Most of the focus on The Mandalorian‘s upcoming second season has either been placed on pop culture phenomenon Baby Yoda or the fan favorite characters set to make the jump to the live-action realm of Star Wars, but let’s not forget that Mando will have a pretty formidable adversary to deal with, too.
Having only been given a fleeting glimpse of Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon in the first run of episodes, the finale ended with the tease of him wielding the Darksaber, which those with an extensive knowledge of Star Wars canon know is a hugely important weapon. You don’t cast someone like Esposito, who can play menacing bad guys in his sleep, without having pretty big plans for them in the future, and the actor is poised to be a real thorn in the side of our heroes having already hinted that there’s much more to come.
In a recent interview, Esposito offered some more details on Moff Gideon’s expanded role in The Mandalorian, and may have even dropped some clues that he’ll be able to harness the power of the Force.
“To be in the position of having that regal, graceful power, but have this saber which delineates a different part of me than any other character. To have this saber means I can use it, and I can do my own dirty work, that I’m a fighter, that I’m a warrior. That’s part of me. It also creates the possibility that he is one of the ones. He possibly has that, and that to me is interesting because is he really that fallen hero? Is he a descendant of Darth Vader? Who is he? What does he want? He knows all about everything, and you’ll have to wait to find out. Yeah, he’s actually pretty good with that Darksaber too.”
By ‘descendant of Darth Vader’ you’d imagine that he means a Force-sensitive Sith as opposed to a long-lost relative, and while The Mandalorian has so far largely shied away from using the Force too heavily, it would certainly increase the threat level that Moff Gideon brings to the table.
With Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan and Boba Fett all set to make their debuts in season 2, as well as continued rumors surrounding the likes of Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger, if Moff Gideon does turn out to have Force powers, then it looks like Mando and Baby Yoda will need all the help they can get when The Mandalorian returns to our screens later this year.
