The Mandalorian – The Ultimate Fan Service
Season 2 of The Mandalorian has been the ultimate fan service to Star Wars nerds everywhere. Especially following the disappointment of the sequel trilogy, this show is exactly what Star Wars fans needed. Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Lion King 2019) are geniuses for creating this show and have my, along with many fan’s, utmost faith in giving justice to the continuation of the Star Wars universe.
Beware Heavy Spoilers!
Now, don’t get me wrong, season one of The Mandalorian was great. But season two was on another level. There were a few episodes that weren’t particularly amazing, and for the most part, filler episodes (usually the episodes with Cara Dune and Grief Carga). But in this season we were reintroduced to Bo-Katan and her merry band of mandos, Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett and his Slave One, and finally in the finale, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in his prime. Seeing Luke take out a full platoon of the fortuitous dark troopers without breaking a sweat was on par with the Vader scene from Rogue One. You know the one I’m talking about.
Having all of this in one season was quite the feat, and it was done very well. Nothing felt rushed or out of place; they all fit well into the web of the overarching story. Watching season 2 of The Mandalorian reawoke my excitement and love for Star Wars, in a way that the sequel movies did not. I mean, I’m not going to hate on the sequel movies like some other Star Wars fans, but something was definitely missing there. Thinking back, I wasn’t nearly as emotionally invested in the character arcs like Rey and Kylo as I am for Din Djarin and Grogu (we all still call him Baby Yoda). And I think the fact that the sequel trilogy writers had no idea who Rey’s parents were before starting the trilogy and having multiple directors just set it up to be a mess.
But with the success of The Mandalorian, many other Star Wars shows have been announced in development. Shows like Andor, a spy-thriller prequel to Rogue One following Cassian Andor; Obi-Wan Kenobi, set ten years after Revenge of the Sith and bringing back Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen; Ahoska, a direct spin-off from The Mandalorian starring Rosario Dawson and taking place within The Mandalorian timeline; Rangers of the Republic, the second Mandalorian spin-off; The Bad Batch, a new animated series by Filoni following the events of The Clone Wars; The Acolyte, a mystery thriller set in the final days of The High Republic with emerging dark-side powers; and Lando, although it is unclear whether or not Donald Glover will reprise the role from Solo. And if you watch until the end credits of The Mandalorian season 2 finale, The Book of Boba is set to release December 2021.
It is my firm belief that all of these shows were made possible due to the success of The Mandalorian. It is starting to look like it is setting up something big, like Iron Man did for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while the Star Wars fan base has been in a rough patch the last six years, the future of Star Wars is looking like we are in for a crazy ride.