SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHAPTER 11 AND CHAPTER 12 OF THE MANADLORIAN
In the latest episode of The Mandalorian directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, we learn that actress Mercedes Varando aka Sasha Banks isn’t playing Star Wars: Rebels character Sabine Wren after all (debunking the rumor). Instead, she is playing one of the members of Bo-Katan’s (played by Katee Sackoff) Nite Owls. The other two are called Axe Woves and Koska Reeves, the latter played by Banks.
Bo-Katan is on a mission to retrieve the Darksaber from Moff Gideon and this would suggest Mando will cross paths with the Nite Owls later on in the season as he’s also interested in The Child for unknown reasons.
She also mentions that Mando is part of a Mandalorian cult called The Children of Watch and taking off your helmet isn’t as required as he previously thought.
Chapter 12 seemingly will reveal the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano (played by Rosario Dawson) as Bo-Katan tells Mando that the Jedi can be found in city of Calodan on the planet Corvus.
Bosch actor Titus Welliver played an Imperial Captain in a cameo appearance.
An excerpt from a new interview from George Lucas has been making the rounds online (via Reddit) that comes from a new book titled The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005 has the franchise creator talking-up ideas he had for the sequel trilogy that ultimately weren’t used by Lucasfilm/Disney. Lucas first mentioned that Disney wasn’t interested in his ideas during his infamous interview where he called them “white slavers”.
He alludes that he wanted Luke Skywalker to restart the Jedi with what seems to be 50-100 Jedi that survived the events of Order 66 from Revenge of The Sith, it sounds like a much larger amount than we would have expected.
LUCAS: “It starts out a few years after Return of The Jedi and we establish pretty quickly that there’s this underworld, there are offshoot stormtroopers who started their own planets, and that Luke is trying to restart the Jedi. He puts the word out, so out of 100,000 Jedi, maybe 50 or 100 are left. The Jedi have to grow again from scratch, so Luke has to find two and three-year-olds, and train them. It’ll be 20 years before you have a new generation of Jedi”
“By the end of the trilogy Luke would have rebuilt much of the Jedi, and we would have the renewal of the New Republic, with Leia, Senator Organa, becoming the Supreme Chancellor in charge of everything. So she ended up being the Chosen One.”
I’m slightly curious if this germ of an idea is why Disney wanted to explore a Jedi characters like Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Kanan Jarrus in Rebels both survivors of Order 66. I’m also curious if they try to reuse it in the Disney+ shows.
Ultimately, the version of Luke Skywalker we saw wasn’t this version as Lucas alludes wanting to have a new Jedi Order established, which never happened in the films we got.
Leia’s final journey was more than likely hindered because of her sudden death while Colin Trevorrow was still working on Duel of The Fates and they had to make creative choices to work around that tragedy.
One of the biggest issues a lot of fans of myself with the prequel trilogy is that it never really had a menacing villain and once they killed off Darth Maul, who at the time felt like was going to become the next Darth Vader was dispensed so quickly it felt like a horrible mistake on the part of George Lucas. Neither Darth Sidous and Count Dooku really measured up “great villains” feeling like Maul was wasted potential.
Well, it sounds like Lucas had plans on bringing him back for his version of the sequel trilogy that was never used by Lucasfilm/Disney.
During a interview for a new retrospective book on the prequels titled The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, George states that he wanted to use both Darth Maul and Darth Talon (Legends/Expanded Universe character) as the villains in the new trilogy with the latter becoming the new Vader of those films.
What looks like a page from the book with these details leaked on Reddit.
LUCAS: “Darth Maul trained a girl, Darth Talon, who was in the comic books, as his apprentice. She was the new Darth Vader, and most of the action was with her. So these were the two main villains of the trilogy.Maul eventually becomes the godfather of crime in the universe because, as the Empire falls, he takes over.”
Darth Maul got a bit of redemption from his wasted use in The Phantom Menace in The Clone Wars and Rebels becoming more of a developed character. Then reappearing in a brief cameo at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story as a crimelord in Crimson Dawn, which seemed to mirror what Lucas had in mind for the new trilogy. Despite unverified rumors it doesn’t seem likely we’ll see the character return in the live-action realm anytime soon given that Darth Maul actor Ray Park may have posted revenge porn on his Instagram account.
The inclusion of Darth Talon is interesting since we’ve seen her pop-up in a lot of places in the Star Wars mythology and development.
Darth Talon from Star Wars: Legacy published by Dark Horse Comics
Darth Talon originally came from the Dark Horse Comics run but under Disney wouldn’t be part of canon anymore allowing Lucasfilm to use the character however they’d like. There had been development on a Darth Maul game titled Battle of The Sith Lords that included Talon in concept artwork but the project was ultimately killed after Disney acquired the company.
