The Mandalorian Season 2: Every Rumoured And Confirmed Character So Far

The Mandalorian, Disney+'s flagship series, was universally praised by critics and Star Wars fans alike for its depiction of a gritty criminal underworld only previously hinted at in the Skywalker Saga, as well as for telling a relatively small and intimate story rather than retreading the grand fate-of-the-galaxy narratives that ran throughout the film series.

Another main selling point for The Mandalorian was its focus on a brand new cast of characters. The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy relied a bit too much on legacy characters and pre-existing lore rather than carving out a new story all of its own, while The Mandalorian managed to ground itself firmly within the universe set up by the films without reusing too many assets from the Original Trilogy. Sure, there are Stormtroopers, bounty hunters and droids, but all of these are re-purposed in unique ways, creating a visually and tonally distinct series-within-a-series.

With The Mandalorian Season 2's release seemingly on the horizon (the anticipated series is expected to stream on Disney+ in October), a number of leaks and rumours have been taking the internet by storm, seemingly promising the live-action debut of certain fan-favourite characters from the Star Wars cartoons.

While there's every chance that the integration of pre-existing characters will pull The Mandalorian a little too close to the small galaxy of Star Wars stories of the past and stamp out some of its unique flavour, the return of legacy characters -- including a few surprises -- has generated a fair bit of hype...

Numerous reports have suggested that Rosario Dawson (Descent, Percy Jackson) will portray the live action debut of fan-favourite Ahsoka Tano, whose awaited non-cartoon appearance has all but been confirmed by now.

Formerly apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order after being accused of spearheading an assassination plot in Season Five of The Clone Wars. Ahsoka returned in Star Wars Rebels, where it was revealed she was the elusive Fulcrum, a spy providing vital information to the early Rebellion. Canonically she was last seen in the finale of Rebels as she set of with Sabine Wren to locate a missing Ezra Bridger, before making a brief voice cameo at the end of The Rise Of Skywalker along with numerous other Force Ghosts.

While the inclusion of Tano's voice in Rey's vision at the end of that movie suggests, somewhat ominously, that the Grey Jedi met her demise some time between the end of Rebels and the start of the Sequel Trilogy, her cameo is just one of the ways Disney seems to be gearing up to her live-action appearance.

The long-anticipated Clone Wars Season Seven was in many ways Ahsoka's story, going as far as to retell Revenge Of The Sith from her perspective in the seminal final four-story arc. While it makes sense for such an iconic character to get an ending she deserves, the series' heavy focus on Tano has sent many fans speculating whether she is about to make a return in The Mandalorian, maybe giving audiences more of an idea of what she was doing during the events of the Original Trilogy...