A first look at The Mandalorian Season 2 and Rey's Kenobi origins

Time again for STAR WARS WEEKLY, the SYFY WIRE series that rounds up the most important news of the week from a galaxy far, far away. 

Think of us as your own personal Star Wars Holocron.

FIRST LOOK AT THE MANDALORIAN’S SECOND SEASON

The biggest news this week came from Entertainment Weekly, which published our first look at the second season of The Mandalorian, including a long article that contains interviews with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. Filoni and Favreau talked about what to expect for Season 2 and drop plenty of hints and some photos.

One of the biggest bits of news is that we’re getting eight episodes for this season and the length of the episodes will vary between them. The article did not explicitly confirm the well-reported, well-sourced rumors about big new additions to the cast, including the report that Rosario Dawson will be playing a live-action Ahsoka. Instead, the article merely says that some of the rumors were true and some weren’t, but made no mention of which were which.

Giancarlo Esposito, the actor behind Moff Gideon, might be the cast member who is the most excited for this upcoming season. He tweeted all about it.

With how tight they're holding on to secrets this season, there's every reason to believe we're getting something as amazing as Baby "The Child" Yoda for this new season. Whether it's old characters or new, we're all waiting with bated breath for the story to unfold.

REY KENOBI?

In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Daisy Ridley told guest host Josh Gad that Rey may well have been a Kenobi, as the Jedi had a connection to Obi-Wan's line in earlier drafts of the story. 

Rey's possible Kenobi heritage was one of the early ideas that J.J. Abrams had, and he certainly put clues in the story that would support that idea (like having the voices of both Obi-Wan actors call out to her during her vision in The Force Awakens). Star Wars fans who pay attention to how these films are made took this news with a grain of salt. Star Wars movies evolve by the seat of the director’s pants every time a new one is made; the story evolves and the storytelling changes. For his part, Rian Johnson created a situation where Rey could have been anyone or no one, feeding the mystery of her lineage. J.J. Abrams was handed the difficult task of completely reconfiguring the end of the saga after the passing of Carrie Fisher and that evolution and ambiguity played into his favor.

For anyone who believes that Star Wars has always had blueprints set in stone, I’d recommend reading the Making of Star Wars books by J.W. Rinzler. Lucas was flying by the seat of his pants. Vader as Luke’s father? Not really planned for. Leia as a Skywalker? A late addition in Return of the Jedi no one on the production had expected when making Empire. It’s just a thing that happens as Star Wars movies evolve. 

That’s not to say critiques about Rey’s lineage aren’t fair: they absolutely are. It's just that Star Wars' creative process tends to lend itself to seemingly last-minute reveals and changes. This isn't anything new.

MARVEL’S THE HIGH REPUBLIC PREVIEW

We got a new glimpse of The High Republic, which is scheduled to kick off in early 2021. This comes in the form of a preview of Cavan Scott’s Marvel comic of the same name over at StarWars.com.

The book follows a Jedi Padawan Keeve and her Trandoshan master Sskeer. Keeve is close to her Jedi trials and it will be interesting to see them so far back in the history of the Jedi. 

The comic premieres next year. For the full, four-page preview, visit the official Star Wars website.  

ELEE & ME

The redoubtable Amy Ratcliffe announced a new Star Wars project this week. Elee & Me expands the world of Batuu and the experience of Galaxy’s Edge. It tells the story of Salju and her little friend Elee. Salju runs the mechanic’s shop and filling station at Black Spire Outpost. Currently, there isn’t much to Salju’s Filling Station when you visit Galaxy’s Edge, but let’s hope that as they expand the lore with books like this, there will be more added to that part of the Disney Park experience.

Amy’s children’s book is part of Target’s Galaxy’s Edge Trading Outpost collection. It comes out Nov. 3, 2020.

THE MOVIES THAT MADE STAR WARS

At Dragon Con this last weekend, the offerings from the Star Wars track were incredibly varied and impressive. The trivia contest had a nearly impossible qualifying test that even made the news. One of my favorite panels was the one dedicated to the movies that influenced Star Wars. 

I was on the panel alongside other experts in the field. It was recorded and that’s what we’ll leave you with this week. 

Until next week, may the Force be with you!