Darth Maul & Darth Talon concept artwork from Battle of The Sith Lords
Her journey didn’t seem to end with Disney there as unused concept artwork from Star Wars: The Force Awakens confirms that someone at Lucasfilm considered using Darth Talon in the new films but for whatever reason J.J. Abrams or Kathleen Kennedy decided against it.
Darth Talon concept art from Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Asajj Ventress, a key figure in The Clone Wars happened to be based on a rejected Sith design from the prequels but got second life in the animation side of things. It sounds like Lucas wanted the same thing for Talon on the live-action side, but it was never fully realized.
I’d personally love to see Talon get her own series which could be in the cards as Disney+ seems to be keen to develop various Star Wars shows.
In the latest episode of The Mandalorian, we saw the return of Dave Filoni playing his X-Wing pilot Trapper Wolf but even more interesting is that they added Kim’s Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Trapper Wolf’s fellow New Republic pilot Captain Carson Teva.
The Star Wars super-fan gave a huge nod to Season 1 of the The Mandalorian over Halloween dressing up as a Scout Trooper with Baby Yoda.
The seasoned Canadian actor has been growing in popularity thanks to the international attention on the CBC comedy series which introduced Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu to the world before landing the Marvel Studios role. It’s also worth noting that Simu Liu has been telegraphing for a while now he’d like to join the Star Wars Universe at some point in time.
I’m sure we’ll see more neat cameos in future episodes.
Yesterday, Deadline broke a rumor that filming on an unannounced Boba Fett series could begin as early as this week.
They also added some new details concerning the untitled female-centric series coming from Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland. Stating that it will be an action thriller that will have martial arts elements taking place in “an alternate timeline”.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that Disney+ is developing a female-centered Star Wars series, written and showrun by Leslye Headland, believed to be a female-driven action thriller with martial arts elements and set in an alternate timeline from the usual Star Wars universe. The rumored spinoff is said to be separate from this Star Wars project but the situation is fluid.
While we’ve seen Jedi and gunslingers, we really haven’t seen a martial arts type project before. Star Wars: The Force Awakens featured The Raid 1-2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 actors Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, and Cecep Arif Rahman as the group Kanjiklub. All three known for martial arts films. It’ll be interesting if they’ll be pursuing those kinds of actors for this new “action” series.
Martial arts star Donnie Yen’s also had a supporting role as Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
It remains to be seen where this timeline will land. I know fans like myself would enjoy a setting in The Old Republic and could be one of the better untapped sectors of the Star Wars Universe.
In Chapter 10, directed by Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed, we see Season 1 actress Misty Rosas return after playing Kuiil (voiced by Nick Nolte) to take a new role of the Frog Lady fare and Richard Ayoade’s droid bounty hunter makes a brief return too.
Mando encounters some tie-fighter pilots leading to him wrecking the ship and stranding the group on an icy planet.
We also see a huge call-back to the white spiders created by artist Ralph McQuarrie for The Empire Strikes Back (seen above) and excellently used on this snowy planet, the new episode also homages both James Cameron’s Aliens and John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing. They were also used in Star Wars: Rebels and given the name of Krykna.
Between tackling the Krykna in this new episode and the Krayt dragon on Tatooine in Chapter 9, it is starting to feel like the visual effects budget has been greatly increased from Season 1.
Here is a new batch of concept artwork from Chapter 10.
Deadline is claiming that a Boba Fett miniseries is set to begin shooting this week before Season 3 of The Mandalorian.
A project that has yet to be confirmed officially by Lucasfilm or Disney.
I hear possibly a Boba Fett miniseries, would film first, starting next week, with The Mandalorian Season 3 following after a monthlong break.
We previously got confirmation that actor Temurea Morrison would be taking the Boba Fett role in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, as his New Zealand agency confirmed the part in an official CV document.
Information on this Boba Fett series is limited given that Lucasfilm hasn’t even announced it officially or who is working on it. We also don’t know if it will be following Morrison or a younger incarnation of the character before the events of the original trilogy. Daniel Logan played a younger version of Boba in the prequels and could be the right age for a series.
Josh Trank and Simon Kinberg had been developing a Boba Fett movie for Lucasfilm before the project dissolved after the hiccups at 20th Century Fox making Fantastic Four. Lucasfilm attempted a second incarnation of the Fett movie but development there stalled again leading to the studio to pivot to The Mandalorian series instead along with the other spinoff films like Solo: A Star Wars Story.
This path would seemingly echo how Ewan McGregor’s Kenobi film turned into a limited series for Disney+ with The Mandalorian’s Deborah Chow set to direct that show after film development didn’t stick.
