Season two of The Mandalorian comes out this Friday! So let’s take a look at this awesome Star Wars show, and why I am super excited to continue watching it.
Some quick recap. This show follows an unnamed Mandalorian bounty hunter, who occasionally goes by the name Mando. He is hired to kidnap a small child, known by fans as “Baby Yoda,” but doesn’t want to give him up, as he clearly is gifted with The Force. So now Mando and Baby Yoda are on the run from the remnants of the Empire, who wish to capture the baby for surely diabolical reasons.
A Long Time Ago
There was some really cool parts of this show that both referenced, and built on, the Star Wars lore that we all know and are familiar with. First of all, the show is set after the Original Trilogy, Age of Rebellion, Orig Trig, whatever you want to call it. That means that Luke has defeated the Empire, but Leia Organa has yet to create the New Republic that we see being defeated in the Sequel Trilogy, Age of Resistance.
Some cool things are how our soft-spoken protagonist keeps his bounty marks frozen in carbonite, something that was first tested on Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back. This means that it was quickly so successful that bounty hunters had carbonite freezing chambers installed in their ships.
The mark that he captured in the first episode was talking about his upcoming Life Day celebration, which is the holiday celebrated in the original Star Wars Holiday Special mini-movie, that is the Bane of George Lucas’ existence. Not only that, but the rifle that Mando carries was first seen in the Holiday Special as well.
It’s also worth mentioning that the bar where Mando works out of, is actually in Mos Eisley, the space port from A New Hope, which is also where the final episodes are set.
Those that have watched the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars will know that there are two types of Mandalorians. The planet Mandalore used to be a war-torn planet, until it became more civilized due to it’s inhospitably ravaged climate. However, a small group of people refused to abandon their warrior ways, and they have since become the infamous Mandalorians, that our hero is a part of.
Unlimited Power
Now, it’s more than just the Star Wars references in a Star Wars show that’s cool. There is actually a lot of fun in the making of the series, which you can learn a ton about in Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, which is all about the creators of the show chatting about it.
Much of the development of this show is meant to feel like a classic western show. It was common for those shows to reference the recently finished American Civil War, with the Confederate soldiers as common enemies; soldiers that refused to accept defeat. In this show, similar theme are explored, but with Stormtroopers from the Empire, who have recently been defeated by the Rebellion, but clearly refuse to accept defeat.
What might be common in many shows is to have different directors take on different episodes, but these directors are all rockstars, and they are lead by a two-man team of showrunners. Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Avengers) and Dave Filoni (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) were the two constants that helped keep the show on track, but the directors ranged from Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit), and Deborah Chow (Mr. Robot, Jessica Jones).
The big thing about this production that everyone was talking about, was “The Volume.” Basically they created a giant video wall, where they can digitally animate any kind of background they want to. To create accuracy, teams of photographers would go to locations in the real world, and capture that location from a million different angles, so that as they got uploaded into the system, they could create any angle or lighting they wanted to, and it would be based on the real location. This allows for extreme accuracy, because you are no longer held to the schedule that the sun sets for lighting, but can create your own accurate lighting.
Mando, We’re Home
Now, let’s talk about season two! Spoilers ahead.
“The Mandalorian and the Child continue their journey, facing enemies and rallying allies as they make their way through a dangerous galaxy in the tumultuous era after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.”
The big thing is, of course, Moff Gideon and his Darksaber!
Literally the opposite of a Lightsaber, this item was actually created from the first Mandalorian that was accepted as a Jedi. The saber was used during the Clone Wars by Pre Vizsla, who even used it in a fight against General Obi-wan Kenobi, and then by Darth Maul in the Star Wars Rebels show.
Another big piece of spoiler-y, yet unconfirmed, news, is that we are going to see a grown up Ahsoka Tano, who fans will know as Anakin’s padawan in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who will be played by Rosario Dawson, who played Claire in the Marvel Netflix shows, so that should be super cool!
There are similar directors as season one, but adding Peyton Reed, (Ant-Man) and Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids).
The shows new episodes will drop once a week, from October 30 to December 18.
The Nerdd 
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