The Mandalorian Season 2: Giancarlo Esposito Reveals He Did All His Own Stunts as Moff Gideon

By Tom Drew Updated:
Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, The Mandalorian Logo, Giancarlo Esposito closeup

The second season of The Mandalorian is still on track for its release this October, yet a trailer is nowhere in sight. Nevertheless, details about the upcoming season and the series' future have continued to come out.

Showrunner Jon Favreau spoke about the series moving forward, likening its production to an animated series. The music of the series has also been a major aspect of interest, with the composer teasing that he is excited for the direction it will take. The soundtrack garnered so much acclaim that a vinyl box set of it was released, featuring new artwork for each case.

In terms of characters, Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon is one of many to be explored next season. The actor alluded to the possibility that the character could be connected to The Force somehow.

Esposito has spoken more about his experience working on the show, commenting on his relationship with the series and how he performed all of his own stunts...

NEWS

In an interview with Collider, Giancarlo Esposito spoke about his experience on the latest season of The Mandalorian. In response to being asked whether it gets better than wielding a lightsaber, or darksaber in this case, on set, Esposito said:

"It doesn't. You know...first I have to get beyond the excitement in being such an iconic piece of material. Iconic, Star Wars is iconic. And would I have liked to have been in a Star Wars movie as opposed to The Mandalorian television show? I think my choices are...I think I've made a significantly correct choice, because what drew me to Star Wars was the mythological aspect of storytelling...For me, it was an empowering moment."

After being asked whether he gets involved with the stunts, Esposito responded with an enthusiastic "YES!" He said:

"I don't want you to have any spoilers, but I did all my stuntwork on my own, without a lot of rehearsal, even though it's a fairly big budget, technological piece with the volume and all the things that are going on. Sometimes that leaves less time to pay more attention to, and the stuntwork, by the way, has been honored with an Emmy nomination as well, to do that."

Esposito also spoke about his experience working with multiple different prop lightsabers.

"Having a lightsaber, I have a couple different ones, because of the technology that's involved. They sometimes put the saber in and I have to have a handle only. But in working with that handle, I have to remember that there's, y'know, 4 and a half, 5 feet more of that saber. So it's the way you handle it, so I had to practice. And sometimes I have a full saber that lights up, and I hope I'm not giving too much away in regards to the technology of it."

Esposito also mentioned that the stuntwork in season two is "a bit complicated:"

"So it was a bit complicated, and I have to laugh because I don't hold back. And so, some of our stuntwork in this season...you know, I think I went through, y'know, I remember the props guy coming to me and saying 'Okay, this is our last lightsaber', y'know. Because you gotta pull your hits...but you want it to look real."

WHAT THIS MEANS

With Esposito doing his own stunts, the action for The Mandalorian season 2 should prove to be explosive and visceral. Esposito mentions that he does not hold back, indicating that the actor will bring a ferocity and anger to his stunts that is often only seen in subtle ways in his other roles. Despite the demise of several broken lightsabers, it seems that Esposito has truly given it his all in ensuring the action is as real as possible.

Fans only saw a glimpse of Moff Gideon with the darksaber, after he ignites it at the end of the first season. Now, it's been confirmed that Gideon will get a lot more play with this weapon, being able to use it in action sequences. Who Gideon will get to use his darksaber against remains to be seen.

Fans can see Moff Gideon in action when The Mandalorian season 2 releases this October.

- About The Author: Tom Drew
Tom Drew is the Executive Editor at The Direct. Tom writes for The Direct's Marvel, Star Wars, and DC branches while specializing in all things movies, from blockbuster to indie darlings.