The 'Mandalorian' Season 2 Premiere Date Is Sooner Than You Expected

The arrival of Baby Yoda into the lives of millions in November of 2019 was a godsend. After a long and frustrating year, having something cute and green to coo over was precisely what the doctor ordered. But though Disney+ doled out episodes of The Mandalorian one at a time over eight weeks, by year's end, it was over. The series' next season was already filming, but it would almost certainly be until November of 2020 before Baby Yoda returned, if not later. But now it seems there is good news. It turns out The Mandalorian Season 2 premiere date is actually earlier than anticipated.

During a call with reporters to talk about the success of the Disney+ launch, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that over The Mandalorian Season 1 run, the service had signed up 26.5 million subscribers. That number may seem small in comparison to Netflix's 158 million users, but considering it took less than two months to achieve, it's an impressive feat. And the signups haven't stopped, with Iger reporting that the company had nearly 29 million as of the beginning of February 2020.

To that end, Disney+ was readying three high-profile arrivals to come this year. Two of them would be Marvel-based TV series like Falcon & Winter Soldier and WandaVision. But the company would also release The Mandalorian Season 2 earlier than expected, in October of 2020.

When The Mandalorian ended its Season 1 run, it did so with a massive cliffhanger. The show had just introduced Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, the real client who was trying to get his hands of Baby Yoda. Mando, meanwhile, had been charged with finding the home planet of Baby Yoda's ancestors and returning the lovable scamp to his people.

As Mando and Baby Yoda escaped Gideon's clutches and flew off into space, the show's big bad did something entirely unexpected. Having crashed his tie-fighter, he cut his way out of the bulkhead with something never seen before in the live-action Star Wars series. It was the Darksaber, a distinctive lightsaber created by the first Mandalorian to become a Jedi.

Fans were filled with questions. The last time the Darksaber had appeared, it had been given to Bo-Katan Kryze, a Mandalorian who was charged with uniting her people under its symbol. Viewers knew the Empire had defeated Mandalore in the intervening years. But seeing the Darksaber in the hands of an Imperial Warlord was still a shock that demanded an explanation.

Viewers can look forward to learning more about the Darksaber and moe about Baby Yoda when The Mandalorian Season 2 premieres. The new season is currently slated to arrive in October of 2020.