The Mandalorian season 2: Everything we know before episode 7 hits Disney Plus

The Mandalorian, the live-action Star Wars series that brought us Baby Yoda, kicked off season 2 last month, and its seventh episode hits Disney Plus this Friday, Dec. 11, with subsequent episodes landing each Friday until Dec. 18.

Here are details about the season, which takes place a few years after Return of the Jedi.

What we know about season 2

“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,” reads the synopsis that dropped with the first trailer for the second season. 

Season 2 also continues the “chapter” naming convention from the first season, so it doesn’t start from chapter 1:

There’s also a tweet you can like to receive a reminder when each episode drops on Disney Plus.

Directors for the new season include creator Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed (the man behind Ant-Man and its sequel) and Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and Alita: Battle Angel), the release noted.

Read more: GameSpot remembers Baby Yoda’s best season 1 moments

Season 3?

Favreau is hoping to start production on the show’s third season “before the end of the year,” he told Variety on Oct. 15. He’s been writing it “for a while,” according to a Variety report from April, and Lucasfilm’s art department has been working on concept designs. Production design reportedly kicked off on April 20.

From here on, we’ll highlight returning characters for the second season, and reports about others. If you’d rather not know, beware of POSSIBLE SPOILERS from here on out.  

What’s the deal with Boba Fett?

The closing shot of season 2’s first episode revealed a mysterious man (Temuera Morrison) watching Mando from afar. He appears to be wearing Tusken Raider gear, and then he turns around, revealing the face of Boba Fett — the bounty hunter who fell into the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi.

The Mandalorian armor that Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) was wearing in the episode was Fett’s, and he tracked Mando until he could reclaim it in the season’s sixth episode.

Morrison played bounty hunter Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones and also portrayed the clone troopers in that movie and Revenge of the Sith. Jango was recruited by Count Dooku to serve as the genetic template for the clone army used by the Galactic Republic, as part of Darth Sidious’ superconvoluted plot to wipe out the Jedi. Part of Jango’s payment was an unaltered clone that he could raise as his son — Boba — but the elder Fett was killed during the Battle of Geonosis.

The younger Fett was played by Daniel Logan in Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars CGI animated series, but The Mandalorian takes place decades later, and a grown-up Boba would look identical to Jango.

However, Boba isn’t the only person with Jango’s face. Even though clone troopers were designed to age at an accelerated speed, some could still be alive. The Rebels series finale revealed that Commander Rex fought in Return of the Jedi’s Battle of Endor (a few years prior to the events of The Mandalorian), while Commander Wolffe survived until at least the end of Rebels (which took place years before A New Hope).

We saw a mysterious person approach assassin Fennec Shand’s body on Tatooine in the final moments of the fifth episode of season 1, with Fett’s trademark spur sound effect, and the sixth episode of season 2 revealed that it was indeed Boba. He saved her life, and she teamed up with him to repay the favor.

Fans of the Legends material (developed in novels, comics and games prior to 2014) will recall that Boba escaped the sarlacc in that continuity and went on to become the leader of Mandalore in a very different (and noncanon) post-Return of the Jedi galaxy. 

Other characters 

Ahsoka Tano, the former Padawan of the late Anakin Skywalker and star of CGI animated series The Clone Wars, made her live-action debut in season 2. She’s played by Rosario Dawson, as was reported earlier this year, whom you might remember playing Claire Temple in Netflix’s Marvel shows.

Bill Burr will also reprise his role as shooty mercenary Mayfield, likely in the seventh episode of the season.

In a Feb. 4 earnings call, Disney boss Bob Iger also mentioned the possibility that some of the show’s characters could go “in their own directions in terms of series” — hinting that we might see some Mandalorian spinoffs down the line.

What happened in season 1?

You’re in luck! I wrote detailed recaps of each episode that you can use to catch up:

Chapter 1: The Mandalorian

Chapter 2: The Child

Chapter 3: The Sin

Chapter 4: Sanctuary

Chapter 5: The Gunslinger

Chapter 6: The Prisoner

Chapter 7: The Reckoning

Chapter 8: Redemption

Read more: 30 best movies to watch on Disney Plus 

What’s up with Baby Yoda?

