'The Mandalorian' Season 2 First Look: Jon Favreau Talks Bringing A 'Game Of Thrones' Structure To The 'Star Wars' Series

When “The Mandalorian” Season 1 debuted last year with the launch of Disney+, the platform was using the series as the crown jewel of the launch lineup. Sure, it was a guarantee that “The Mandalorian” would attract subscribers, considering its “Star Wars” lineage, but no one really thought the show would end up earning 15 Emmy nominations including Best Drama Series. But hey, Baby Yoda does weird things to people and here we are. Now, Disney+ is prepping the October release of Season 2 and has a bunch of new images to get fans psyched for the acclaimed show.

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As seen in the new images, a lot of fan favorites from Season 1 are back. Yes, that includes Baby Yoda aka the Child. In addition, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, and Giancarlo Esposito are all back for the new episodes, joining Pedro Pascal’s title character. But that’s just the beginning, as this season is expected to introduce a whole slew of new characters, led by Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano. And according to an interview with EW, this is all part of creator-writer Jon Favreau’s master plan to expand the universe of “The Mandalorian.”

“The new season is about introducing a larger story in the world,” Favreau explained. “The stories become less isolated, yet each episode has its own flavor, and hopefully we’re bringing a lot more scope to the show.”

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He added, “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.”

Of course, Favreau isn’t alone in crafting the series. As was the case last year, the filmmaker is joined by Dave Filoni, who serves not only as a writer-director on the show, but also as the de facto “Star Wars” encyclopedia.

READ MORE: Giancarlo Esposito Teases Importance And Possible Origin Of Darksaber In ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2

“I’ll come up with ideas and sometimes Dave will say, ‘You can’t do this in Star Wars,’” said Favreau. “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 [Lucas]. 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.”

Not only are fans in for a much bigger (and presumably better) season of “The Mandalorian,” it appears the October 30 premiere episode will also mark a big first for the show. That episode is actually helmed by Favreau, marking the first installment to have the filmmaker behind the camera.

You can look at the new pictures from Season 2 below:

The Mandalorian season 2
THE MANDALORIAN The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child
The Mandalorian season 2
THE MANDALORIAN Gina Carano is Cara Dune
The Mandalorian season 2
THE MANDALORIAN (Left to right) Gina Carano is Cara Dune, Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian and Carl Weathers is Greef Karga
The Mandalorian season 2
THE MANDALORIAN The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child
The Mandalorian season 2
THE MANDALORIAN Carl Weathers is Greef Karga