“The Mandalorian” Season Two Looks Just as Fantastic as its First Season

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It’s possible that an involuntary “OH HELL YES” escaped our lips when this dropped in front of us.

We never got a chance to talk about the first season of The Mandalorian, largely because we were gearing up for our book release at the time, and due in no small part to how much it took us off guard. Given the Disneyfication of the Star Wars brand and the diminishing returns of its recent sequels and spinoffs, we simply didn’t have any reason to believe that a series about an unknown character far removed from the events of any of the Star Wars films would turn out to be the best entry in the franchise in years; possibly decades. Not just the best; the most classically “Star Wars-ian” in tone since the original trilogy. Without covering any ground that could be called well-trod, the writers and creators of the show (Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni foremost among them), managed to tell a story that felt completely lived-in, detailed to an impeccable extent, and easily situated in the universe of Star Wars without over-borrowing or relying on its themes, locations or characters. We also couldn’t have predicted that Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Gina Carano and Nick Nolte would wind up creating some of the best, most fully realized and charismatic characters in the Star Wars universe since Leia, Luke, Han and Chewie were sniping at each other in a trash compactor.

We’re honestly not trying to throw shade at the recent sequels or the spinoffs like Rogue One and Solo. They have as many pros as cons to them, in our opinion. But The Mandalorian, in a fairly short season of 40-minute episodes (and more than a few done-in-ones), created the richest, funnest, most exciting live action version of the Star Wars universe in nearly 40 years. It really was that good. And we don’t see any evidence that it’ll be any less fantastic in its followup season.

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Granted, one of the things we really liked about its first season was how it sidelined the whole Jedi/Sith thing and effectively replaced it with the mythology and backstory of Mandalore, which is potentially just as rich and worthy of exploration as the rather wrung-out myths about space wizards. They actually succeeded in making “This is the way” as instantly iconic a phrase as “May the Force be with you.” But given the existence and Force abilities of “The Child,” (they have got to come up with a better name for Baby Yoda) we suppose they couldn’t ignore those space wizards forever, even if this does take place at a time when almost all of them are gone. Anyway, we can’t wait for this. Look for our recaps when it drops next month!

The new season of The Mandalorian starts streaming Friday, October 30, only on Disney+.

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 Mandalorian” stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez. Showrunner Jon Favreau serves as executive producer along with Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson, with Karen Gilchrist serving as co-executive producer.

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of Disney Plus – Video Credit: Star Wars via YouTube]

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