The appeal of Disney's Star Wars universe. Season 1 contained some connections to the wider franchise, including characters who helped "clean up" after the empire was defeated in Return of the Jedi.
Since the show takes place only five years after Episode VI, it makes sense for these tidbits to relate to the original trilogy. But as season 2 approaches, fans are wondering whether the sequel trilogy movies could become similarly relevant.
The First Order
The Star Wars sequel movies are notoriously vague about how The First Order rose to power. Officially, it didn't exist until Kylo Ren rebelled against Luke and left to Snoke, or 5 years before The Force Awakens. Realistically, such a massively powerful organization must have been gathering weapons and soldiers for some time before publicly declaring itself.
This is hinted at in Claudia Gray's novel Bloodline in the form of "collectors" who idolize the fallen Empire a little too much. Perhaps some of the Empire sympathizers who showed up in season 1 of The Mandalorian will end up having ties to the early First Order.
Familiar Locations
Episode 5 of season 1 takes place on Tatooine, one of the most well-known locations in the Skywalker Saga. This does a lot to help the show feel connected to, and at home in, the Star Wars universe. The sequel trilogy is ripe with its own iconic locations. Setting an episode on Crait, Ahch-To, or Canto Bight, for example, could be a subtle way for The Mandalorian to give a nod to The Last Jedi.
Maz Kanata
While The Mandalorian has shied away from including well-known characters from other Star Wars media, instead bringing an Maz Kanata, who plays an important role in The Force Awakens, is already shown to have a mysterious past that is connected to the force and to the Skywalkers. It would be easy to fit her character into the plot of The Mandalorian.
Lor San Tekka
A minor character from The Force Awakens who is certainly old enough to have lived through the original trilogy, Lor San Tekka is on screen for scarcely a minute. This one scene is enough to leave fans wondering what his story is and how he ended up smuggling information for the resistance. The Mandalorian could easily sneak in a cameo or a name-drop to provide more backstory for this minor but important character.
Luke, Han, And Leia
It's near impossible that the original trilogy's main characters will make an appearance in The Mandalorian. Nevertheless, their names are presumably well-known in many parts of the galaxy after the empire's defeat in Return of the Jedi.
Leia in particular goes on to serve as a politician, so she's also a public figure concurrent with the events of the show. It wouldn't be a stretch for The Mandalorian to reference the trio's activities second-hand, which could help provide missing links between their younger selves and where they end up in the sequels.
New Ways To Use The Force
The new force abilities introduced in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker were some of the most controversial parts of the new movies. The Mandalorian season 1 already incorporates both old and new ways of using the force. The Child force-chokes Cara Dune with the same technique Darth Vader uses, and uses the force to heal Greef Carga the same way Rey heals the wounded monster and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in The Rise of Skywalker. There's plenty of potential for Baby Yoda to emulate Kylo Ren and Rey even more with force bonds, mind reading, or using the force to freeze people and weapons.
New Technology
The Force Awakens uses BB-8 to introduce a new shape of droid, and the First Order unveils new planet-killing technology in the same movie. In all three sequels, spacecraft and weapons are subtly updated to reflect the age of time. The Mandalorian already showcases new and different types of technology, and an easy way to link the original movies to the Star Wars sequel movies would be continuing to demonstrate similar updates and innovations.
Emperor Palpatine: Cloning/Resurrection
The Rise Of Skywalker controversially revealed that Rey is actually Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter. Not only that, but Rey's father is actually a failed clone of Palpatine as well.
While the process that lead to this was surely very secretive, since Palpatine is presumed dead by most of the universe until The Rise of Skywalker, it may feel less like an out-of-nowhere plot twist if it is even slightly hinted at in The Mandalorian's season 2.
Holdo
When Vice iral Holdo is introduced in The Last Jedi, Poe Dameron's line "That's iral Holdo? Battle of Chyron Belt, iral Holdo?" implies that Amilyn Holdo's name and reputation precedes her. Since it's implied that she was both a New Republic politician and maybe even a well-known military participant in the original Rebellion, it's conceivable that she could also be a recognizable name during the events of The Mandalorian and even come to be directly involved.
Luke's Jedi School
Although some supplementary materials indicate that Luke's Jedi academy wasn't officially started until some years after the first season of The Mandalorian takes place, we don't know how much time is covered or could be skipped over in season 2. As Din Djarin or "Mando" continues to look after The Child, it's also not out of the question that he might seek out someone capable of instructing force-s, which could point him in the direction of Luke's yet-to-be-established Academy.