Boba Fett is established as a clone of Jango Fett (played by Temurea Morrison) and first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special in the animated sequence, then appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi (also in Special Edition of A New Hope years after it’s original release). A younger live-action incarnation of Boba Fett (played by Daniel Logan) was last seen in Star Wars: Attack of The Clones.
Who exactly is directing or writing this Boba Fett project is unknown.
Deadline is reporting a rumor that American actress Sophie Thatcher (Prospect) is joining The Mandalorian universe in Season 3, a spinoff series or both. It’s unclear at the moment what the project is, however, they suggest that rumor of a spinoff featuring Cara Dune and Bo-Katan is untrue for the moment.
A recent online report pointed to a potential offshoot featuring Cara Dune, played by Gina Carano, and the Star Wars Rebels character Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff, who has been rumored to appear The Mandalorian‘s second season.) Such a project does not appear to be real, at least for now.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that Disney+ is developing a female-centered Star Wars series, written and showrun by Leslye Headland, believed to be a female-driven action thriller with martial arts elements and set in an alternate timeline from the usual Star Wars universe. The rumored spinoff is said to be separate from this Star Wars project but the situation is fluid.
It remains to be seen what this spinoff series could be if it’s something else than what has been reported previously. They’re also not disclosing information concerning Thatcher’s Star Wars role.
Sophie previously worked with The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal in the sci-fi thriller Prospect.
Showrunner and director Jon Favreau has stated that they’re hopeful to roll cameras before the end of the year. Deadline is also pointing to a start in 2021.
Earlier this morning we posted about Season 3’s working title seemingly being confirmed as Buccaneer via Production Weekly (originally coming from The DisInsider last month), a potential sign we could be seeing more pirates, smugglers, thieves, and criminal syndicates in the new season. Also, our own speculation that beloved alien pirate, Hondo Ohnaka, could show up given he’s still alive in this era of Star Wars and Filoni adding his characters from the animated series in Season 2.
Depending on how the shoot goes, Season 3 might be ready to air on Disney+ by the end of 2021.
It was posted by Production Weekly that the working title of Season 3 of Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian will be Buccaneer.
The title is a pirate term which could suggest that a beloved Clone Wars/Rebels character like Hondo Ohnaka might be showing up in Season 3, but that is more speculation given how other animation characters are said to have live-action counterparts appearing in Season 2.
However, it is worth noting that Hondo happens to be a character at Galaxy’s Edge (means he is alive in The Mandalorian era and beyond) and there is an obvious reason to link a theme park character to the popular series.
It could also be a nod to the criminal group Dharus Buccaneers.
There are plenty of pirate gangs and criminal syndicates in Star Wars but we really haven’t seen them in full display as The Mandalorian (so far) has been mostly exploring the world of bounty hunters and Imperial forces with limited interaction with the criminal side of the galaxy.
Back in August, The Ronin reported that Jon Favreau is returning as writer, producer, showrunner, and director. He’s expected to direct at least one episode in Season 3 as he recently directed the Season 2 premiere. We also confirmed that Emmy-winning production designer Andrew Jones would be returning.
There is also an assumption that Dave Filoni will be back as a director too.
Favreau has suggested to Variety that filming could begin before the end of the year.
Executive producer and showrunner Jon Favreau told Variety that The Mandalorian is “on schedule” to start production on Season 3 of the series “before the end of the year” — after Pascal wraps shooting in Europe on the feature film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with Nicolas Cage.
Despite fan rumblings of actor Pedro Pascal being replaced as Din Djarin aka Mando that doesn’t seem to be happening given how credible sources haven’t supported that chatter and Pascal has been heavily promoting the series (even on his own time).
The working title was first brought-up by Skyler from The DisInsider back in October via Twitter and is now seemingly confirmed by Production Weekly’s update.
The working title for The Mandalorian season 3 is BUCCANEER!
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.
Warning spoilers ahead for Episode 1 of the new season of The Mandalorian.
Character actor John Leguizamo (John Wick) reunites with Chef director Jon Favreau on the Season 2 premiere episode of The Mandalorian titled The Marshall. John plays the seedy gangster Gor Koresh in the opening sequence who wants Mando’s armor because of the value of it.
Also, in the episode we got confirmation that Timothy Olyphant plays Cobb Vanth, a Tatooine marshal (a nod to Justified?) that happened to acquire Boba Fett’s armor from jawas. It’s super interesting to see a live-action version of a Star Wars Legends character in the series, hopefully, we see more in the future.
Temuera Morrison showed up briefly at the end to show his face.
Here is a batch of concept art from the first episode as well.
THE RONIN 