It's been an exciting month for Star Wars leaks. Among other news, we've had some insane-but-credible Mandalorian season 3 rumours, Bad Batch season 2 plot details, and the confirmation of a "special" new animated series straight from composers Kevin, Sean and Dean Kiner themselves...
Warning: this article contains some potential spoilers for upcoming Star Wars projects.
The Mandalorian
For the first time in a while, we got a little bit of information for Mando season 3, and it’s VERY intriguing. These rumours might seem out of left field and unbelievable, but they come from a reliable source. Let’s take a look.
New troopers and Praetorian Guards
On 11th March, an anonymous user on 4chan posted three photos, claiming they were taken on the set of The Mandalorian season 3. Check them out below:
The user didn't comment on the photos, but they seem to depict a red variation of Mandalorian helmets, an Imperial hallway, and a gunner's ball turret. My thinking is that the helmets likely belong to Mandalorians loyal to the Empire - successors to the Imperial Supercommandos seen in Star Wars: Rebels - or even Mandalorians who worship the Sith, since they're also reminiscent of the red-uniformed Sith troopers of Knights of the Old Republic and The Rise of Skywalker. The spherical pod could be part of a transport system, but the two holes suggest it is missing gun barrels, and is a ball turret not dissimilar to the ones from the Resistance bombers seen in The Last Jedi. The middle picture may seem insignificant, but it confirms we'll be returning to the grey hallways of an Imperial Remnant ship or base, and this is made even more interesting by details which emerged after these photos first appeared.
This article from The Direct, by Andrew Gilman, reports that the leaked photos have been backed up as real by a credible source. Not only that, but the source claims that the red mando troopers will be fighting Din Djarin, alongside the Praetorian Guards - Snoke's personal bodyguards from The Last Jedi.
Back when The Mandalorian was first announced, Jon Favreau hinted that the series would explore the origins of the sequel trilogy's First Order, and it looks like this will be a big focus of season 3. The source behind this claim believed that the Guards and the red troopers are related to the show's cloning plot, and that this story could culminate with the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke. If this is true, it's not impossible that we'll return to the planet Exegol in the series. What's most unclear is how Din Djarin and Mandalore will connect to this plot. I'm guessing that Din will once again stumble across this conspiracy - leading to his fight with the Praetorian Guards (which will apparently be on a spaceship) - but will fail to prevent it, since Snoke and the First Order are at large by the time of The Force Awakens.
The possibility that Snoke could be involved in the story of The Mandalorian fuelled plenty of speculation for the future of the series. Supposedly, Palpatine was the one behind the creaton of genetically engineered beings such as Snoke, but since his survival is meant to be a secret at this point in the timeline I don't see him being the big bad of season 3. We know from Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett that Moff Gideon was sent to the New Republic for interrogation, so presumably there has to be a higher power within the Imperial Remnant to order a mission to break him out of jail.
Even Gideon's actor Giancarlo Esposito has hinted (in this 2020 article for Entertainment Weekly) that we're "going to start to see other storylines start to creep in" and that Gideon could be under the command of someone even more powerful than him, saying "he has some kind of incredible intelligence source." This sounds like it could be Grand Admiral Thrawn, who's also rumoured to return in the Ahsoka series, but I digress. Onto the next rumour for The Mandalorian...
Mecha Grogu
This one is... interesting. The same source behind the Praetorian Guards rumour also claims that IG-11 will appear in season 3, and will act as a Star Wars version of the 'Hulkbuster' for Grogu. This article from Bespin Bulletin reports that "the droid will house Grogu in his chest, which is reinforced by beskar, and will speak to our little green friend in a way similar to the AI Jarvis that Tony Stark used in Marvel’s Iron Man movies and gives him data, tells him probability of success, and his assessment of a situation."
