We still have a long ways to wait for the second season of The Mandalorian to hit Disney+, but at least now we have a firm date for when it’s coming out. The second chapter of the adventures of galaxy’s best bounty hunter and his adorable charge “the Child,” popularly known as Baby Yoda, will debut in October. And yes, coming this year is also a ton more merchandise featuring the world’s most adorable puppet baby.
This news comes straight from Disney boss Bob Iger, (via Variety) who announced the news via an earnings call to shareholders. The first season of The Mandalorian, starring Pedro Pascal in the title role, debuted in November of last year. So there will be a ten month gap between seasons overall. In other news that should make nerds happy, Iger revealed that Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere in August, while WandaVision will make its debut on Disney+ in December.
Lucasfilm
The Mandalorian is so popular, Iger strongly suggested there could even be spin-offs in the works. During the call, Iger said “The priority in the next few years (with Star Wars) is television”. He specifically said there is “more coming from The Mandalorian hereafter, including the possibility of infusing it with more characters and the possibility of taking those characters in their own directions in terms of series.”
So what could this mean? Cara Dune perhaps getting her own series? The pre-Mandalorian adventures of IG-11 perhaps? Right now, the list of characters that could spin off from The Mandalorian isn’t too long. But other characters could be added in the second season with the intention of spinning them off into their own Disney+ series.
Lucasfilm
Rumors have been making the rounds that familiar characters from the Skywalker Saga would start showing up in The Mandalorian. Certainly, Boba Fett was strongly hinted as being one of them, given the mystery man we saw in the Tatooine episode of the series. Aside from Boba, it seems a visit to Maz Kanata’s castle is also in order. She seems like the kind of character that Mando would have known and done business with at some point in his travels.
Given that the end of season one had Mando take on the task of helping the child find his people, it could be interpreted that the Jedi could be considered his people as much as his biological race is. At this point in the timeline, some five years after Return of the Jedi, Luke has no doubt begun training his first students. Could we see a cameo from another actor as young Luke? Or maybe a digitally de-aged Mark Hamill? While I think that will happen, it’s probably won’t until the end of the series. I think the Mando/Baby Yoda partnership is a long haul one.
Iger also boasted that Disney+ has attained a record 26.5 million paid subscriptions. These will increase as The Mandalorian season two arrives, and the first Marvel Studios shows begin to hit the service later this year.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm
