Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) explains why we “need” The Mandalorian right now

The Mandalorian returns to Disney+ in just a few months, and thank goodness, because we could all use a little lift right about now.

With times being what they are, we all need a good fantasy or sci-fi flick to help us escape from reality. And while there’s a huge roster of amazing sci-fi shows on all the major streaming services, nothing quite touches Disney+’s hugely popular Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian.

Star Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the villainous Moff Gideon, thinks that The Mandalorian is a show that not only offers us a refreshing take on the Star Wars universe, but also tells a story people need to hear these days. “The Mandalorian’s iconic,” he told Variety. “It’s a hero’s journey, it’s a hero’s story, and people need heroes right now. We don’t have heroes that we can look up to, so we gotta be each other’s heroes. So that’s what Mandalorian does for us. It allows us to stand up and see an example of someone just doing his duty in service to someone else and the journey.”

The Mandalorian tells a story about a lone bounty hunter who makes it his life’s mission to protect an alien infant, the ever-popular Baby Yoda. It is pretty inspirational, at the end of the day.

Esposito will reprise his role as Moff Gideon in season 2, where we’ll get to see him use more of the cool Darksaber, a legendary weapon we still don’t know how he came across.

Esposito says we’ll learn more about his enigmatic character. “To be in the position of having that regal, graceful power but have this saber which delineates a different part of me than any other character. To have this saber means I can use it, and I can do my own dirty work, that I’m a fighter, that I’m a warrior. That’s part of me,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

It’s even possible he’s Force-sensitive. You don’t see many ordinary folks using lightsabers, after all.

"It also creates the possibility that he is one of the ones. He possibly has that, and that to me is interesting because is he really that fallen hero? Is he a descendant of Darth Vader. Who is he? What does he want? He knows all about everything, and you’ll have to wait to find out. Yeah, he’s actually pretty good with that Darksaber too."

While you ponder these things, I’ll leave you with this epic performance of The Mandalorian theme by its Oscar-winning composer, Ludwig Göransson:

If everything goes well, The Mandalorian season 2 will premiere this October. The faster Baby Yoda is back in our lives, the better. Hopefully the coronavirus won’t force a delay.

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