Star Wars Easter eggs and references. The first season of The Mandalorian was essentially the Disney+ flagship show, and it proved an absolute hit, releasing to popular and critical acclaim. Season 2 was able to finish production before the coronavirus pandemic, and Disney has confirmed episodes will begin coming out on Disney+ on October 30.
Casting decisions have raised some concern that The Mandalorian season 2 could be preoccupied with placing the Lucasfilm live-action television series in its context in the Star Wars galaxy, and that this would lead to season 2 losing its own sense of unique identity. Fortunately, The Mandalorian season 2 trailer seems designed to assuage those fears, reassuring viewers that this is the continuation of the story begun in season 1. The Mandalorian himself and Baby Yoda are at the center of the trailer, reassuring audiences that they won't be overshadowed by the likes of Boba Fett or Ahsoka Tano.
Like all trailers, The Mandalorian season 2's trailer is designed to conceal as much as to reveal, whetting fans' appetite to see what really does happen. Still, it features a lot of important Easter eggs that hint at a more serialized approach to storytelling, with the Mandalorian now on a quest to locate the Jedi. Let's examine all the Easter eggs.
21. A Mysterious Gas Giant and a Moon
It's a big galaxy, and all the best Star Wars films and TV series expand it. Lucasfilm Television's commitment to doing just that was demonstrated in The Mandalorian season 1, which introduced a whole host of new planets to the galaxy. The trailer for The Mandalorian season 2 opens with a promise that it will continue to add new worlds to the galaxy, with an opening shot featuring an unknown gas giant. One of the moons orbiting the gas giant is clearly inhabitable, and Mando and Baby Yoda are heading there. No context is provided for this new world, so it may be a major location, or alternatively it could just be a stopping-off point.
20. The Razor Crest Is Damaged
The Razor Crest flies into view, heading towards the unknown moon. Mando's ship has clearly taken a battering, and note the landing ramp is down for some reason. That doesn't mean the Razor Crest's interior is exposed to vacuum, though, because in the Star Wars galaxy most ships have force-fields as a secondary protection in the event something happens like this. Still, there's clearly a story behind this, perhaps suggesting Mando has barely survived a starfight of some kind, and is now headed for sanctuary on this mystery moon. A later shot shows the Razor Crest burning up in an atmosphere, its flight clearly barely controlled; given the damage the Razor Crest has sustained, that likely continues from here. The music in The Mandalorian season 2's trailer is a riff on the first season, slowed down and made more contemplative. It gives the trailer a more nuanced, self-assured feel - but there's still a lot of action to follow.
19. The Mandalorian & The Child
The Mandalorian season 2 trailer moves on to show its starring characters, Mando - or Din Djarin, as he was finally named in season 1 - and Baby Yoda. The bond between the two seems to have grown closer since the first season, suggesting there's been some age of time. The trailer uses dialogue from the Armorer in season 1, in which she asked to see the one who had been worth so much disruption to the last remnants of Mandalorian civilization, and gave Din Djarin a mission. This is a smart move on Lucasfilm's part, because it emphasizes season 2 as a continuation of that story. It's impossible to say what world Mando and Baby Yoda are on at this point, because it's only visible when you adjust the color contrast. They're arriving in the dead of night, which may or may not be deliberate; it's easier to slip into a town unnoticed when a lot of the inhabitants are asleep.
18. A Mysterious City Location - With Curious Graffiti
It seems Mando and Baby Yoda are walking into an unknown city. The architectural style is unfamiliar, so this may be another brand new location. Adjusting the color contrast reveals the walls are covered with graffiti, and there's some discussion the artwork is reminiscent of Sabine Wren's in Rosario Dawson as a live-action Ahsoka Tano, and she was last seen traveling into the Unknown Regions with Sabine, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see references to Sabine as well. It's too soon to say for certain, however, because more (and clearer) samples of the artwork will be needed. A later shot shows Mando hanging a victim by the feet here, so he may be on a bounty.
