Although we didn't see much of Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon in the first season of The Mandalorian, the character certainly made an impact, especially after it was revealed that Gideon had the Darksaber in his possession, a legendary weapon in Mandalorian culture which is very familiar to fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.
With the second season of the Emmy-nominated series on the way, Giancarlo Esposito spoke with Deadline to drop a few hints about the new season, which will apparently reveal more about the past of both Moff Gideon and the Darksaber itself.
You’ll see more of the darksaber, you’ll get the explanation of this ancient weapon to the modern world, a collapsed world. Where did this saber come from and how was it revived? It’s a key in our second season, which will be back sooner than later… (The saber) 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.
Giancarlo Esposito, who just scored a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work on Better Call Saul, added that he took inspiration from the late Peter Cushing's portrayal of Grand Moff Tarkin from the original STAR WARS movie. "You could always read his mind through his eyes," Esposito said. "I took a look at the imagery of this supreme chancellor, which really helped me. He is a supreme being in a sense. He knows it, but not everyone in the universe knows it."
The second season of The Mandalorian is still expected to debut later this year, with a few very interesting additions to the cast, including Michael Biehn (THE TERMINATOR) as "a bounty hunter from The Mando's past," Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Bo-Katan Kryze, a Mandalorian warrior, Temuera Morrison (AQUAMAN) as Boba Fett, and Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) as Cobb Vanth, a character introduced in Chuck Wendig's "Aftermath" series who wears Boba Fett's armour. There have also been major rumours which have pointed to Rosario Dawson (Daredevil) playing Ahsoka Tano, the former Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker who turned into a spymaster for the Rebel Alliance.