The last time we saw the hunter-turned-nurse droid IG-11, he was blowing himself up on a lava river on Nevarro. It seems incredibly unlikely that any part of IG-11 survived that explosion, so I don't put much stock into this particular rumour. Even so, it does seem to fit with The Mandalorian's typical style of sometimes wacky humour, and IG-11 wouldn't be the first character to have miraculously returned from the dead. In Star Wars, no one's ever really gone...
Return of Axe Woves
On that note, a set photo confirms that there's another returning character in season 3: the Mandalorian Axe Woves. Played by Simon Kassianides, Axe appeared in the season 2 episode The Heiress alongside Bo Katan and Koska Reeves; although it might not be surprising that he's in the next season, this was welcome news to many fans after his mysterious absence from the season 2 finale. This leak comes from Bespin Bulletin, which shared the photo below:
This makes it all but certain that Axe Woves' fellow Mandalorian Koska Reeves - played by WWE wrestler Mercedes Varnado, aka Sasha Banks - will appear the upcoming season as well. I'm also very happy for Simon Kassianides: as a lifelong Star Wars and Boba Fett fan, getting to play a Mandalorian was a very special experience for him (he apparently cried tears of happiness when first handed Axe Woves' helmet!) and it's nice that he won't be limited to only one episode.
Obi-wan Kenobi
There have been plenty of very specific plot spoilers for the Obi-wan Kenobi series recently, which I'm choosing not to cover here - even I don't want to know them! Some more vague rumours have been keeping me excited though; I'll discuss them briefly here.
A familiar bounty hunter
Star Wars News Net recently shared a claim that a character first seen in The Empire Strikes Back will be appearing in the series: the protocol droid turned bounty hunter, 4-LOM. 4-LOM was only on screen for mere seconds, but has since appeared in comics (he was recently turned into a spider-like monster droid in Daniel José Older's 4-LOM and Zuckuss #1, although that takes place long after the Obi-wan series). The rumour, which SWNN says comes from a reliable source, confirms that the character will be at least getting more screen time than he had in The Empire Strikes Back.
It seems likely that 4-LOM will have a role similar to the one he had in the movie, joining the search for Obi-wan Kenobi alongside the Inquisitors and Vader and attempting to capture or kill him for the Empire. It's also not impossible that his frequent bounty hunting buddy, Zuckuss, could be joining him.
De-ageing
Hayden Christensen has been confirmed to be in the Obi-wan series for a long time, fuelling excitement for potential live action Clone Wars flashbacks. Previous rumours and things mentioned by the cast have given credence to the speculation, and this rumour, reported here by The Direct, is another bit of confirmation.
According to this rumour, de-ageing technology will be used on Hayden Christensen in a flashback scene. The flashback will remind viewers of "sad failures" according to the source, presumably providing background for the main conflict between Obi-wan and Darth Vader. I would guess that if the flashback is to the Clone Wars, Ewan McGregor will also have the same de-ageing treatment; there's no way the writers would pass up the opportunity to have them act alongside each other again (and Ewan McGregor has confirmed this anyway).
I personally think they might as well have used makeup to make the actors look a little younger, but Disney have proved that their de-ageing technology is impressive and doesn't detract from the actors' performances. I can't wait to see Anakin and Obi-wan in action again.
THE BAD BATCH
Although there's still no confirmed release date for The Bad Batch season 2, its music is currently being composed by Kevin Kiner, along with his two sons Sean and Dean. The composers themselves recently appeared on a charity stream by youtube channel The Convor Call, helping to raise funds for Ukrainian orphans and foster families (the stream can be found here, and the link to donate is still open).
While on the stream, the Kiners disclosed some surprising new info about the plot of season 2, making a lot of people excited about what's to come.
Older Omega
First of all, we learned that there will be a time jump between seasons 1 and 2, and that Omega will be "a little bit older". Kevin Kiner was careful to emphasise that this is not a huge time jump - Omega is "not a lot" older, so we're probably talking months rather than years - but the difference must be notable enough for him to comment on it. Perhaps we will see a slightly different Omega in season 2; she could be more mature or experienced in combat, and could even have a costume change - such as the addition of armour which has been depicted in lots of fan art.
