First Images From 'The Mandalorian Season 2' Feature Gina Carano and Carl Weathers

Star Wars fans are very hyped for The Mandalorian season 2, which is premiering on October 30 on Disney+. With the season ever-approaching, many fans have been expecting and asking for a season 2 trailer. Personally, I would be totally fine if no trailer were released at all. People would likely still watch. And anyway, I do not even remember the season 1 trailer.

That being said, we recently got a glimpse at the logo for season 2, which includes The Child next to the titular character. Now, we have new images from Entertainment Weekly. As one would expect, The Child and Din Djarin are featured. For those not already in the know about other returning characters, however, it may be reassuring to see that there are also images of Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and Greef Carga (Carl Weathers).

Just from watching the end of the season 1 finale, a casual viewer might expect that The Mandalorian and The Child are parting ways with Cara and Greef, and that this might mean that they are out of the show, perhaps even permanently. However, that is not the case, as the characters are returning. And after all, why should they not? The Mandalorian was praised for its introduction of new characters. Rather than relying on familiarity, season 1 took a chance on new characters and let the performances speak to the audience. Characters like Cara and Greef resonated with viewers, and those viewers will likely be ecstatic to see them return. With new characters, there is less baggage and therefore a lack of expectations.

We also got a new image of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who is sure to continue being a threat to the protagonists.

Dave Filoni compared the series to Game of Thrones in terms of the handling of the characters:

“As we introduce other characters, there are opportunities to follow different storylines. The world was really captivated by Game of Thrones and how that evolved as the characters followed different storylines — that's very appealing to me as an audience member.”

The Mandalorian on hovercycle

Most of the writing for the series is done by Jon Favreau, while Filoni acts as an editor of sorts to keep things in line with Star Wars as we know it. Filoni described the simplicity of the approach to the series:

“George started with these very iconic characters whose relationships are very clear, and then introduced what’s at stake — for us, the [fate of] the Child. An audience tends to enjoy a story by sticking to tropes and characters they understand — like a gunslinger in the Old West."

Between these two, there is a balance. Favreau commented further about their process:

“I’ll come up with ideas and sometimes Dave will say, ‘You can’t do this in Star Wars.’ Then I’ll cite examples from the movies, or Clone Wars, to try to use as a justification. I’m like a lawyer talking to a judge; I am to him as he was to George. I won't do anything without Dave's approval. And to his credit, he understands that Stars Wars needs to be fun and ever-evolving.”

Touching upon rumors of the show, Gina Carano said, “Some of them are true, some are not true.” Given the rumors that have been coming out about familiar characters possibly making appearances in season 2, one cannot help but wonder how true those rumors are. As cool as it might be for someone to see their older favorites again, the series should not let such familiar characters overshadow the new favorites. The new characters that have been introduced in The Mandalorian have really carried the show. In order for Star Wars to keep evolving, it needs to put more of an emphasis on newer characters. One can only hope that The Mandalorian season 2 will feel like a next step in the evolution as opposed to a step backward.

Written By Steven Shinder

Syndicated From Culture Slate