While fans of The Mandalorian are eager to learn more about the upcoming second season, there’s a chance that Disney’s marketing could end up damaging the show. And that’s not a statement we make lightly.
The first season grew to global popularity almost overnight, which says a lot when it comes to Star Wars and its divisive nature. Almost everything the Mouse House has done since acquiring the rights to the galaxy far, far away back in 2012 has somehow ensued in controversy, so it was a surprise to everyone that Jon Favreau’s new series instantly stole our hearts and became a fan-favorite production. A surprise to be sure, but one that was absolutely welcome. In all fairness, at some point, fans ought to grow tired of all the complaining. I guess it’s nice that we finally have something in this fandom that we can unanimously feel excited about, even if it’s not the main saga of movies.
This is exactly why Lucasfilm should be careful about how they promote The Mandalorian. Over the past few months, a lot of leaks have hinted that several characters, including Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, Bo-Katan and Hera Syndulla will make an appearance in season 2. The latest reports even suggest that Temuera Morrison has been cast to portray Boba Fett. All very exciting to hear, right? The only catch being, these rumors tend to fuel a lot of expectations, most of which probably won’t be fulfilled by the time the next batch of episodes come to a close.
And where there are expectations, there’s bound to be disappointment. Even now, a lot of people are speculating about how Ahsoka ties into the story of Mando and Baby Yoda, with some even going so far as to write down plot details. While these fan theories don’t usually turn out to be true, this kind of marketing could end up damaging the show’s prospects.
After all, we went to the first season without knowing anything about the story other than the fact that it was about a Mandalorian bounty hunter, and we were pleasantly surprised in every stage of the narrative. Will we end up saying the same thing about the upcoming chapter, though?
