and it turned out, we used a lot of it,” Filoni says. “But in season 2, he was the biggest thing on the set. There was a total shift around him. Everybody liked him before, but he wasn’t quite the celebrity that he was in season 2. This time, he was quite a big deal.” Adds Esposito: “Even as a puppet, you can’t walk by The Child without having an interaction, because it’s so very sweet and innocent.”
Carl Weathers (Greef Karga) shared that his character is “on a quest to be more legitimate. but I’m not sure there isn’t something in the back of his mind that isn’t more self-involved.” According to the actor, Karga has grown closer to mercenary Cara Dune to the point where they “almost finish each other’s sentences.”
Gina Carano (Cara Dune) shared that while off screen for scenes, she managed to convince Pedro Pascal to remove the iconic helmet during filming so she could make eye contact with him for a more confident performance. “I really wanted to see his eyes, which really helped,” she says.
A challenge for Pascal through out filming has been finding a way to convey more while doing less, to which he elaborates, “Which is a strange thing to say in a world like this where there are so many things that are just larger than life,” Pascal says. “All of these galaxies and planets and ships and action sequences and creatures and stuff. And yet, ironically, as far as what I believe works in terms of storytelling, it’s the very small physical gesture, those specific intonations in a voice, that make him compelling. A little goes a long way.”
“I have no question fans are going to like this season even more — everything’s in there,” Carano says. “If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re going to get to see things you’ve always wanted to see.” We can’t wait to see season 2 premiere on Disney+ on October 30th! Will you be hosting a premiere party? What characters do you hope to see appear in the new season? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Be sure to check back here at Chip and Co. for all things Star Wars and Disney+!
Featured Photo Credit: Lucasfilm/EW
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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