The upcoming second season of The Mandalorian might feature the live-action debuts of fan favorite animated characters Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan, with Rosario Dawson playing the former and Katee Sackhoff reprising her voice role as the latter, but nobody can argue that the major selling point of the show is going to be anything other than the return to our screens of Baby Yoda.
A 50 year-old alien sidekick in a sci-fi TV series doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that would launch a multi-billion dollar merchandising machine on paper, but The Child is the biggest breakout character the Star Wars franchise has seen in years, and became a cultural phenomenon long before the first eight episodes had even reached their conclusion.
Today’s unveiling of a whole host of new images makes it seem like the arrival of that elusive trailer is more imminent than ever, and in a new interview, star Giancarlo Esposito, who hasn’t been shy in divulging details on his vastly increased amount of screentime in season 2, hinted that Moff Gideon could even end up facing off against Baby Yoda once he’s done with Mando after Entertainment Weekly teased that he’d get some one-on-one time with the little green guy.
“I’ll be going toe-to-toe with Mando. It’s an iconic battle. I want to disarm him mentally as well. Who knows? Maybe there’s an opportunity to get him to fight some battles for me. You may think I’m a villain, but I’m trying to harness some energy and some powers for a path that could be best for all. You’ll get to see him be somewhat diplomatic and more of a manipulator.”
We’ve only seen glimpses of Baby Yoda’s Force powers so far, but if the the older version of his species could backflip and bounce across the screen like someone hundreds of years younger in the Prequel Trilogy, then there’s every chance that The Child is more than capable of throwing down. Moff Gideon is shaping up to be a formidable and dangerous adversary, too, and the central duo will have to keep their wits about them when The Mandalorian returns to our screens next month.