Dean Kiner also said: "there are some more people in season 2, I'll just give you that." Of course, this could just mean a host of new characters, which is always welcome - but Dean could be teasing some familiar faces as well, and I have an idea of who he could mean.
I think a time jump makes it likely that we will see Ahsoka in season 2. With the addition of a time jump, The Bad Batch season 2 could potentially take place after the events of her novel by E.K. Johnston, during which she comes out of hiding and takes on the role of Fulcrum, as seen in Star Wars Rebels. With Ahsoka's appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm seem to be keeping the character fresh in our minds, likely to build up to her series in 2023. She may be showing up in The Bad Batch for this same reason. Her inclusion in season 2 doesn't have to be a quick cameo for fan service, however; I can easily see clone force 99 becoming one of the first Rebel cells, working with Bail Organa and Ahsoka to fight the Empire.
Return to Coruscant - and the political thriller genre
Kevin Kiner also revealed that just prior to the stream, he had been composing music for a scene set on Coruscant. This could mean that the Batch will be travelling to Coruscant, the heart of the Empire, or that some of the show's villains will be seen there. Coruscant hasn't appeared in many onscreen projects under Disney - it's in a background shot in Rogue One and appeared in The Clone Wars season 7 - so it'll be great to see the planet again (especially with the high budget and beautiful cinematography of The Bad Batch!).
He also said that he's been composing film noir style music, reminiscent of some of Alfred Hitchcock's work, which I find very interesting. Hitchcock was well known for thrillers, and did a number of noir films, such as The Wrong Man, which you can find my badly-edited Bad Batch version of below. Hitchcock usually worked with composer Bernard Herrmann, who composed some of the most iconic scores in film history, so he's definitely a good influence for the Kiners to use for their work.
Sean Kiner also teased that season 2 will dip into the political thriller genre:"There's some really neat political storylines that I'm very excited for people to see... our direction is always genre." This genre was used for arcs in The Clone Wars, such as the Clovis arc in season 6, and I honestly didn't think those kind of complex political storylines would be seen again in Star Wars. I love when Star Wars tries out different genres, so this is welcome news. It's possible that the political thriller storylines will take place on Coruscant, as well.
GAMING
While fans of Star Wars games have been busy gearing up to play Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, there have been some small rumours for other gaming projects in the works, which may have gone under your radar. Nothing massive, but exciting all the same. Let's take a look.
JEDI: FALLEN ORDER SEQUEL
EA usually reveal trailers for upcoming games at their annual EA Play event, but this year, that's been cancelled, leaving JFO fans wondering when news of the sequel will drop. The most likely prediction is at Star Wars Celebration, May 26th-29th, which has been rumoured before. Gaming insider Jeff Grubb recently backed up this claim on his podcast.
If the game is covered during Celebration, it's likely that the reveal of a release date and even a teaser trailer will accompany it. Our first look at the highly anticipated game could be just around the corner. However, Grubb has said that JFO II will "probably" not release until 2023.
Music recording in progress
In this article from Hits Double Daily, a photo from the "audio recording" of an unknown Star Wars game was shared. I'm guessing that audio means music in this case, since Jedi: Fallen Order and Squadrons composer Gordy Haab is part of the group, 4th from the right.
EA music head Steve Schnur is also there, 3rd from the right, seemingly confirming this is a game developed by EA. It could well be that music is currently being recording for the JFO sequel, but 3rd from the left in the photo is video game director David Hunt, who isn't involved with that project. There are two other Star Wars games coming from Respawn, the studio that developed Jedi: Fallen Order: a turn-based strategy game and a first person shooter game inspired by Dark Forces. Hunt could potentially be involved in either of these, or could just be visiting.
