The Mandalorian: 10 Things We Learned From Star Wars Celebration

9. There's An Active Imperial Remnant

One of the most fascinating elements of the new Star Wars canon has been seeing how the Empire - defeated completely at the Battle of Jakku, a year-or-so after the Battle of Endor - became the First Order. Chuck Wendig's Aftermath novels have gone into great detail of what happened to the Empire in the years following, but audiences are yet to really see that transition in realtime, save for the events depicted in Star Wars: Battlefront II, which concluded with the confrontation on the aforementioned desert planet.

Perhaps surprisingly, The Mandalorian will depict elements of the Empire's transition in the series. Footage shown at celebration illustrated that an Imperial Remnant is still active four years on from the capitulation at Jakku, acting as despots in the ungovernable reaches of the galaxy. Descriptions of the sizzle reel and the teaser that followed claim that Imperial forces can be seen slumming in bars and razing villages with flamethrowers, and it seems as though they'll be a recurring threat throughout the series.

The main antagonist appears to be played by Giancarlo Esposito, who is described as wearing an all-black Imperial uniform. Meanwhile Werner Herzog, who appears to be playing the contact that sends the eponymous protagonist on his new mission, can apparently be heard in narration claiming "The Empire has improved every planet it touches," and seemingly offers further defence of their actions by claiming that, "since the revolution," he sees "nothing but death and chaos."

It looks as though the show is gearing up to launch into the Empire's legacy in a big way. Could it prove to be one of its best elements?