Fresh off his Emmy nomination for playing Moff Gideon (congrats!), Giancarlo Esposito talks all about the mysteries explored in The Mandalorian season 2.
The Mandalorian racked up 15 Emmy nominations the other day, including for Outstanding Drama Series, the top award of the night! The lone acting nomination was for Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the villainous Moff Gideon. Will he bring home the gold for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series? We won’t know until September, but if he doesn’t, it sounds like Esposito will have plenty more chances. The show is just starting to explore Gideon’s character, starting with season 2.
“You’ll see more of the Darksaber,” Esposito told Deadline, referring to the black-bladed lightsaber Gideon used to cut himself out of his downed TIE fighter at the end of the first season. “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 Darksaber, which featured on shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, does indeed have a long history. It was created by the Mandalorian Jedi Tarre Vizsla and passed hands many times over the years, at one point even being in the possession of Darth Maul. The last time we saw it, the Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze was using it to fight Emperor Palpatine’s forces, which included Moff Gideon. The odds are he got it when carrying out the Great Purge, but we’ll have to wait until later to get the details.
Incidentally, Bo-Katan is going to show up in season 2, played by Battlestar Galactica vet Katee Sackhoff. A lot of folk from The Clone Wars and Rebels are showing up, actually, including fan-favorite ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who will be played by Rosario Dawson. Dave Filoni, the showrunner on both The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, is getting the gang back together.
“(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,” Esposito continued. The note about “building a planet” is interesting. The Mandalorian takes place after the original trilogy but before the sequel trilogy, when the Empire has fallen and a lot of planets that were previously under Imperial Rule now have to deal with a power vacuum. I’m betting Gideon wants to return some of the stability the Empire provided, but at what cost? Could he be involved with the formation of the First Order?
Questions for another time. For now, Esposito notes that he based his performance on Peter Cushing, who played the intimidating Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars movie, aka the cold-hearted dude who blew up Alderaan.
“You could always read his mind through his eyes, Esposito said of Cushing. “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.”
A “Moff” is basically a kind of governor, by the way. “What we don’t know is how extra special he is yet,” Esposito said of Moff Gideon. We will soon. The Mandalorian season 2 premieres in October.
Meanwhile, other Mandalorian cast and crew members are reacting to the news of their Emmy nomination haul, starting with Esposito himself:
In gratitude...@TelevisionAcad @BetterCallSaul @themandalorian pic.twitter.com/7lMLCZYXm8
— Giancarlo Esposito (@quiethandfilms) July 28, 2020
Esposito is also up for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for his role as drug kingpin Gus Fring in Better Call Saul, another great villain role. Does this guy have a niche or what?
But he was far from the only one excited:
😆🔥😆🔥😆🔥😆🔥 @themandalorian https://t.co/SskKJ2W7eX
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) July 28, 2020
Oh yeah, and Taika Waititi is nominated in the category of Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for playing the droid IG-11:
The entire planet is buzzing about me being nominated for my robotic acting. Guys, there are other nominees outside of the coveted Voice-over Character category. Ugh, it can't be all about me ALL OF THE TIME! https://t.co/wo9om8Bd2j
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) July 28, 2020
The Outstanding Drama category is pretty strong this year, but if I go with my heart…I want The Mandalorian to win.
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