A new animated series
I've saved what could be, in my opinion, the most interesting Star Wars leak from March for last. We just covered everything the Kiners said relating to The Bad Batch on the Convor Call livestream, but it wasn't all they revealed. Kevin Kiner also said this:
“You know, we are working on a new project. It’s an animated project. It’s a Star Wars project. And that’s all we can say. It’s really, really frikkin’ great… To the point where Lucasfilm and Disney are giving us full orchestra for every episode… It’s a very special project, some great, great people are involved, and we’re really privileged to be part of that one. And I probably said too much already.”
So what could this be? There are still some mystery Star Wars projects in the works, such as a potential animated High Republic series from the studio ICON, and the unknown Tales of the Jedi series, both of which I covered in last month's article. It could potentially be either of those; hell, they may even be the same project, and something that Lucasfilm haven't really done before (I've theorised that Tales of the Jedi could be an anthology series spanning multiple eras), which would lead Kevin Kiner to call it "special". There are more possibilities, however.
Near the end of last year, Cinelinx and Big Screen Leaks reported that a Crimson Dawn animated series set between the events of The Clone Wars and Rebels, centred around Maul, was in development. The report from Cinelinx said that one source had leaked the Maul series, and another had said that actors Sam Witwer (Maul), Matt Lanter (Anakin) and Dee Bradley Baker (Clones) were recording something. I could see this series containing flashbacks to the unfinished Son of Dathomir arc from The Clone Wars (later adapted as a comic) and featuring Anakin and maybe Captain Rex there. It's also possible that the series could show Maul and Qi'ra working together after the events of Solo - we know that Qi'ra was trained by Maul thanks to the recent War of the Bounty Hunters comics by Charles Soule, so that's something a Crimson Dawn series could explore.
The reports suggested that this series could be announced on Disney+ Day, and when it wasn't, most people seemed to forget about the rumour. But with this added bit of confirmation from the Kiners, it seems very likely to me.
Alternatively, I've seen some people online suggest that this could be an animated sequel series to Star Wars Rebels, which fans have been hoping for since 2018; it would definitely count as a special project. I think if we're getting an animated Rebels sequel at all, it'll come after the Ahsoka series in 2023, which definitely seems to be following up on the search for Ezra storyline in some capacity. Lucasfilm animation definitely has long lead times and series go into development far earlier than you might expect, but even considering that, it seems strange that the Kiners would already be composing music for a show which wouldn't be releasing until after Ahsoka. However, Kevin Kiner didn't specify that they're working on it right NOW - this is perhaps only a confirmation that they've signed on for the project, so it's not impossible that this is a Star Wars Rebels sequel currently being animated. I would absolutely love this, but can't help but feel it's less likely than the other options.
A final theory for what this animated series could be is another season of The Lost Missions - unfinished Clone Wars arcs at the time of its cancellation, completed to form a new season of the show. The Lost Missions is what became Clone Wars season 6, with only 13 of the planned 22 episodes for that season being animated. Other unfinished Clone Wars arcs such as Son of Dathomir and Dark Disciple were adapted in books and comics, but I've always felt that the series is incomplete without them as a part of it; they represent the gaps or even missing endings in character journeys. This would explain the report that Sam Witwer, Matt Lanter and Dee Bradley Baker have recorded voice lines again - and Matt Lanter did once say: "There's some new Lucasfilm Animation going on. I've been a part of some things I can't talk about yet. You'll see Anakin again." The Clone Wars remains ever popular, so completing the show once and for all would definitely earn Disney a lot of praise - but this is another theory which seems too good to be true.
No matter what this project turns out to be, I'm excited for it more than any other rumour to emerge from this month. Kevin Kiner may indeed have said too much about it already, but as a long time Star Wars animation fan, I'm grateful he did!
That's all the biggest rumours from March summed up, but with hopefully many more to come. If you'd like more future leaks coverage on SWE.com, please like and share the article!
Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you...
All image edits by me
All other images copyright of Lucasfilm unless otherwise stated
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