The Mandalorian: We Have Some Theories About What Might Happen in Season 2

We don't know much about the show's biggest baddie so far, only that he's a former imperial commander who led the destruction of Mandalore and has an apparent obsession with certain Force-related things. He's chasing down The Child, presumably with the goal of extracting midichlorians from the Force-sensitive being, and in the season finale, he is revealed to have acquired the Darksaber, a legendary weapon traditionally wielded by Mandalorian Jedi Knights.

Reddit user Gremlech thinks this is all part of Gideon's master plan. "Gideon's end game: Find out how to give himself the force. Lightsaber. Vader costume. He just needs the one thing he cant easily steal or have made. He needs to study magic baby in order to figure out how to make Midichlorian juice." The theory suggests that Gideon's ultimate goal is to artificially turn himself into a Sith lord so that he can restore the Empire. It would certainly explain why a seemingly ordinary Imperial leader would be so obsessed with Jedi-related objects and beings. Remember, too, that we have no idea how or why he acquired the Darksaber, which was last heard of during the Imperial era in the possession of Bo-Katan, a Mandalorian leader. Gideon's possession of a Jedi weapon is sure to play a major role in season two, regardless of his ultimate plans.

In the season one finale, Din Djarin is formally charged with the care of Baby Yoda, which includes a pledge to attempt to take him to his real home. "By creed it is in your care . . . You have no choice, you must reunite it with its own kind," the Mandalorian Armorer reminds Din. This seems like a pretty obvious hint that season two will, at least in part, revolve around the Mandalorian attempting to fulfill this promise by searching for the Child's true origins.

Of course, that's easier said than done. Yoda's species is famously mysterious, and very little is known about them in-universe or in fan lore. We don't even know the Child's real name, hence the "Baby Yoda" nickname! In some ways, that's parallel to the Mandalorian in season one: identified more by origin than by real name until the season finale, so perhaps the same thing will happen in season two with Baby Yoda!

There's a catch to this, though — the Armorer's line about Baby Yoda's "own kind" is part of a larger discussion not about the child's species, but about the Jedi Order. If that's the case, then it opens even more doors: at this point in the Star Wars timeline (soon after the original trilogy ended and the Empire fell), we've always assumed the last known Jedi is Luke Skywalker — could there be more in hiding all this time? Have some of the Rebels characters (such as Ahsoka Tano) have survived? These questions could easily be at the center of The Mandalorian's second season.

Din Djarin briefly encountered some of the Mandalorian diaspora in season one, but he seemed somewhat disconnected from them. With more of the history of Mandalore appearing in the form of the Darksaber, it's hard to believe there won't be a bigger focus on his home world. Reddit user KaliReed certainly thinks so: "Going to Mandalore now for sure I bet. The darksaber is far too important to the Mandalorians to not make a big live action mandalore reveal."

That being said, there's also another possibility. We learned at the end of season one that Din is not a native-born Mandalorian, but a foundling taken in by the Mandalorians when his own home and family were destroyed by the Empire. Season two might see a conflict between him seeking out his birth origins and his loyalty to Mandalore, which would give him a new layer of internal conflict that wasn't as foregrounded in the first season.

Plot points from the animated Star Wars shows, particularly Star Wars: Rebels, have already been introduced on The Mandalorian (see: the Darksaber), so it would make a lot of sense to finally bring animated characters into the live-action universe. In particular, two characters would seem to be natural fits for The Mandalorian, because they're Mandalorians too: Sabine Wren and Bo-Katan Kryze.

Bo-Katan's current status at the time of The Mandalorian is unknown. In the Rebels era, she takes charge of the Mandalorian resistance and wields the Darksaber, and that's the last she's seen. By the time The Mandalorian rolls around, several years later in the overall timeline, the Darksaber is possessed by Moff Gideon and Bo-Katan is nowhere to be found. It seems all but certain that the show will have to include her in any explanation of how Gideon acquired the saber.

Sabine, meanwhile, would be a particularly interesting foil to Din Djarin. While he's an adopted Mandalorian who strictly adheres to their code (especially with regards to never removing his helmet), Sabine is a native-born Mandalorian who's a lot looser about observing those rules. Live-action characters have crossed over into the animated shows frequently, but the reverse isn't true, so the presence of a crossover feels long overdue.