17. Return To Tatooine
season 2 returns to Tatooine, as evidenced by shots like the one above, showing a Tusken Raider riding a bantha, with the Razor's Crest in the distance. This return makes sense, as season 1 left a lot of loose ends on Luke Skywalker's homeworld. There were hints the last remnants of the Empire had retained some sort of presence on Tatooine, and the natives didn't exactly welcome them with open arms; when Mando walked through Mos Eisley he saw Stormtrooper helmets on pikes, a clear warning to any other Imperials who'd be tempted to head there. While he was on Tatooine in season 1, Mando encountered Imperial assassin Fennec Shand, who claimed to be trying to make a rendezvous at Mos Espa. Note that Mos Espa doesn't have a spaceport, so whoever Shand was attempting to meet is likely based on Tatooine.
Temuera Morrison has been cast as Boba Fett in The Mandalorian season 2, and it's generally believed he was set up on Tatooine in season 1, episode 5. In the final scenes, the unconscious Shand was approached by an unseen character, whose boots made a clinking sound as he walked. Star Wars has associated those kind of spurs with Boba Fett. This may, of course, simply be smart misdirection on Lucasfilm's part.
16. The Mandalorian May Be Visiting Ilum
A number of scenes in The Mandalorian season 2 trailer show Mando and Baby Yoda heading to an icy world, Jedi: Fallen Order, and the aesthetics there were identical to this frigid world. By the time of The Mandalorian, five years after the Battle of Endor, it will be in its final stages.
15. The Mandalorian Investigates A Crashed Ship
There's another shot of this mystery ice planet, showing Mando and Baby Yoda investigating a crashed ship. It appears to be quite a small vessel, and it doesn't look to have been there for too long; notice that it hasn't been buried by the snow. Baby Yoda is unusually reserved and contemplative in this shot, which may well fit with the theory this is Ilum; the pain of the kyber crystals would resonate in the Force, and Baby Yoda would sense that.
14. A Quarren Market - Suggesting A Visit To Mon Cala?
The next shot moves to some sort of market at a fishing town. The bleached color scheme is reminiscent of Corellia in planet Mon Cala, in an often tense relationship with the Mon Calamari (the most notable example of which is iral Ackbar). Mon Cala played a key role in the Galactic Civil War, because its extensive shipyards produced some of the Rebel Alliance's most important capital ships. If this is Mon Cala, it's the first hint Mando and Baby Yoda are scouting out Republic worlds.
13. Mandalore Versus The Jedi
The Armorer's dialogue from The Mandalorian season 1 has been continuing in the background all through this sequence, and it is finally building to a climax. The Armorer tells Din Djarin of the legends of the Jedi, a race who fought against the Mandalorians eons ago. She is recounting the legend of Mandalore the Great, the Mandalorian who became a Jedi Knight but left them; and, of course, she is also hinting at the origin of the Darksaber. The only known black lightsaber in existence, this is almost sacred to the Mandalorians, and is traditionally wielded by their leader.
Moff Gideon was revealed to have acquired it at the end of The Mandalorian season 1, and attentive viewers will note the sound of the Darksaber's being activated in the background as the Armorer discusses the history between the Jedi and the Mandalorians. According to Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Moff Gideon, "[The Darksaber] is a key to Moff Gideon’s past, which possibly has a lot to do with where he comes from and his desire to build a planet and bring it back together."
12. Season 2's Mission: Delivering Baby Yoda To The Jedi
The Mandalorian season 1 was essentially a series of one-shot adventures, but season 2 feels to have more of a traditional serialized approach. According to The Mandalorian season 2's trailer, the overarching plot is the mission Din Djarin was given by the Armorer; to return Baby Yoda to his own kind, believed to be the Jedi. This quest would explain why he would go to a legendary Jedi world like Ilum, and also why he'd head into Republic space, given there would be legends of Luke Skywalker's victories for the Rebel Alliance. Mark Hamill isn't expected to appear, but instead Mando will ultimately find his way to Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano. Given Ahsoka knew Master Yoda personally, she'll recognize Mando's diminutive sidekick.
