Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Season 1! If you haven’t tuned into the series on Disney+, Rise of Skywalker and other notable Star Wars happenings turn back now! I have spoken.
Going into the first season of the The Mandalorian, we had our suspicions that the show from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni might connect to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, but we had no idea it would most famously come in the form of The Child (lovingly named Baby Yoda for now). What’s amazing about the Disney+ series is it greatly stands apart from other Star Wars movies and shows. But going into Season 2, we’re left with questions that could certainly tie the show with Star Wars characters we’ve definitely met before.
The Mandalorian returns in fall 2020 and it’s been teased that “several established characters” from the Skywalker Saga will appear in Season 2, per IndieWire. And what about that big Darksaber reveal? It certainly could point to events in the Star Wars animated series too. Let’s talk out all the possibilities here. Which Star Wars characters are going to show up in the second season of The Mandalorian?
Boba Fett
Since The Mandalorian was announced, fans have been trying to distinguish if there’s a connection between the show’s star and the legendary Boba Fett. Many still believe the bounty hunter will finally play a larger role in a live-action Star Wars series. When Jon Favreau was asked about his potential appearance in the first season, he said the character "is not one of the all-new original characters" appearing in the first season on Good Morning America.
The character presumably died in Return of the Jedi, but perhaps he survived being eaten by a Sarlacc after Luke Skywalker knocked Boba off the desert skiff. Fans have theorized that Boba Fett is the mysterious figure who approached the corpse of Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec at the end of episode five. Because the character walked with Boba’s infamous spurs, it could be him? Plus, some fans even noticed him potentially lurking in the background.
Darth Maul
Perhaps the biggest reveal during the finale of The Mandalorian was the moment when the Darksaber came into play. Moff Gideon was revealed to not only survive his crash, but be in possession of the legendary lightsaber. For die-hard fans of the franchise, the very appearance of the Darksaber opens up a ton of possibilities, especially concerning the origins of who has been in possession of the ancient weapon.
In the second season of the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, none-other than The Phantom Menace’s Darth Maul comes in possession of the Darksaber. And considering Solo: A Star Wars Story resurrected him for a short cameo after dying in Star Wars: Rebels, who knows? Could he return for The Mandalorian? Chances are his appearances would be in flashbacks if the series focuses toward the Darksaber. He’s certainly one of the most badass villains in Star Wars that we wouldn’t mind seeing again.
Bo-Katan Kryze
One of the most legendary Mandalorians to show up in the Star Wars animated series is Bo-Katan Kryze. She’s the last person to have been known to wield the Darksaber - so when Moff Gideon was shown with the lightsaber in his own possession, fans of this character have assumed she must have been defeated and killed off in order for it to be possible. But, the voice actress of Bo-Katan tweeted this a couple months ago:
Yes, it’s vague and could be completely unrelated to any of this, but it should be noted that Katee Sackhoff tweeted this out during a time when The Mandalorian Season 2 was known to be in the middle of filming. Will the show perhaps fill in the gaps of how Moff Gideon obtained the weapon from Bo-Katan? It would be awesome to see the character come over to live action!
Sabine Wren
Another character in connection with the Darksaber found in Star Wars Rebels is Sabine Wren. She is another iconic Mandalorian warrior who also had the weapon in question in her hands right before Bo-Katan. She is the one to gift Bo-Katan with the Darksaber. If Bo-Katan died protecting the Darksaber, perhaps Sabine will debut in live action as well to avenge her friend and do her duty. It is the way!
Ahsoka Tano
At the end of The Rise of Skywalker before Rey’s final big moment with Emperor Palpatine when she connects with the force, there were a number of exciting voice cameos such as Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen and the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels was also among the mix too!
The Clone Wars hero is a fan-favorite and Rosario Dawson has even campaigned a bit about fans’ interest in her portraying the character in live action! The character would be in her mid-40s if she appeared in The Mandalorian. And, why not? Let it happen! In the timeline (during the Star Wars Rebels epilogue) Ahsoka meets up with Sabine in order to look for Ezra Bridger, and speaking of that guy…
Ezra Bridger
Could Force-sensitive Jedi Padawan, Ezra Bridger appear in The Mandalorian? I know this is starting to sound like a big ‘ole live-action Star Wars: Rebels reunion, but let’s just focus on Ezra for a moment. His disappearance has never received any kind of payoff yet. It’s just kind of there and The Mandalorian could be a great place for the character to reappear. Sure – even in a bit of a wonky way with a jump from animation but live-action!
Ezra would still be pretty young in The Mandalorian timeline and Pedro Pascal’s leading hero is more likely to team up with a Force-sensitive hero who is more off books like he is than an actual Jedi. Dyn Jarren will need all the help he can get as he attempts to find a place for “The Child” and he may have some insight into where the Yoda species live thanks to the cave drawings he finds during the series that definitely had something to do with them.
Bossk
After these big swings regarding The Mandalorian colliding with various animated characters from the Star Wars canon, let’s go back to the Original Trilogy. That recent report did point to the second season featuring characters from the Skywalker Saga - not the extended television shows, so let’s explore this angle again. There’s a number of bounty hunter characters that were employed by Darth Vader, such as Bossk.
This background Transdoshan bounty hunter likes to hunt Wookiees and is hired by Darth Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon. He was also beaten by Mandalorian legend Boba Fett to the bounty. This would be such a fun nod! Back before The Mandalorian premiered, fans were already theorizing that he might join the first season since an image revealed Pascal’s character fighting off a pair of Trandoshans.
Dengar
In the same vein of Bossk, Dengar is another one of Vader’s bounty hunters who was rumored to appear in Season 1 of The Mandalorian as well, in a quest to capture Han Solo. The Corellian has been operating since the first stages of the Clone Wars and it would be awesome to finally have a larger role in Star Wars with The Mandalorian. Oh, and Simon Pegg totally voiced his short appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Maz Kanata
Rise of Skywalker marked the end of the Skywalker Saga, but fans were still left with some questions by the end of it and some of the character’s established got the short end of the stick as far as screen time. One of the oldest members of the Resistance by the end of Rise of Skywalker is Maz Kanata. Lupita Nyong’o played a lovable new character, could she show up in The Mandalorian?
Maz is notably 1000 years old when we meet her in the New Trilogy, so she could cross paths with Pedro Pascal’s hero and Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian. She’s very wise, helpful and she often hangs around in the kind of places where our central Mando often gets his bounties. If she showed up, it could also give fans insight on how she obtained Luke’s saber too!
Luke Skywalker
During the time The Mandalorian takes place, since Yoda and Obi-Wan died during the Original Trilogy. So, Luke is the last of the Jedi. As he gears up to teaching more students (notably with Ben Solo), he might be very interested to meet Baby Yoda. The force is certainly with the adorable child and he must feel his presence, right?
It would be an incredibly ballsy move, especially after the Rise of Skywalker ended the saga centering on this lineage. Mark Hamill’s done with the character and the thought of recasting just doesn’t feel right. Either way, it is possible. It could happen. Many fans would agree that it shouldn’t happen.
There’s a ton of speculation here. But, what do you think? Will The Mandalorian bring back any of these Star Wars characters to Season 2? Sound off in the comments below!