This little guy captured everyone’s hearts the moment he appeared in the the first episode. We also learned that he was 50 years old and could use the Force, but we were well into season 2 before we learned anything else about him. 

In that season’s fifth episode, Ahsoka Tano communicated with him using the Force and discovered that his real name is Grogu. He was raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, before being hidden when the Empire wiped out the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith, and in the decades since, he’s suppressed his powers to stay off the bad guys’ radar.

The Imperial Remnant apparently wants him so it can use his blood to create Force-strong beings. But it’s unclear if this is for Moff Gideon’s own ends, or if Gideon is knowingly working for the reborn Palpatine or unknowingly doing the hidden Emperor’s bidding.

Oh, and the most detailed version of the puppet apparently cost around $5 million.

Read more: GameSpot guide to the best Baby Yoda merch

Is there a bounty of Mandalorian merch?

Merchandise hunting is a complicated hobby, but you know you want it. Since the show’s debut last November, a mountain of toys and other collectibles have been released. Highlights include Hasbro’s six-inch Black Series and Vintage Collection. 

There’ll be a steady stream for season 2 as well, like Lego’s huge Baby Yoda set, Polaroid’s Mandalorian-themed instant camera and Hasbro’s crowd-funded Razor Crest. Lucasfilm will reveal new collectibles each Monday from Oct. 26 to Dec. 21 — a merchandising push known as “Mando Mondays” — capitalizing on the second season. 

For gamers, Xbox revealed a fancy Mandalorian-themed controller. It’s pricey at $170, but will be compatible with Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X and S consoles.

Is there any tie-in literature?

As is Star Wars tradition, readers will be able to dive in further. A bunch of books were revealed on the official Star Wars site in June. The major ones are:

The company noted the books will start coming out this fall. Preorder pages revealed that the art book will be released Dec. 15 (and cost $40), while the novel has been delayed until fall 2021 (for $29). Marvel and IDW will also bring out comics inspired by the show.

“At the moment, we’re keeping things under wraps — including the title, synopsis, and cover,” Christopher wrote in a blog post about his novel. “But that does mean I get one of those cool and mysterious Cover Not Final placeholders.”

What’s the deal with the documentary?

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is an eight-episode making-of series that includes interviews with The Mandalorian’s cast and crew, new footage from the show’s production and round-table conversations hosted by Favreau. Episodes began dropping on Disney Plus, starting May 4. Here’s what they cover:

1. Directing
2. Legacy
3. Cast
4. Technology
5. Practical
6. Visualization
7. Score
8. Connections

The titles are pretty self-explanatory, aside from the second one. It looks at George Lucas’ continuing impact on Star Wars and features a pretty amazing monologue from director Dave Filoni, who worked directly with Lucas on The Clone Wars. He’ll make you think about The Phantom Menace in a whole new way.

What’s a Mandalorian?

Mandalorians are humans from the Outer Rim world of Mandalore, its moon Concordia and the planet Kalevala, whose story was largely told in The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Their world went through major political upheaval during the Clone Wars and early days of the Galactic Empire’s rule, but many of the clans united under the rule of Bo-Katan Kryze after she took control of the Darksaber. The black-bladed weapon was created more than 1,000 years earlier by Tarre Vizsla (the first Mandalorian to join the Jedi Order) and became a symbol of leadership. It also showed up in The Mandalorian’s season 1 finale.

Who’s in it?

Pedro Pascal (best known for playing Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones) is the bounty hunter behind the helmet: He’s a lone Mandalorian gunfighter operating in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

He’s joined by a star-studded cast, though a couple of these characters didn’t survive season 1:

Who else is involved?

Directors for the first season:

Favreau, Filoni, Colin Wilson and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy are the executive producers, with Karen Gilchrist as co-executive producer.

The Mandalorian is among the first projects for ILM TV, a division of Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic visual effects company. The show’s soundtrack is composed by Ludwig Göransson, who scored Black Panther, Venom and Creed II. Göransson’s Black Panther score won him a Grammy and an Oscar in 2019.