Small screen ‘Star Wars’ fans praise a villain who’s cool, but not cool enough to be redeemable

The Mandalorian‘s third season is now in post-production in advance of its premiere in February 2023. The highly-anticipated new episodes will show Din Djarin dealing with the symbolic power of the Darksaber, more insight into Mandalorian culture, a trip to the heart of Mandalore itself, and a continuation of Grogu’s arc as he slowly masters the Force.

All that was helped by an antagonist for the ages. Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon was an impeccable Star Wars villain: smart, smug, confident, and able to deliver some straight-up killer monologues. He was taken into custody by the New Republic at the end of season two, but it sounds like this won’t slow him down one bit, as Esposito has said that his season 3 arc will be “off the chain”.

Now Star Wars fans are taking the time to show him some love:

We agree, as it’s impossible to feel sympathy for Gideon after he mistreats Grogu, and it was wonderful to see the smirk wiped off his face when Luke Skywalker carved through his Darktroopers. But, some replies say that casting an actor as charismatic as Esposito is playing on easy mode:

As he’s not dead, some are hoping he’ll go on to become a recurring villain as long as the show goes on:

It’ll be fun to see Gideon making his way through the galaxy without his fleet of ships or troops. Even as an individual, he’s dangerous, as proven by wielding the Darksaber in combat, demonstrating skill with a blaster, and being a competent TIE Fighter pilot. By the end of season two he clearly has good cause to want to get revenge on Din Djarin, so we’re hoping his story doesn’t end anytime soon.