Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
No Darksaber or Jedi: The Mandalorian Season 2 trailer leaves us wanting more, as it should
Mando is on a boat! The long-awaited trailer for Season 2 of the live-action Star Wars Disney+ smash The Mandalorian is here. That means we're gonna see all kinds of rumor confirmations, right? Certain animated legends finally confirmed for live action? The return of a very special Mando/Jedi lightsaber? Very specific plot details that make watching the actual series unnecessary?
No, no, and no ... but may we interest you in a boat? An ice planet? Some Baby Yoda? See for yourself. Check out the trailer here and we'll jetpack on over to break things down after the jump.
So, no confirmation of Ahsoka Tano, and let us take this opportunity to remind you that her appearance in this series is still just a rumor (meaning: nothing has been confirmed by Lucasfilm or Disney, but there are countless reports swirling in the ether from trusted sources). There's no Darksaber, either, though Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) has made it clear that we'll be seeing it. There's no glimpse of him at all, and only a brief shot of Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Cara Dune (Gina Carano). It might be tempting to make a meal out of the opening voiceover that talks about Mandalorians once fighting a race of sorcerers called Jedi, but that's a line from Season 1, and it was spoken by the Armorer (Emily Swallow). It is not new information. There is no "new" Jedi threat.
What do we have, then? Plenty. Plenty, we say! High ho to the goods ye swabs, and board yon boat!
BOATALORIAN
Mando's back, he's still got that jetpack, and he's on a boat that makes him look like he's working for Bubba Gump Shrimp. Probably the biggest and best surprise of this trailer is the fact that it gives away very little information, and confirms nothing that has been heavily rumored. The only story to speak of is that Mando continues to travel with Baby Yoda. That's not shocking.
Trailers tend to spoil everything these days, running down full plots and sometimes just showing the biggest and best action set pieces front and center. Avengers: Endgame was a notable exception, showing almost nothing in its trailers, and what was shown was almost entirely from the first half hour of the film. This trailer goes in that direction, and we wouldn't be surprised if most of this footage is from the first couple of episodes. Also, boat.
THE NEW REPUBLIC
The trailer does feature X-Wings, and in this time period, they'd be flying for the New Republic. We saw a trio of them briefly in Mando's first season, but they're back, and they could either be helping our hero or hindering him. We see them flying alongside the Razor Crest, and later they are seen chasing it through some clouds.
Mon Mothma, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker are all very involved in the leadership of the New Republic at this point; we're still only four years out from the war-ending Battle of Jakku. None of those characters will likely show up (Mon Mothma is the most likely to pop up), but the New Republic would be interested in any Force-sensitive being, especially one that is of Yoda's species. Perhaps they want in on the Baby Yoda craze and Mando's not having it. Maybe they're helping him out. We don't know. X-Wings are cool.
SNOW BABY
Speaking of Baby Yoda, unlike the trailers for Season 1, which had to keep this little star a secret, Season 2 can roll around in the cuteness so it's on full display. Mando and Child visited a variety of locales in Season 1, but this new season looks like it's going to take them to another Star Wars standard: a snow planet.
Is it Hoth? Is it Pantora? Is it a totally new planet that also happens to have snow on it? Who knows, and honestly who cares? Baby Yoda looks adorable in the snow. That's the takeaway. That's the gift. Lap it up.
Also shown in the trailer is the Razor Crest flying to Tatooine, so a return to the "who was the mysterious figure walking up to Fennec Shand" mystery of Season 1 could be revisited.
HOODED STRANGER
The trailer is not devoid of new characters — a hooded stranger is seen watching Mando on the Bubba Gump boat, and it seems this is a new character played by WWE star Sasha Banks. She's new to the series, and her particular set of skills could come in handy when we see Mando at a fighting arena later on, where two muscular Gamorreans are fighting it out in a ring.
That's another first, by the way. Lean and muscular Gamorreans!
THE LEGEND GROWS
Another one of those classic cantina aliens from Star Wars: A New Hope is given a showcase moment, and this time it's a one-eyed Abyssin that the trailer subtitles name "Gore Keresh." This is the moment in the trailer that proves that the legend of Lone Mando and Yoda Baby has gotten out there.
Mando says, "Wherever I go, he goes." Koresh responds, "So I've heard."
An attack is sprung, and that's when Baby Yoda pulls the hood closed on his pram. In darkness, we hear the chaos of Mando taking out the attackers, and we're made to think this is not the first time this has happened. It's great to see another classic alien, it's great to see Mando taking on multiple foes and beating them all down, and it's great (as always) to see the Child be adorable.
What the scene really reveals, however, is that the series is in no way finished taking cues from the classic Lone Wolf and Cub films, as this is a moment that would be right at home there. It also shows us that the legend of One Mando and a Baby has gotten around, and this Clan of Two is going to be getting attention — whether they want it or not.
This is the way, and Oct. 30 is the day. For all things Mando, Baby Yoda, and Star Wars, join our heroes over on Jabba the Pod, the greatest Star Wars podcast produced by SYFY WIRE.
